RESTO 96 Sportster Project

[Rick Carroll]

What up guys, new to the forum here. Last summer I bought a single engine 96 sportster from my buddy for $2700. He had traded a nice 4 wheeler for it. Just after he sold me this boat he bought a 2010 speedster 215hp supercharged. They are both great boats. We ran them around the lake all last summer.

The 96 was not running when he bought it, but he was a mechanic at Acura in the past (he flips anything he can with an engine). He completely rebuilt the engine and the jet. We had many little projects to do on it to get it running the way we wanted, I think it had sat awhile before he got it. There were lots of little stupid parts to replace as most of you guys who take on these resto projects know. He had stripped some of the factory decals off and reupholstered it himself with vinyl sheets he had bought. He went with an orange/black color scheme. It looked pretty good but I wanted to go another route and the black gets hot as hell.

So far I have about $500 in it maybe a little less. I bought new upholstery from zz-autogroup and it is outstanding looking in the box. All stitched to size, has tabs for stapling, etc. Considering I bought it last summer in the middle of the summer I did not do much aesthetic work to it, as we just wanted to get it running nicely. We were successful.

I am a pretty big guy at 205 lbs and all my buddies are the same size or bigger. We do a lot of tubing and wakeboarding and such. This boat will definitely do the trick, but I think it has the original impeller. I have some cavitation and planing problems with 3 big guys in the boat or one big wakeboarder and others in the boat. I am getting ready to order a new solas impeller so I'm sure that will make a night and day difference based on what my buddy says, and everything I have been reading.

So far I have a pretty good list of things I want to get. The rub rails were teal originally and he painted them with black plastic paint. Obviously the first time we even touched the dock it came off. This is such a pain the ass to pay for considering it is just aesthetic and no function but I want it for my hearts content and for resale purposes someday. I found an insert for $100 but the whole kit is pricey. This is the best deal I could find for the whole rub-rail kit: http://ww.sailsmarine.com/ItemDetai...Kit_-_Black_w/Black_Insert_-_50'#.VItNzmTF_UZ
Haven't bought it yet but I plan to within the next two weeks.

Do they even have colored rails anywhere? I searched and searched and the taco metals kit I know only comes in black. I honestly would prefer white, I think it would look badass on this boat because it's so slick and low profile looking already. The black rails kinda break it up but they aren't terrible, better than teal. Red would be cool too.

I'm not in a huge rush on this stuff cause here in Kansas City we have cold for a while still. Fortunately my pops has a heated 3 car garage and only 1 car so I keep it over at his house. It will get down around 0 here on occasion.

This is my list of things to buy/get done in the off season.

PURCHASE LIST:
new impeller
new rub rail kit
automatic bilge pump
speedster hood with mirrors
red plastic spray paint

MOD LIST:
reupholster seats
install auto bilge
paint hood, oh shit handles, steering wheel, red
finish putting in hydro turf (he had bought a sheet, cut it himself, and only put it down in a few places)
get gas gauge in new hood workin
and on and on and on

I grew up on the lake, my grandpa had a boat and he passed when I was about 12 and my family did not go back much, but my friend's families were huge lake people so I was always so thankful to be invited on their trips. Having this boat is great. I always wanted to own one when I was growing up. The lake is the best place ever.

Anyways enough with the mushy stuff. Fortunately my buddy had put these badass 6.5 inch pioneers in along with a 2 channel amp before he sold it to me. These things ROCK. No need for a sub at all as much bass as they put out. High's sound real good too. It had a CD player though which sucked cause it would skip all the time. I found a head unit from walmart for $25. This thing has all the options, aux, sd slot, mp3 capability, etc. I only use the sd slot. I have a 32 GB SD in there full of music and just run it on shuffle.

I'm throwin' some pictures up of the process so far. It has been a lot of fun. Been awhile since I've had a project. By the way, I am from KC and I am die hard so the theme of the boat is going to be Chiefs haha. Already named her warpaint after the horse that runs around the field here during pregame. All the upholstery is red and white with yellow inserts in the seat bottoms in the back. Got a bunch of chiefs decals to put on it, going to have big arrowheads on the sides of the hull where the 'sportster' decal is currently.

I'm thankful for the forum, I've learned a ton in just a short amount of time. You guys are awesome.

 

[Rick Carroll]

UPDATE:

Got some more done this weekend. Between me and my girlfriends work holiday parties I didn't have a ton of time but I was able to make some progress. Got a good coat of red on the handles and fuel switch. I think I'm going to do the knobs for the lights and bilge and everything red as well. Also, got the top part of the seats finished and screwed back in. Just have to finish the bottom of the seats now then its on to stripping decals, finishing hydro turf, putting new decals on, installing rub rail, and on down the line.

