73 avenger hardin

[srs51668]

I own a 73 avenger jet drive with a 455 oldsmobile engine. i was told by the manufacturer of the boat that the engines were supplied by hardin marine. I am looking for any information that any one else may have as to how did hardin set these engines up? were they complete units bought from olds? were they short or long blocks? what parts may have been modified or upgraded prior to the engines delivery to cee bee mfg. ( the maker of the avenger) the boat run real good for the first 19 years of its life then there was a bottom end failure and it is downhill from there. i would like to return the engine to it's original configuration but 31 year old info is hard to come by. any help appreciated.

I have a 77' avenger jet boat that my father passed on to me. I think Harden was just an engine builder. They publish parts books ie..engine parts and what not. I think the only thing car motors and marine engines differ is in hardware used on the engine. Now that I think about it! Hardin offers a book that offer many different jet boat parts.

Hardin Marine
1665 S. Claudina Way
Anaheim, CA 92805
Tel: (714) 956-9100
Fax: (714) 491-1955

[Wolfie]

Hardin Marine was owned by a gentleman in Southern California, I believe his name was Chet Hardin. He owned automobile dealerships, and with his relationships with general motors, and the advent of sport jet drives from Berkeley and Jacuzzi, offered marinized packages to the early low profile jet manufacturers for many years, with operations in So Cal and in North Little Rock, AR. ( Jacuzzi) . They probably built more 455 Olds boat packages than anyone. I think a few of the old guys are still around here if you need more info let me know,

Wolfie

well,hello there...i bought a 1972 glen coa jet boat with a 455 oldsmobile big block....just wondering about some ideas that i might have.....if u can help please let me know...also,i would like to know more about my kind of boat also...

[shrek]

It's VERY difficult to find any info on the Avenger boats by Cee Bee. I own a 1973 that I got for free. It needs a major restoration...heck, the only thing that's solid is the hull, the interior floor is fragged, I've not even started looking at the engne I'm first going to clean the livng daylights out of it, then repair the floor & any joists that need replacing, thn monkey with the engine & see if it's salvageable or if I need to stick something else in there.

I'm considering four diffeent options at that point. I can either do a councours type restoration, turn it into a replica 1966 Batman movie Batboat, make an Arrowboat (1960s Green Arrow comics), or make a VERY fast Fire/Search/Rescue craft ot of it. Whichever way I go it'll turn heads

[EastGateCustoms]

I have the identical boat you have . Go for the restoration! The boat is worth the money.
Very solid and seaworthy... alot of people are looking for these, I had an offer from a man in florida for almost double what I had into it.
As far as information... here is the original man's number, although I cannot remember his name. I spoke to him a while back and he still has information and actually told me he still makes the interiors for these... 310-537-0073.

Hardin only built engines and supplied certain parts. rigging was all CeeBee.
Have Fun. If you know of any Magnum 27' sport hulls sitting around, let me know.

[shrek]

The only headache I have with doing an original resto is that I have NO idea how the exterior or interior is supposed to look...and I'd probably go my own way as far as seats/fun mods anyway. On mine the interior is GONE...it's just not there. For now I'm focusing on my Glastron resto until i's completed before I go bananas on the Cee-Bee. There's a 5'x3' gash in the center of the floor, the seat mounts are rusted away, and the it's just a total mess...

Cee-Bee strangely doesn't have a website...and when I search for Cee-Bee dealers the computer laughs at me...there is no literature other than a few messages I've found here & there...it's almost lke they don't exist. Pictures of the Avenger are RARE...

I've got a better shot of making it a functional Fire Boat with a suction pump & water cannon...there's more stuff available

[kenn fisher]

I am new to the site but I run a 1973 SKV with a 455 and an american turbine jet, I was lucky enough to get the original engine manual when I bought it, it come from olds already built for a marine application and was sold to hardin marine who added valve covers, exhaust manifolds, etc.

[crazyazsredneck]

hey yall i have a 76 cee bee 350 chevy mid engine with velvet drive. its in great shape take it out everyweekend its a head turner . iam also having a hard time finding info on it.i only run 3500 rpms at 37 mph (reading with a gps).shouldnt it run faster ?? has a 3 blade prop stainless but did come with a 2 blade brass. any help would be great