New project: Baby Willard 730, the 540.

[tworotorturbo]

Picked up this Willard 540. It has an inboard turbo diesel. Everything looks clean and well maintained but nothing happens when I turn the key. I think the solution is an outboard on a bracket?

[breezeblock]

I think get somebody to look at it and save the hassle of fitting an outboard

[Bigtalljv]

Electrical problems are the best!!

I assume you are being facetious and know how to get that baby running?

Jason

[tworotorturbo]

yeah I am not giving up that easily. This will be my third Volvo diesel project so I'm kind of familiar with these motors. I figure that even if the motor is beyond repair I can part it out to cover what I paid for the whole package.

I at least want to see how it runs. This is the same motor that was in the H630 I swapped. This one has a duo prop outdrive though so it might be a quick one on the water.

[cgoing]

We had a Hurricane in for service with the same issue. Volvo mechanic found a bad relay(ignition?) and she fired right up after he replaced it.

[breezeblock]

Originally Posted by Bigtalljv

Electrical problems are the best!!

I assume you are being facetious and know how to get that baby running?

Jason

no I aint being facetious I am a heavy plant engineer I get sent all over Britain to fix broken shit all the time its what I do

[clloyd]

Not turning over is an easy thing to diagnose on a mechanical diesel. That diesel look pretty clean in the picks as well.

[Bigtalljv]

Originally Posted by breezeblock

no I aint being facetious I am a heavy plant engineer I get sent all over Britain to fix broken shit all the time its what I do

Sorry, we responded at the same time and I didn't see your post. I was referring to post #1

Jason

[ncp]

I'd work on getting it running...

And with the shorter water line on a 540, I'd skip the bracket and go transom mount if you choose to go outboard

[tworotorturbo]

Pulled the motor and shipped it off to the Volvo factory in Sweden for diagnosis.

Just kidding, its going to Hawaii to its new owner who will use it for parts. It was seized up. I couldn't get it to budge even with a breaker bar and the previous owner damaged an injector while attempting to remove it in order to inspect the cylinders. I really wanted to get it running too, but parts for these Volvos are expensive . I didn't think it was worth putting that much money into replacing parts. The good news its that parts for these Volvos are expensive . I was able to sell the motor, outdrive and various parts for some good coin. Now a 115 or 150 will go on the transom.

[Explorer2014]

How is the rest of the boat coming along?

Originally Posted by tworotorturbo

Attachment 117395


Pulled the motor and shipped it off to the Volvo factory in Sweden for diagnosis.

Just kidding, its going to Hawaii to its new owner who will use it for parts. It was seized up. I couldn't get it to budge even with a breaker bar and the previous owner damaged an injector while attempting to remove it in order to inspect the cylinders. I really wanted to get it running too, but parts for these Volvos are expensive . I didn't think it was worth putting that much money into replacing parts. The good news its that parts for these Volvos are expensive . I was able to sell the motor, outdrive and various parts for some good coin. Now a 115 or 150 will go on the transom.

[Ribdude]

mine as well put a 150 on it would be interesting to see how she performs

[ncp]

150 HP on a 5.4m??? I've seen 115 HP on an H540 and that was scary fast!

[tworotorturbo]

Originally Posted by Explorer2014

How is the rest of the boat coming along?

Haven't done anything yet but now that the motor and drive are out, its time to get busy. I will leave the big console but move it forward and glass it to the deck. I also plan to leave the old engine bay open and accessible for some nice storage. I know ribs this size can get real cluttered with an above deck fuel tank, coolers, etc., so its cool to have all this room under the deck.

Deciding on whether to leave the arch as-is or fabricate something to allow it to fold down.

[tworotorturbo]

[tworotorturbo]

Found an old pic of the boat online, in its past life. Pretty cool for its size.

[Explorer2014]

Wow. Very nice progress. Extra storage will be huge! Keep the pictures coming!

Originally Posted by tworotorturbo

Haven't done anything yet but now that the motor and drive are out, its time to get busy. I will leave the big console but move it forward and glass it to the deck. I also plan to leave the old engine bay open and accessible for some nice storage. I know ribs this size can get real cluttered with an above deck fuel tank, coolers, etc., so its cool to have all this room under the deck.

Deciding on whether to leave the arch as-is or fabricate something to allow it to fold down.

[Explorer2014]

That's a very nice stainless. Looks like you can put some extra storage. I would keep that intact and do someting with that space.

Originally Posted by tworotorturbo

Attachment 117403

[Ribdude]

Originally Posted by ncp

150 HP on a 5.4m??? I've seen 115 HP on an H540 and that was scary fast!

Scary? I call that fun

[ncp]

Originally Posted by Ribdude

Scary? I call that fun

Could be...

My Searider starts chine walking at 40 mph with a 90. A friend has put two 115 yamahas on 540 Hurricanes (one 2-stroke, one 4-stroke)...they both needed huge trim tabs. They worked but to me 150 hp seems like overkill.

I attached the pictures. On the one with the 4-stroke, he plugged the transom and got rid of the elephant trunks (installed a bilge pump instead. A lot of weight put them underwater.

In my personal opinion, 115 is sporty enough on a 5.4m boat.