I bought my 1973 36' TF (FDA-36-0097H) last march with "rebuilt" engines but unfortunately one of them was actually bad. Something knocking inside the port motor and after much deliberation, my only choice was to remove it and send it out to be rebuilt (again!).
1973ish Marine power 454.
I'm more than a little frustrated with this endeavor and it has certainly put a hitch in my giddyup. I was not able to use the boat this season (except sitting at the dock) but I got a lot of projects done on her and I still like the boat. Hard to say if I "love" the boat yet because she hasn't really been 100%.
I'm hoping I can get it all put back together before the spring! I very much look forward to running her properly and seeing how she performs.
I'm happy that the motor is at the rebuilder and I'm half way there.
@Timothy Miller mine seem to be original with little plastic fittings in the holse and tubes to the bildge. But now that you focus on that, i think i'll take a good look at the system this winter and make sure its draining properly to avoid weeping down the supports... good (relatively) easy project!!