Bearcat #6 arrives home

[Helmar]

85HP Bearcat engine

Well, if you decide to sell it, I hope you offer it here first

[Tim McCrain]

Dick, have you talked to Bill Roberts? He may have some advice, or he may try to buy the '85, so you're covered either way.

[Super Sportster]

2nd sea trials

Tim, yes I talked with Bill last Thursday, what Bill has written on his website is very true about these and we discussed things a little deeper. I am asking this engine to do something it won't do in it's present form. It can if altered, by that I either have to lose the carbs or jet these properly to work.

Todays trip on the lake was productive, the large oil leaks are gone, and the WOT speed was 34.3 mph with a cruising speed of 32 mph. Idle was running at 600 rpm inconsistently as before. I've also picked up a huge hesitation that was not there before. I removed the springs in the accelerator pump circuit like the manual for the 55 says to do. If there was a manual for the 85 I don't think they would suggest it.

I like this engine in general, it has it's quirks, it can be frustrating, it's unique.

Price range for a 55 Bearcat

I was playing support vehicle for the Garage sale Commndo Queens. When I found a 55 Bearcat, it supposedly ran when his dad had it previously. He asked what I thought it worth. There was a voice that said offer a 100.00 dollars. I am not sure what it is worth, if it fires or does't fire. It looks like it has been taken care of, since its in the Eastern Washington area, hopefully very limited saltwater. Any Help

[Super Sportster]

Are you looking for a price? My first one was $100, it is a Bearcat with an early Homelite block. Engine was stuck. Second one had a couple leaking gaskets, was not well taken care of, looked like crap but ran out very well, came with a parts engine and was $450. Third one looks to have been taken care of, lower unit is blown, came with a parts engine. I traded a good 40hp Evinrude for these.

[Helmar]

Dick, What are you asking it to do that Bill thinks it will Blow up soon

[Super Sportster]

Bill,
WOT was 5000, cruise was 3500 and @ 25mph it 2700rpm

Joe,
I'm asking it to run smoothly and consistantly at 600rpm.

[Helmar]

Bill,
WOT was 5000, cruise was 3500 and @ 25mph it 2700rpm

Joe,
I'm asking it to run smoothly and consistantly at 600rpm.

Boy, I would sure be interested in knowing why this would cause it to Blow up
Maybe I had better go read Bills Website

Can you tell I am playing with the new Smilies

[Super Sportster]

Yes Joe, I can see you are enjoying the new smiles, I saw them too, figured you must have been tweaking the forum some more!

[Super Sportster]

Well since it won't do what I wanted it to do, troll with a consistant idle yet, I've removed it for the time being. I have many carbs here to expermiment with so I'll see what I can come up with. I've now put #4 Homelite on which runs like a watch she'll run all day at 500 rpm. Top speed was down from the #2 Bearcat but after bringing it back home I discovered I wasn't getting full throttle as it would only turn 4000 rpm. That's been fixed so we'll see what it does next time out.

[Helmar]

Well, I know to check the simple stuff now.
I was chasing my tail with timing stuff and it was Bill that walked up and pointed that out to me, I only had 3/4ths throttle.
Pretty skookum motors for sure

[Super Sportster]

More carb problems sloved

After swapping emails with Ed Zogg about the carbs I tore them down again and took his advice on a through cleaning. They went into an ultrasonic bath for several hours. One thing that Ed suggested and another friend also was to check the welsh plugs. Sure as hell one was leaking and it was on the carb that was giving me the most trouble. Carbs are now reassembled and are really clean this time. So maybe I might be able to get closer to a having a consistent idle. I miss the power of the 85 already! I'll fire it up tomorrow again and see if I've made progress.

[Super Sportster]

Lots of improvement.

I love it when everything turns to crap. The o-ring in the fuel line hookup went to crap and was leaking fuel. Fixed that, then the top carb's accelerator pump wasn't working and it was leaking gas, a passage plug must have come loose in the wash yesterday. Made a brass one and fixed that. Finally got it fired off. It idles much better now. My tach/dwell meter died so I can't see where it's idling for sure but I'm in the ballpark of 600rpm. It is much more consistent and smoother than it has been.

Dick

I know I read somewhere on here that you posted the steps you take to fire up a new (Used) Bearcat. Now that I have a proper test tank I plan to attempt to fire one of mine up this weekend. I cannot seem to find your post. If you remember where it is I'd sure like to know. Thanks.

[Super Sportster]

Barry,
Joe put in an engine section at the top of boat restoration which is where I posted that. This (I hope) will get you to my instructions: http://www.classicboatclub.com/forum...ead.php?t=1089