E32 steel engine beds

K Dawson

New Member
Atomic 4 wasn't taken care of by previous owner and a leak in the side plate rusted out the steel engine bed. Now I have to take out the remaining bed and build new ones. Has anyone been this fortunate? I am fairly good with epoxy but starting a job like this is totally new to me. I have all the Moyer marine parts replaced that leaked so at least that is complete....
 

tenders

Innocent Bystander
When I had my A4 pulled out and rebuilt I discovered the same problem. The mechanic chiseled out the rusted half of old bed and had a new one made up out of stainless. He epoxied the new one right into the holes from the old one and it's been super-solid ever since.
 

K Dawson

New Member
Why did you go back to a metal bed and not a glassed wood bed? Do you have any pictures of the project?
Thanks
 

tenders

Innocent Bystander
Unfortunately this was in 1993 and I don't have pictures. I never thought about glassed wood, but if I had I think I'd have preferred stainless. It wasn't particularly expensive, it wasn't complicated to fabricate, and it'll last forever.
 

Matey

Member III
E32 Atomic bed mock-up

With the A4 out of the boat .. my engine bed on the starboard side is rusted almost beyond duplication. I took the piece(s), a lot of measurements, and fabricated a mock-up out of wood. Tomorrow I'll test fit it with the crude engine mock-up I made last week. If the math works I guess I'll have some fabricated out of stainless and glass them in. This is new stuff to me .. I'm hopeful I'm on the right track.
The steel ones held up for 37 years, so I'll be 90 when I need to go at them again.

Regards, Greg
 

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tenders

Innocent Bystander
What is that first picture a mockup of? If it's the engine, it's the oddest-looking A4 I've ever seen. You sure this is the right forum?
 

chaco

Member III
Grind Off....Install New

Here are some pics on a FiberGlass Engine Bed replacement for the ridiculous Metal Frame Design that RUSTS OUT in ALL Ericsons eventually :cool:

Have more pics / info as required.

Happy Engine Stringers :egrin: :egrin:
 

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Cory B

Sustaining Member
Engine Stringer specs

If you look into the specs and document section of the website, you should be able to find the Ericson reccomendations for the E32 for the stringer sizes (including dimensions) for different engine types, including the A4. Not that they probably couldn't be improved upon, but it might be a good sanity check.
 

jazz177

New Member
Steel engine beds

I have just completed a replacement of the engine beds in our 1970 32-2 Jazz. The engine was always raw water cooled and believe me it was time for a replacement. But that is another story. I have known the engine beds would have to be replaced if I ever pulled the engine and put it off as long as I could. Attached are some pictures of some of the job. First the origina steel beds are held in with a cab-o-sil resin mixture which is glassed over. That took about 10 hours of grinding and chiping to remove.

As a replacement I fabed some white oak mounts covered them with glass and epoxy and bedded them in epoxy to the hull then used 3 layers of glass tape down each side. I then capped them with 3/8 304 Stainless. One reason for the stainless cap is because the aft end of the mounts are to thin to take a good lag in the very aft bolt hole on the engine mounts.

If you are interested I have more pictures.

John F.
 

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chaco

Member III
Fiberglass Engine Stringers

Here are some Pics on Engine Stringer Jigs and the Finish 3/8"x 3" SS engine stringer cap. The Stringers are formed from HD Styrofoam and Covered with (8) Layers of Glass Cloth/Roving and Epoxy-Filler (1/2" total).

Let me know as you need additonal info.

Good Luck to You :egrin: :egrin:
 

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Matey

Member III
New engine beds

I went .. the road less traveled. I used the mock up I pictured earlier on the bench, but modified the bottoms to meet the angles of the hull. I fabricated the beds out of steel with a friend's help after getting quotes for $250- and $500- for steel and stainless respectively from the welder. The steel cost me $25-. After cutting all the angles and tacking them in place I took them to the welder and had him melt them. Then I painted them with 3 coats of POR-15 following their step-by-step process. http://www.por15.com/POR-15/productinfo/1GB/ The stuff seems tough, more like epoxy than paint. Anyone have experience with it ?
Then I epoxied them in and tabbed with 4 or 5 layers of mat and biaxial glass. I got side tracked on my steering, but am ready to put the motor back in..

Soon :rolleyes:

Greg
 

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Emerald

Moderator
[Then I painted them with 3 coats of POR-15 following their step-by-step process. http://www.por15.com/POR-15/productinfo/1GB/ The stuff seems tough, more like epoxy than paint. Anyone have experience with it ?

POR-15 is an oustanding product. I have used it for many years performing automotive restoration, and if applied per directions, it works great. I do highly recommend using their "metal ready" for prep work and as a primer. No affiliation, just a happy customer for the past 15+ years
 

Matey

Member III
Por-15

David,

Glad to hear you've been happy with it. A friend used it on his Son's rock crawler and was quite happy with how it's held up in a tough environment. I originally had painted my re-built engine with it, as it was recommended to me by the automotive paint shop here in town. Seemed like good stuff for the steel beds. I called POR to make sure it was compatible with West Systems .. it appears to have bonded excellent with it.
I bought the whole package. Marine Clean (excellent cleaner that I used in my bilges prior to paint), the Mental Prep, the POR and the engine enamel for the motor. The pint went a long way.

Regards, Greg
 

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Matey

Member III
follow up

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My $25- steel engine beds painted with POR-15 2 years ago look like the day I put them in, aside from a little bilge slime. Not a speck of rust on them, the steering supports or the Atomic I painted with the same can. Of course all the POR products were $90- or so.

Regards, Greg
 

Emerald

Moderator
I've had outstanding success with the POR-15 products. The one thing I would emphasize is that you need to follow the directions, and it is worth using their system - e.g. their Metal Ready etc. If you do follow the directions, it will work as advertised.
 
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