VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

[VegasNordie]

Alsright guys i know i kinda dont fit in here, vs. everyone elses boats, but i figured i would share my new resto job on my new jet boat! I guess i like to mix it up a little bit around here, and figured you guys would enjoy something a little different! Also I am going to need some glassing advice

So here she is mod. V tunnel hull jet boat

alright so with all my time off, and no money i decided i could get started on this project! STRIP IT! and cleaned up the inside of the hull to see what i am working with

Dash is stripped! We'll get to the extensive work i am going to have to do in this area shortly

THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE CRAZY 8's See you later 8 Ball!!! My friend owns a race boat called crazy 8's so i gotta ditch this!

Ok Back to the dash, obviously there has been some "engineering" done here so here it goes

first pic is another stripped pic

second when you remove the helm should there really be a 5/8 piece of plywood coming off with it? I was shocked too!

Next is my box of parts so i have all the good stuff all in a box, the wiring harness is new and clean! it will be reused...just nordiefied! hey i like that!

 

[VegasNordie]

Re: VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

Back to the dash, notice something missing? Yeah me too!

The lack of wood! This lies my first quesion, what the hell am i going to do here? Im thinking im gonna make some really nice 1/4 or 3/8's play and put it back under there! It's crazy how much this dash flexes, guess im just used to a solid heavy *** boat...Also i am wondering what i should do with the old existing gauge holes? looks like they are about to fall out!!!!! i would like to relay up the dash and seal them off, and put all my gauges to the right with angled bezels!

Oh yeah this is what i did with the tack i removed from the dash, held in by 5200

chucked it across the yard! What a POS

And here is the boat mostly stripped, only things left are the tanks, and the pump held in by one bolt, i did this cause i dont want to get a huge pile of parts going, and keep it neater then when i redid the tahiti

 

[VegasNordie]

Re: VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

Here is a couple shots of the bottom! Looks good to me :thumbup:

Here lays yet another question? Previous Owner, a friend did a good job relaying up the pod after he shortened it, but the paint is already starting to look different then the rest of the boat, i am thinking of having it resprayed...is it easy to match black, or should i make a design and utilize red orange and yellow, you might not know, but i am anal on appearance!

 

[VegasNordie]

Re: VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

And this is the inside of the boat completely stripped and cleaned, man she looks good...all in all im excited about my new project

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

may be a bit much to ask but could we get a pic of the whole boat??

Looks like a cool project Vegas, can't wait to see how it turns out!!

 

[proshadetree]

Re: VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

Rock flat out a jet boat. I have an old sidewinder I have been meaning to get on. While not is the same class jets are so much fun. I would love to see the whole boat. It looks like she has suffered from some real substandard repairs. I cant wait to see you put it back to shining glory. Is that a berkley going in there ? Chevy or ford for power? Just cant wait for more.

 

[VegasNordie]

Re: VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

Well i cleaned it up, but ran out of daylight will shoot some daytime pics tomorrow for you guys of the complete hull! The boat will be powered by a jet obviously, and a similar design to the berkeley, but it is actually a dominator "a little better then a berk"...the motor is already complete as it is coming out of my other jet! The motor is not a joke it shovels out about 520 ponies, and moved my other jet well into the 70mph range with a deep V hull! There is definately some things to be worked out, but i am definatately not intimidated

 

[VegasNordie]

Re: VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

just so you guys know alot of the harware is being transfered from this boat

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

Why are you taking it off the white boat?

 

[proshadetree]

Re: VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

Hate to say this but sometimes you put more into a setup than it is worth on the market. It would be cheaper to use the good parts on a new project and then find stock parts or sell hull as a project hull.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

What are you thinking for top speed in the new hull?

 

[Cadwelder]

Re: VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

Why are you taking it off the white boat?

Agreed, I don't see a problem with this one? Does it have problems we don't know about?

