1976 Sea Ray SRV 180 Restoration

[PX4855]

I bought a 1976 SRV 180 back in August of 2011. It was in pretty rough shape. I finished out the summer enjoying the boat with the intentions of fixing it up over the fall/winter/spring seasons. I figured I'd start this page to add some SRV Q&A's for anything I can't find elsewhere and provide a bunch of photos to those that may be interested. So here it goes...

This is one of the first times I took it to the lake.. it got some attention from the outside, but everyone agreed that it needed some work on the inside..


As you can see from the photo below, the interior had seen better days. This engine is the 165/4.1L straight 6 motor. I believe ti to be a newer motor as there are no serial numbers to this motor that I can locate.


I replaced the old emblems with new

 

[PX4855]

Re: 1976 Sea Ray SRV 180 Restoration

I also recruited the neighbor to help me remove the old interior and it went suprisingly smooth.

 

[PX4855]

Re: 1976 Sea Ray SRV 180 Restoration

I started off building the new side panels. I drew templates in CAD software and they came out lookng awesome.

 

[PX4855]

Re: 1976 Sea Ray SRV 180 Restoration

Instaleld some carpet and the seats...

 

[PX4855]

Re: 1976 Sea Ray SRV 180 Restoration

rebuilt the dog house and put some cup holders in it..

 

[PX4855]

Re: 1976 Sea Ray SRV 180 Restoration

New Seats and newer gages..

 

[PX4855]

Re: 1976 Sea Ray SRV 180 Restoration

Next step is to remove all the wood and refinish it. The wife tells me I need to replace the ladder with something to make it easier to climb in with. I was thinking of getting a telescoping ladder off ebay and was wondering if anyone had any opinions on them. No pics of the swim platform yet, but ti is a full width platform. It needs some work as there is a crack in the wood. I'll try to post some photos of that over the next day or so.

 

[ORTLEY MIKE]

Re: 1976 Sea Ray SRV 180 Restoration

Nice Sea Ray. I grew up on a very similar Sea Ray, a custom 1976 Srv 190 with a 233 hp mercruiser. They are fun fast boats. My grandfather bought the boat in 1976 and sold it in 1995 so I spent my early boating years on that boat down at the jersey shore. 2 weeks ago I was looking on craigslist and found our exact boat, I know it was ours because the name was still on the back of it. I contacted the current owner and he said he blew the motor and when he bought it that the previous owner was starting to redo interior. I've been debating if I should buy it and restore it to how it was when I was a kid.

http://cnj.craigslist.org/boa/2979166776.html

 

[newguy75]

Re: 1976 Sea Ray SRV 180 Restoration

It was good to see a nicer version of my boat. I just bought a 1976 SRV 180 outboard and love it. It has a 85HP evinrude (1976) and I plan on restoring it. Could you please tell me the approximate cost of restoring your boat? What you have done is exactly what im considering instead of just getting rid of it next year. Also I would be curious in the ammount of time as in hours or days it took. Again thank you for the pics and hope it ends up as nice as yours.

 

[mrdjflores]

Re: 1976 Sea Ray SRV 180 Restoration

welcome to the sea ray club....i've been restoring a 73 SRV220 OV

 

[PX4855]

Re: 1976 Sea Ray SRV 180 Restoration

Well, the Carpet ended up running me around $100 to lay down, plus a fiberglass kit to repair some of the floor. The seats ran about $600 through ********. The side panels ran me around $100 in materials. I had enough vinyl left over to do the engine cover, but needed foam, so I think the price of the engine cover came in around $75. I did most of this over the fall and spring just here and there.. hours invested... probably 30-40 hours for me... I don't consider myself a pro at all.. lol.. I just dropped a new steering wheel in it, and had the gimbal replaced and out drive rebuilt. I also took the points out and put an electronic ignition in it from Pertronix.

 

[PX4855]

Re: 1976 Sea Ray SRV 180 Restoration

Thanks mrdjflores! Going to check out your threads!

 

[PX4855]

Re: 1976 Sea Ray SRV 180 Restoration

Just put this Pertronix electronic ignition in last week.. Super easy to install!

 

[Commandernutz]

VERY NICE JOB ! Thanks for posting al of it ... it’s gonna be useful for me doing mine with a 120 4 cylinder with my son.
And its 2019 so your work lives on !