I made a decision on the rub rail. My buddy had used plastic paint on it that came off as soon as I hit the dock, well the insert was the only part that had any paint rubbed off. The track part itself was not scuffed at all. I think I'm going to paint the track part red and install a black insert. This solution is about $250 cheaper and will save me many hours of labor since I don't have to install a new track, remove the old one by taking a drill bit to every single rivet, seal all the holes with marine sealant, etc.

Also bought a speedster hood with rearview mirrors and gauges that I found on ebay for $35. It has all the connections but I may not even hook the gauges up cause I'm going to use that little flat spot in front of them for my GPS (which has the speedo feature) and I already have a gas gauge in the steering column.

Happy about my progress so far. Going to be a fun winter finishing this guy.

 

[Rich_]

Looking good. I have to do the seats on my project and think I am going to order the kit from seadoouphulstery.com
I am also thinking of removing the grab handles and shooting some paint on them so they are not as faded.

 

[Rick Carroll]

Looking good. I have to do the seats on my project and think I am going to order the kit from seadoouphulstery.com
I am also thinking of removing the grab handles and shooting some paint on them so they are not as faded.

I have not looked into the quality of seadooupholstery.com I'm sure they are good. I can speak from experience though that zz-autogroup is great. http://www.zz-autogroup.com/node/55 Looks like for your boat they are a little more expensive but with seats you want to make sure they are done well. That boat will not be fun to reupholster. I know mine isn't fun and its way less pieces. It's extremely rewarding though after the fact and it improves the look of your boat like night and day. I soaked my grab handles in bleach and gave them a good cleaning before I shot the spray on them. I just used the same plastic spray paint I'm going to use for the hood piece and the knobs and such. I don't know if it will flake or rub off but if so those handles come off super easy and they could always be resprayed. I've seen handles on ebay too for like $15 for a set of two. Might go that route if they flake or rub off.

Also, if you like your factory color, I've read about guys on here hitting them modestly with a heat gun to revive them. Look into that technique. I've seen before and after pics and it definitely seems to work.

 

[Rich_]

I think I am going to blast them a little more with the pressure washer and then might try the heat gun. Anything has to look better than the nearly pink they have become.

 

[jhjesse]

Looking good Rick. What kind of staples did you use?

 

[Rick Carroll]

Looking good Rick. What kind of staples did you use?

What's up Jesse, I just used some stainless steel rust resistant staples I got from home depot. I was looking for galvanized but rust resistant will work.

 

[Rick Carroll]

Finished the bottom of the seats and got them screwed back in. Got two more coats of paint on the handles and got one out of two of them back on the boat. One of the handles still was kinda wet to the touch when I was leaving the garage. I don't know if the paint is gonna stick too well. If not, screw it, there's universal handles on ebay for $15 for a pair.

The bottom part of the seats are absolutely miserable to wrap, although I think if I had another run at it I'd be a lot better off with the experience. There is a technique to doing the bottom seat cause it's all one piece. If you are going to wrap your bottom seat for a 90's model sportster or speedster, and if you got your vinyl from zz-autogroup or seadoo upholstery, there are two seams with stitching in your vinyl. If you still have the oem foam you will notice lines in your foam as well, line up the lines in your foam with the seams in the vinyl and start with one or two staples on that seam in the front underneath, just to hold it in place. Pull it tight and towards the outside. Staple the sides as tight as you can then work your way around both the front and back. Only put a few placeholders in the back. Then tighten down the middle where the inserts go with a row of staples going from the back of the seat, to as far to the front as you can. Use the insert as a guide to start stapling outward until you staple down the radius of the insert. Don't go too far forward where you can see staples past the front of the insert. Then have fun with the screws that are in the underneath side.

I would give myself a 7 out of 10 on the seats. Maybe a 6 based on how I think I could do another time around. Oh well, still think it looks pretty darn good, and once the rails are done, the hydro turf is in, new speedster hood on with gps and mirrors is in, steering column painted, steering wheel painted, Chiefs logos on it, it will be real solid. Making progress.

 

[Rick Carroll]

#goals.

 

[jhjesse]

Awesome job on the upholstery. I heard that monel staples were what to use, but I can't find them anywhere.
Thanks for the info.

