Finally after 6 months and a ton of work my 1986 Thundercraft magnum 160 rebuild is finished and helping me catch fish and enjoy the waters of middle TN Yahoooo! I would have never been able to do it without iboats.com. This is my first ever restore...as a matter of fact I've never owned a boat this size only PWCs. I was on a super budget so Ebay,Craigslist and iboats.com along with internet searches helped me source quality cheap supplies and parts.
1) Complete deck and stringer rebuild. Replaced all foam. Transom thankfully was in good shape. I used 3-1/2 gallons of Epoxy.
2) Did all the upholstery myself except for the gray seats. Picked up a roll of marine vinyl dirt cheap and lucked out at Lowes when I picked up some UV resistant outdoor carpet. I Only needed a couple of yards but since their roll had 5 yrds left they gave it all to me for the price of 2yrds.
3) Installed all wiring from scratch. Only carry over electronics were switches,Aerator pump and NAV and ANCHOR lights. The ANCHOR light female socket had to be replaced. Also installed a 3 battery set up.
4) Bought the boat and trailer for less than 200 bucks. So I picked up a used motor and control box and found a good used external wiring harness because the one with the motor was trashed. Part of the reason I got the motor so cheap.
5) Replaced throttle and cold start cable along with new steering system.
6) New Fuel tank and fuel line internal and external.
7) Rebuilt both carbs on the motor. Replaced exhaust gasket. Replaced wiring in the motor I wasn't happy with or just plain needed it.
8) Modified the open bow from scratch to turn it into a fishing deck.
9) rebuilt the wheel hubs on the trailer and installed bearing buddies. Reworked the trailer wiring because it was all goofy and not working correctly. Did a little Rustoleum on the trailer and installed new tires and rims.
That is just a quick run down of the work I did. There was a ton of little things I had to do to get her in the water. I saved this boat from the city dump because it was in very bad shape. The windshield was off the boat when I purchased it and completely dismantled. I had to figure out how it all went back together. The surprise was all the pieces were there and the glass wasn't broken.
Update 5/10/10: Just ordered a Bimini top with royal blue sharkskin. I'LL add pics when its installed.
1) Complete deck and stringer rebuild. Replaced all foam. Transom thankfully was in good shape. I used 3-1/2 gallons of Epoxy.
2) Did all the upholstery myself except for the gray seats. Picked up a roll of marine vinyl dirt cheap and lucked out at Lowes when I picked up some UV resistant outdoor carpet. I Only needed a couple of yards but since their roll had 5 yrds left they gave it all to me for the price of 2yrds.
3) Installed all wiring from scratch. Only carry over electronics were switches,Aerator pump and NAV and ANCHOR lights. The ANCHOR light female socket had to be replaced. Also installed a 3 battery set up.
4) Bought the boat and trailer for less than 200 bucks. So I picked up a used motor and control box and found a good used external wiring harness because the one with the motor was trashed. Part of the reason I got the motor so cheap.
5) Replaced throttle and cold start cable along with new steering system.
6) New Fuel tank and fuel line internal and external.
7) Rebuilt both carbs on the motor. Replaced exhaust gasket. Replaced wiring in the motor I wasn't happy with or just plain needed it.
8) Modified the open bow from scratch to turn it into a fishing deck.
9) rebuilt the wheel hubs on the trailer and installed bearing buddies. Reworked the trailer wiring because it was all goofy and not working correctly. Did a little Rustoleum on the trailer and installed new tires and rims.
That is just a quick run down of the work I did. There was a ton of little things I had to do to get her in the water. I saved this boat from the city dump because it was in very bad shape. The windshield was off the boat when I purchased it and completely dismantled. I had to figure out how it all went back together. The surprise was all the pieces were there and the glass wasn't broken.
Update 5/10/10: Just ordered a Bimini top with royal blue sharkskin. I'LL add pics when its installed.
