General Category > Chris Craft Stingers

1986 Stinger 390 - "Class Act" in Europe

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Ace:
Hello, I'm back on here at last! My previous buying of the 390 in NJ end of 2012 ended up in a massive failure. Sent the money to the guy but he claimed he couldnt clear the checks and sold it to someone else. I eventually got my money back but was really pissed.

A few months later, thanks to Han's newsletter I discovered there was one for sale much closer to me in Italy!! It was supposed to be in very bad shape mechanically and electronically but the hull was depicted as in very good condition and was selling for 11500 $. Some time later I saw the price dropped to 7000 $. I decided to call them and see how low I could get it for. They accepted to close the deal for 3900 $  :)

So I'm the owner since September but have waited till now to find a mooring place on the Geneva Lake, which I just did, and to gather the funds to pay for transport from Roma to Switzerland.

The boat should arrive in a couple of weeks now!

So now is questions time !
First of all the boat has been abandoned in the shipyard for more than a decade, so batteries are shot and electricals are a big question mark. One of the engines (they are stock 400hp mercruisers)lacks the carb and has a broken manifold. The other one is complete and seems in better condition. Can I start and operate the boat on on engine or will I damage something by doing so?

Is the fuel tank easily removable for cleaning? Or can I clean it without removal?

Fun adventure that begins!
Pictures at : www.facebook.com/MovieCarsCentral/albums/531522410302646/

Franck

stinger390x:
Hello Franck.
Glad to hear you got a boat at last. The one in NJ, was it white with blue stripes similar to the one you have now except they didn't cross at the rear? If it was the same boat I saw you should be glad you got your money back as it was JUNK!!!

Now for your questions.
The gas tank...can't be removed without cutting floor open so just draw out the old fuel and put some new stuff in. When you draw out the old fuel see if there are any sediments in the fuel. If there is you will need to flush before refueling however in my experience those aluminum tanks stand the test of time quite well.
You say the manifold is broken and a carb is missing? Is it the intake or the exhaust manifold. I have a spare intake and a set (3) spare square port heads ready to bolt on.
Don't do anything to the other engine until you go through it with a fine toothed comb! Change the oil, plugs, wires and cap a rotor for the distributor. Make sure there are no cracks in the block or manifolds and check all hose fittings. Once you check the timing mark, belts, hoses etc then feel free to start it up. Make sure you have a garden hose running water in the system or have the boat in the water (even if it's on the trailer on the loading ramp) as the sea cocks must draw water for cooling.DO NOT RUN THE ENGINES DRY AND OFFSHORE!
(my engine bay has a special fitting for a garden hose which flushes the system for both engine simultaneously)
As for the other engine let me know what parts you need and I might have some spares?

It would be a good idea to do a compression test on all the cylinders of both blocks just to be on the safe side. Pressures should not vary more then 20psi on any set of cylinders. Optimun should be at the 160-180psi mark for that particular engine with stock pistons and cams.

Let me know if you need any other advice. happy to help out....

Tom...

stinger390x:
Just looked at the pics again.
Do you have thru-hull exhaust? Pics aren't clear?

Also not sure what kind of drives you have. Are they TRS?
The reason I ask is sometimes the exhaust goes through the outdrives on some models. This is ok but not the most efficient way to exhaust an engine. Thru-hulls are a bit louder system but let the engine breath very efficiently.
Let me know what's under the swim platform.

ttyl...

ccstinger:
The boat looks great!  I've seen that striping scheme before, but typically on a black boat - for example:  http://chriscraftstingers.com/gallerypage.php?gallerydir=Lake%20Erie%20390.  I've seen the striping on 390s, 260s and 230s right around 1983/1984.  Can't wait to see her in the water.

Ace:
Yes the exhausts are through hull, and here are more pics :
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0By1GtMCu_Xv4R0ROVmVlS3dpM2c&usp=sharing

I took pics of everything broken or damaged I could see.

Do you think the small exterior damages to the hull would prevent to put it in the water like this?

Tom, if you have a spare for the exhaust part that is broken on mine I wouldnt say no. Now what could have caused that?

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