 

[Rich_]

Any good marine store has monel staples. If boat is to be anywhere near salt water I think monel is a must. These two places are very close to me but the second one is wholesale only.
http://www.marineengineparts.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=monel
http://www.lewismarine.com/show_catalogpage.php?Book=Base&Year=2014&Page=379

 

[Rick Carroll]

Awesome job on the upholstery. I heard that monel staples were what to use, but I can't find them anywhere.
Thanks for the info.

Ya, being in Kansas City I'm a long ass way from any salt water. We have a massive selection of lakes though. I have a private lake 45 min from me that I spent a lot of time at last summer. I have two friends that have lake houses there. I think I'm going to break down and invest in a lot and a camper. Second tier lots go for $100 and I can get a craigslist camper for $1500 with ac/stovetop/sleeps 7/ fridge, etc. Think that's the route I'm going to go.

Also gonna get registered this summer so I can go to any public lake. Lots of people here go to the Ozarks but if you ask anyone here about it it's pretty overrated. Lots of really rich snobby people in multi million dollar boats and lake houses. No room for fun lake activities and floating.

 

[Rick Carroll]

UPDATE:

Got a little more done. Slowly coming along. Painting some stuff, and taking off decals now. These decals are terrible. Literally caked on from 20 years of sun. Have to use the heat gun (don't get too close or leave on one spot too long) and a razor blade to get the stickers off, after that you'll have a line of sticky around the edges or worse, this comes off easy with a rag and some adhesive remover.

Waiting on my new 3 gauge hood with mirrors to come in, painting that and getting it on is going to set the boat off. I got a little preview of how it will look because I painted the little oval pieces that cover the access to the steering column. Waiting for one cup holder to come in cause one flew out on the highway when I was taking the boat home from the lake. Getting closer one step at a time. Gotta order a new rub rail insert and get it in. Also gotta use a big cardboard box and cut out templates to finish installing hydro turf.

After that is going to be installing automatic bilge and getting the new solas impeller in. Pops got it for me for xmas.

Going to be ready by summer.

 

[Rick Carroll]

UPDATE:

Finally had a whole day to work on boat. 10 hours got put in on Saturday and it was very productive. Finished removing all the decals off the boat. I have great ones just ready to be put on but I'm going to wait until I polish the hull to put the decals on, and then wax. The speedster style hood came in the mail. This thing is perfect. Faded some, so all I had to do was clean it up a bit before I started painting. The paint took to it great. I feel like I should email the person on ebay that parted it to me so he knows it went to a good home. I built a GPS holder out of a black 'L' bracket for my Tom Tom. Both the bracket and the GPS, or just the GPS can be taken off at any time, although I think I never will until winter because I'm going to run a power source through the hood next to one of the gauges. It will be nice to have my location all times (especially when I'm at the ozarks) as well as the digital speedo.

Got the scoop, the hood, the steering column, and the steering wheel painted. Prepped everything nicely and I couldn't be happier with the finished product. The paint and primer is outstanding. Perfect stick and gloss, exact color I wanted. I'm attaching a pic of it for reference because I don't think I could have made a better choice for paint/primer, if you wanted to redo the plastic parts. Personally, I wish there were more 90's model seadoo boats that aren't the 90's color scheme. The lines on this boat are so legit, upgrading colors is expensive, but worth it.

All this work finally starting to pay off. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Here is a list of things I have left to do before spring.

-Finish taking decals off the trailer and clean it and install new decals
-Order and install rub rail insert (black)
-Paint rub rail track piece red
-Install new impeller
-Make templates and cut out and install remaining hydro turf
-Install automatic bilge pump
-Polish and bring gloss back
-Put new decals on
-Wax

I'm sure there are other things I am forgetting but the list is a heck of a lot smaller now than it was. Ready to get this thing finished and in time for spring. Ready to take that first shot of it out on the water.

 

[Rick Carroll]

More Pics:

 

[DAGRE147]

That red looks great man! A couple of guys that have done similar work on the site swear by krylon fusion spray paint but your stuff looks like it has done the trick quite nicely.

I have a 96 Challenger I have to eventually reupholster and I am dreading it.... not my favorite thing to do

A tip if you ever get tired of the yellow bottom seat, SEM makes a marine grade vinyl spray paint that you can spray on vinyl and that stuff is tough as nails. Just be wary of sunscreen on it, chemical reaction will fade the paint

Keep the updates coming, she's looking sharp

 

[Rick Carroll]

That red looks great man! A couple of guys that have done similar work on the site swear by krylon fusion spray paint but your stuff looks like it has done the trick quite nicely.

