Copy of an original ad for the Chris Craft 5hp Challenger and 10hp
Chris Craft Commander made in Grand
Rapids, MI. The Challengers were made from 1949 through 1954 and the
Commanders were made for only two years, 1953 and 1954. Chris Craft
ended production to settle a law suit and sold everything to Oliver
Motors.
50-plus years of use and neglect really add up to one plain, dull
looking motor. It was basically complete and ran very well after a
bit of tinkering.
The
motor was disassembled, wire brushed, sanded, and any dents were
filled with bondo and fared smooth. Since the color of this motor is
a dark blue, we used black primer which is easier to cover with the
engine color and enhances the richness of the final paint. Whenever
possible we try to paint more than one motor at a time if we have
them. It saves a lot of time cleaning out the spray gun.
Fortunately, we had two motors that needed restoration, and you can
see the parts spread out to dry in the first picture. We put screws
in the holes in the parts for two reasons: it keeps the paint from
filling the holes and gives the part clearance so the fresh paint
doesn't stick to the newspaper. The motor is then reassembled. The
levers on this motor were gold in color and these were also painted
as was the gas cap.
