My "new" project..'78 F-26


sprink49

sprink49

New member
I recently found this old gal in a field behind a house in the farming area near me. It's a Miami built 1978 26' Express Cruiser. Hopefully the pics show up.

I have loved this model since I first saw one in the mid '70s...24 deg dead rise with a 9'-6" beam. HUGE cockpit. Most of the original equipment is there but I will need to find a swim platform as well as cabin and head doors. I only have the pedestal seats so I will need to create the original cockpit seating from brochure pics or maybe I can get copies of plans from Formula. The cabin's condition is about a 6 and I plan to upgrade everything to Ultra Leather and modern fabrics for the head liner, etc.

This boat has the base power package...twin 305 2 bbl carb Chevy's running thru Merc No. 1 drives. I know these engines will be barely adequate and I am already seeing a pair of strong 383's and Bravo drives for this rig. I plan to use the 305's to get moving with this restoration but I know what's coming in the near future.

I notice there is a LARGE bilge area forward of the fuel tanks beneath the main cockpit floor with an access hatch. This space "screams" for a generator and A/C unit.

I plan to use the F-26 for off shore fishing as well as cruising the ICW and SE Florida Coast. Once I am satisfied with the reliability I'll make the 60 mile crossing to Freeport, Bahamas.

I think this will make a great boat. It is still very solid with no rot in the stringers or transom. The floor is solid with no soft spots. I borrowed a moisture meter and found no de-lamination any where. The fact that this boat is still solid after 33 years is a testament to the quality of what we have learned to expect from Formula.

Stay tuned....

All comments and suggestions are welcome.

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OK...in trying to sort this boat out with possible re-power scenarios I came upon this question: Is the port engine on these older models reverse rotation or does the reverse rotation take place in the lower unit of the drive? I know on later models it does and it's now done in the transmission on inboard twins.

If I stay with small blocks in the 300 HP range I can retro with SEI 106 drives that will mate up to the No. 1 gimbals. I can even get reverse rotation in the SEI with a $300 up charge for a lower unit swap for the port side. This makes it simple on the engine swap with new drives. However if I have to re-power the port side engine and my original drive is good, do I need to buy a reverse rotation engine or does the original No 1 Merc drive change to reverse rotation. I had a '86 272LS with twins but can't remember how it was configured.

I'm going to start with the existing onboard power and drives if they prove to be solid....it saves quite a bit of money on the front end of this restoration to put in the cosmetics of the boat. I have talked to guys that work with these scenarios regularly and they tell me not to even consider 383's on number 1 or Alpha drives in a heavy boat like this...the upper unit can't live with 400 ft lbs of torque. I have heard that it just takes one good hole shot to twist the retainers out of the top end of an Alpha with big torque...so this means Bravo and the required gimbal swap...big $$.
 
i doubt the engine is counter rotating. look at the firing order of each engine. i would think that would tell you. i like the 350 with alpha combo for this. good power, reasonable economy, and if your drives are good you can just wait until they start having issues and go with the SEI's. the counter rotating upgrade would be a good choice in my opinion. have you considered one big block with a bIII? that may be worth looking into as well.
 
Formula Tenn said:
i doubt the engine is counter rotating. look at the firing order of each engine. i would think that would tell you. i like the 350 with alpha combo for this. good power, reasonable economy, and if your drives are good you can just wait until they start having issues and go with the SEI's. the counter rotating upgrade would be a good choice in my opinion. have you considered one big block with a bIII? that may be worth looking into as well.
Click to expand...

I appreciate your thoughts...

Well...it appears that the port engine is reverse rotation...firing order is 12756348....starboard engine is standard with 18654372....If it get's replaced it will be with a standard rotation and I will use a new SEI 106 to get the counter rotation....not worth it in my opinion to screw around with an odd ball counter rotation set up just to keep a 32 year old out drive.

I agree with the 5.7/Alpha combo on this one for "bang for the buck" simplicity.

I have thought about the single BB idea but since it's already rigged and gimbaled for twins I think I'm miles and $$$$s ahead to stay with that configuration.
 
i would agree with that. however, the room that you could gain plus performance and operating economy advantages might make it worth looking into. my thought on a project like this would be to keep an open mind, explore all options and then git-r-dun ;D. i would love to follow the progress so keep us updated. i don't read well so post a few pics too if ya can ;)
 
Formula Tenn said:
i would agree with that. however, the room that you could gain plus performance and operating economy advantages might make it worth looking into. my thought on a project like this would be to keep an open mind, explore all options and then git-r-dun ;D. i would love to follow the progress so keep us updated. i don't read well so post a few pics too if ya can ;)
Click to expand...

I'm all about Get-R-Done!!! ...and being open minded...if I find a deal on 3208's and Hurth Transmissions we might end up with something "really special";)
 
This thread stops here...I passed this project on to the next guy and wish him luck. I have a new project Formula...look for it in this forum.
 
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