 

[VegasNordie]

Re: VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

Frisco: There is no way i can sell the boat for what it cost me to build that motor, see with jet boats we seem to keep out power plants and kind of migrate out hulls! Seriously 10 minutes and my motor is out! What we normally do is leave the mounting set-ip and driveline with the boat for the next purchasing person, and what they normally do is put their motor in it and go...for instance the boat i am selling is powered by a big block chevy and all the mounting hardware is included with the purchase, so the next guy takes that mounting hardware, and bolts it onto his block, and he's off to the races! I got well over 6K into the new motor, and i couldn't ever dream of selling my boat for 6K....i guess it's just a jet boat thing!

Lipp: The motor should push the boat into about the mid 90's give or take a few mph, this is what the experts are telling me...i personally feel that she will run between 89-92 mph...this boat is scary light...there is no way you can step on the bow, and the gunnel area you can touch and move it well over an inch, dont be alarmed guys these boats were built that way!

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

Brings back memories of my teenage years, I must have changed 5 or 6 motors into faster hulls since my best friends dad figured we needed the knowledge and he needed another beer, but you know how it is when you have $10k-$20k+ into a motor the hull is cheap, I learned to water ski behind a 500CID blown motor running on Av gas, talk about a learning curve....

What are the hull Manufacturers?
I'm guessing the restore is an Eliminator and the soon to be old boat is a Cali Performance hull? Its been 20 years since I have been around hot boats so I am probably way off right?
Thanks for sharing your restore with us!

 

[VegasNordie]

Re: VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

Brings back memories of my teenage years, I must have changed 5 or 6 motors into faster hulls since my best friends dad figured we needed the knowledge and he needed another beer, but you know how it is when you have $10k-$20k+ into a motor the hull is cheap, I learned to water ski behind a 500CID blown motor running on Av gas, talk about a learning curve....

What are the hull Manufacturers?
I'm guessing the restore is an Eliminator and the soon to be old boat is a Cali Performance hull? Its been 20 years since I have been around hot boats so I am probably way off right?
Thanks for sharing your restore with us!

First and foremost that is an awesome story, secondly yeah you are WAY off lol, but you know your manufacturers very well! The white boat is a tahiti, but it was layed up by hardin marine that purchased the molds, they also used the name carribean, but the boats are identicle even gel coat schemes, boat was layed up in late 1983, and sold as a 1984...The new boat is a 1980 Southwind Tunnel, they have a nice historic value, Mine happens to be a t-deck which is something that southwind did very little of, because their t-deck top was designed for the 18' boat line...So my boat being a 19' they had to do some modifications to fit the bottom...

here's a little history on both boats, for one my tahiti was the brochure boat for that year

can't find the brochures on southwind right now but i will later...i love knowing the history on these old hot boats, granted it aint the best way to propel a boat...i just call myseld a hobbiest, and i love it

about the avgas...i gotta run the 100 octane, and this is the motor that will be in the new boat, and vids of it in the white boat "tahiti"...im not driving it, my friend that races these boats is...crank up your sound guys!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5_9m-t7nyk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiZXWaOdYLE&NR=1

 

[VegasNordie]

Re: VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

Agreed, I don't see a problem with this one? Does it have problems we don't know about?

This boat has zero issues, my only complaint is with the horsepower i am pushing it is getting unstable, and unsafe! this is why i stepped into a mod. v tunnel...it will be much safer yet faster, and what they call predictable

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

I love it, and the wife doesn't understand why I want to take the baffles out of my Captains call!! great stuff!! My buddies dad had an Eliminator pickle fork when I left AZ for Colorado in 1990, I think he had a Biesmeyer, and a Kachina then a Cali then the Eliminator, last time I saw it was about 10 years ago and hadn't been on the water in a couple years just sits in his garage under a cover, I wonder if he still has it.........man that would be another divorce!

 

[boatnut74]

Re: VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

I think those jet boats are pretty cool. Looking forward to seeing the boat take shape.

 

[VegasNordie]

Re: VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

Here's some full shots for you guys

 

[VegasNordie]

Re: VegasNordie's Not Everday Run of the Mill Resto

So today i sold the white tahiti, and now it's time to get rolling on this thing...im going to order some us composites stuff, and get started on the dash...also fathers day weekend i was down at the river, and blew up the motor in my white boat...my local speed shop is getting started on building me a 540c.i. big block chevy...were shooting for about 650 horses on pump gas.