CHRIS CRAFT COMMANDER FORUM ®
.......A photo-intensive technical reference file and ongoing newsletter regarding the original fiberglass Chris-Craft Commander series. This is an independent not-for-profit and non-commercial web site, not affiliated with the Chris Craft Commander Club ~~ or ~~ Chris-Craft Corporation. Our mission here is to "have fun and share information" about the Commander series (and those associated fiberglass boats on the Chris-Craft family tree) for your individual personal use, and by doing so help promote the good name of Chris-Craft, and help preserve, restore, and appreciate Chris-Craft boats. The main reference feature is the ever expanding MASTER INDEX File which contains what we believe to be the world's largest collection of documentation photos and technical information on the Chris-Craft Commander line of boats, (like these original brochure scans, featuring the iconic first 38 Commander styled by Fred Hudson, and many of the great Dick Avery renditions that followed) , (a huge collection of Chris-Craft 427 tuning and specification information), and a few words about how to use the forum.
We extend to you a cordial "WELCOME ABOARD !" Come on in, make yourself at home, we are a friendly group of enthusiasts, and we also appreciate the classic Chris Craft Roamer, Corsair, and Lancer boats too , as they are all on the same family tree and share much in common !
Those are some NICE photos, love that 36! The hull is very robust, and was obviously intended to CRUSH anything that got in its way. I love that line on the sides along the rub rail, that curves downward to flatten out at the aft deck.
As for the 427 power, they represent "the royalty" of the 1960's musclecar blocks. There is nothing quite like firing up a pair of these at the marina, they have a great sound. Detuned down to a mere 300 horses, they have a reputation for being very long lived. Running one easy should assure it lasts allmost forever. Keeping good oil in them and keeping those valves adjusted properly are two important issues with the 427. I sure love mine!
Here are a couple videos below of mine running on the Cumberland River, which we do frequently, but not always this fast. Fishermen don't like being flipped onto the bank, and an oncoming speedboat is in real danger if they don't see our wake in time. We've seen them totally out of the water on numerous occasions, so we do have to watch our wake carefully on narrow sections where these videos were taken.
This video was taken a few years ago and it has received over 7,000 viewings, ha, and that's just nuts. It is an indication of the interest people have in these big blocks that won 101 NASCAR races in 1963, 1964, and 1965 against nine (9) for GM. I have a couple of small block Chevy motors too, and they're great motors. However, back when the big FE was dominating NASCAR, GM simply could not compete with their 348 and 409 based plank-head. As a result, GM developed their own 396, 427 and 454 motor design, and Ford is actually the reason for that motor line at GM.
Here is a video I took just a few weeks ago, this time sporting 4-blade props and trying out my newly rebuilt Carter AFB on the Starboard side. Running this fast sure sucks the gas, but it is fun now and then to blow out the cob-webs