I have a 96 Challenger I have to eventually reupholster and I am dreading it.... not my favorite thing to do

A tip if you ever get tired of the yellow bottom seat, SEM makes a marine grade vinyl spray paint that you can spray on vinyl and that stuff is tough as nails. Just be wary of sunscreen on it, chemical reaction will fade the paint

Keep the updates coming, she's looking sharp

Ya I have used krylon fusion before as well and it's awesome stuff. I just opted for the paint and primer combo and I also wanted that gloss. That color seemed to match my vinyl the best out of all the options too. I've heard of the vinyl paint, I actually chose the yellow for the seats. Sticking to my Kansas City Chiefs theme. It will make more sense once the rails and the decals are on. Had to get the yellow in somewhere I thought that was the best spot for it. and ya, have fun with reupholstering the challenger. That's a lot of pieces. It is well worth it though, especially doing it in the winter when you don't use the boat anyways.

 

[DAGRE147]

Oh OK gotcha gotcha! Good stuff brother

 

[Rick Carroll]

Well, it's been a couple weeks since I updated. Was a crazy christmas and has been a crazy new year thus far. Got my rub rail insert in the mail in the ol' taco metals pizza box. Going to install this week hopefully, maybe even tonight. Also, been hunting for a hard sided camper for my lake lot. Specifically looking for something big with an awning that I can gut and redo everything. Found this beast on craigslist. I'd love for it to be the one if we can come to an agreement and if I can find a truck big enough to go get it.

 

[Rick Carroll]

Got my rub rails done finally. Wasn't that tough at all to install the insert. Just wrap them around the boat and make sure the exact middle of the rail is lined up at the front of the hull. Slide the bottom of the rail into place first and use a putty knife or wide flathead to push the top part into the track. Cut with gardening shears when you get to the end and screw the cap back on. If you want a black rail solution for $80 buy the insert and paint the track. The insert sticks out the furthest and most often touches docks and other boats, none of the paint had rubbed off the track on my boat at all and I rubbed against the dock all the time last summer. Definitely improves the look over the scuffed black/teal rails. Contemplating taping the insert and painting the track red, might just leave it all black though. Ordering custom decals tomorrow as well as installing the rest of the hydro turf. Really close to being done. After tomorrow still have to polish, put on new decals, wax, and install new impeller.

 

[Rick Carroll]

Finished the hydro turf and installed the tom tom navigation into place. Still have to run a cigarette lighter style power box through the hull from the battery. I'll use this to power the nav so it is plugged up at all times. The L bracket I used to hold the nav is perfect. Fitment is great. I used this marine grade velcro stuff I found at home depot. You can take the gps off the L bracket, or both the gps and the L bracket off. Will be nice to know where I'm at at all times on big lakes as well as having that digital speedo.

I hand cut this hydro turf myself, my buddy who sold me the boat had bought a sheet and started it but never finished. It's a ton cheaper to go that route rather than buying the precut stuff, but more labor hours obviously. I went and picked up the rest of it from him the other day and made templates out of cardboard. I used a can of beans to create the radius on the edges. Worked really well haha. Got marine grade adhesive specifically for fiberglass, the builders next door were kind enough to let me borrow some of the landscaping bricks to weigh down the mats. Bottle says it takes a week to cure. Good thing it's winter.

Just have to polish the hull, put on decals, and wax. Gotta install that impeller too and I'm going to make custom decals for the trailer. Definitely going to be ready for summer. Getting myself a nice big camper too next weekend for my lake lot. It is completely gutted so theres another big project. Summer couldn't come fast enough.

 

[Rick Carroll]

More pics:

 

[Rick Carroll]

Cleaned the entire hull tonight and the trailer with CLR. Boat is all ready for polishing. Took the blocks off of the hydro turf. It cured nicely and did not come up in any of the corners. Got the hydro turf cleaned up as well. These are probably the last set of picture's I'll take before the polishing, addition of decals, and final touches. Currently designing the custom trailer decals and boat decals. Just picked up a new tow vehicle and a camper those will be my next projects. I am going to have power on my lake lot. Cannot wait to fix that camper up. It is gutted on the inside, the PO had converted it to a toy hauler. It is exactly what I wanted. Got both the truck and the camper for good prices. Here's likely the last pics I'll have until it is completely finished. (minus the new impeller which is not aesthetic)

 

[Rick Carroll]

Camper and truck pics:

 

[shuka]

View attachment 29041

#goals.

The guy who has that boat rocks lol
I have change the vinyl white to black this winter and paint my front hood black
But you have done a great job the front hood looks great i found it hard to get it like i want it