RESTO 97 Speedster cold, long winter resto project

[MLars]

Hi guys, as many of you know (with me constantly pestering you with lots of questions) I just recently picked up my second Seadoo!! I had been looking at this one for quite a while, and saw it in person multiple times too. This was a friend's boat that had been sitting in his yard since 2008. The owner before him ran it in salt water at the Cape but meticulously took care of it. I really should have gotten it about a month and a half before I actually did, but I had lots of problems with getting the old rusted wheels off. With all new hubs, bearings, and wheels touching the ground I took it home. The trailer still needs lots of work (bunk brackets and winch are rusted out) and only one of the engines runs consistently (port engine stuttered and died after 2 seconds). Compression checks out with 150 across all 4 pistons, so I'm thinking it's just the 6 year old gas in it now. Anyways here are some pictures:

First night home:


After a bath:


Decided to take the pumps off and paint them:




Finished:


Drained out all the old oil:


Gotta stay organized!


Bought some Krylon plastic paint for the hood:


Tried it on the steering wheel cover first:


Not a good match but not terrible either:


Then did the hood cover:


Also just recently got my Thomas and Betts zip ties and fuel and oil filters in. I plan on draining the 6 year old gas next weekend and replacing all the filters. Gonna run xps full synthetic in it since that's what my ski uses, so I have plenty of it. Thanks for reading and I plan on updating throughout the winter!

 

[stevenf]

Looking good! Im restoring a 97 challenger this winter. Are you doing upholstery?

 

[MLars]

Looking good! Im restoring a 97 challenger this winter. Are you doing upholstery?

Thanks! I'm not going to reupholster it because it's all in great shape (no brittle pieces or cracking) but some of it is sun faded. What I plan to do is buy dupli color or sem vinyl spray paint and paint the front back rest and spotter back rest in the spring. It's seems everyone has rave reviews about those products as long as you prepare the vinyl properly.

 

[stevenf]

Agreed! Duplicolor vinyl paint from autozone is what i have used on boat and jetski seats. Takes atleast 1-2 years before it starts to wear off from rubbing but has never cracked or flaked on me and is super easy to touch up! Great stuff!
What are your plans for it?

 

[MLars]

So far I have to get the port engine running consistently (only sputters). Probably gonna do cosmetic stuff till spring because it was a pain to get in my garage and will be a pain to get it out just to check if the other engine runs. I'm sure I'll get it going, they both have perfect compression. Planning on doing all filters and draining old fuel this weekend.

 

[MLars]

Just got the u bolts for my bunk brackets in from overtons. They are 3 1/8" wide and fit perfectly. Now all I need is the bunks, carpet, and some wood screws. Planning on fixing the trailer two weekends from tomorrow.

 

[neil.corrigan12]

It's looking really great. You've done a nice job with modifying some of its parts. I think sem vinyl spray paint is preferable for the front back rest and spotter back rest.

 

[MLars]

Thanks Neil! Yes I think I will go with sem, even if it costs a little more. I want something that will last and look decent.

 

[MLars]

Quick update, got my new ebay cupholders into replace the cracked sunfaded ones!


Here's the link if anyone needs new ones: http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Two-tie...Parts_Accessories&hash=item3cd3ce695d&vxp=mtr

 

[MLars]

The trailer came out this morning with the help of my dad, dad's co-worker (brought all stands), and my grandfather:




Currently sitting on three stands in the rear and two in the middle. Also literally ripped and hammered the old rusted brackets off.



I have new everything except bunks, so I'm going to order carpet from Overton's tonight and get some pressure treated plywood and stainless staples from Lowe's next weekend. My goal is to have the boat back on the trailer before December. Also the bunks are 8ft x 4in x 2in if anyone was wondering.

 

[MLars]

**UPDATE 12/1/14**
My trailer parts were delayed due to last weeks storm in New England. Just got them a couple of days ago. Also picked up a nail gun and built myself some new bunks. Also got off the old winch and put on the new (no pics of new installed yet).

Old winch off:


Carpet and winch:


Nail gun and new winch:


Laying the carpet down:


Finished!


Now all I have to do is put the bunks/brackets on the trailer and slide it back under the boat. Hope to do that in the next week or so.

 

[Spimothy Leary]

looks like a fun project, keep us posted with updates !!

curious how easy/hard it was to slip it onto the stands....

 

[MLars]

looks like a fun project, keep us posted with updates !!

curious how easy/hard it was to slip it onto the stands....

Thanks Spim! Will do. The next potential problem is how to attach the bunks to the brackets. Too late to countersink bolts and put them through since I already wrapped them. I think I'm gonna just go with some lag bolts. People on other boat forums say they have held up fine.

Getting the boat off was super simple. You just need a lot of time and patience. Make sure you have at least 2 jacks and 4 stands. I jacked the back up from the bottom and put the 2 on the sides for lateral support. Then put a jack stand right at the bottom where I originally jacked it up. By now you should have 3 stands in the back. Use the jack to lift the front up until the boat is off the trailer. Slide the trailer up to right before the axle hits the jack. Put a jack stand behind the axle and remove the jack in front of it. Repeat for the rear crossmember. Then you can just pull the trailer right out!

 

[MLars]

*UPDATE 12/8/14*
Yesterday I got all the hardware I needed and mounted one of the bunks to the brackets. Now I'm just in the process of adjusting it and putting the other one on. Then I should be able to just slide it back under the boat and be done with it. If it's not too much trouble, does anyone with a 14.5' think they could measure the distance between the bottom of the bunk board and top of the cross member? That would make adjustment so much easier if I knew how high I have to set the brackets before cranking them down.

 

[MLars]

Bump for another question. Does anyone think they could measure the distance between the top of one of the cross members and the bottom of the bunk, as shown below (in red)? Also a picture of the brackets loosely installed.

 

[MLars]

Boat is back on the trailer! I adjusted the brackets 4 "bumps" up (anyone who has seen the newer style brackets will know what I mean) and it fits on the trailer perfectly
.

 

[MLars]

UPDATE 4/19/15:
Got a lot done today. Removed the carbs from both motors and having them sent to Waterluvr to be rebuilt. While being rebuilt I will be replacing some fuel lines, all oil injection lines, and most likely the LH throttle cable. If anyone had seen my other post about the throttle and oil lines sticking, I got the oil line unstuck (just moved it around for a bit) and the throttle cable was kinking (not the actual spring on the carb).

Also quick question, is that one grey fuel line (pic 3) necessary to replace?

Here are some pics for anyone interested in doing this themselves:

 

[Waterluvr]

That's the impulse line Matt, (grey line pic #3) it doesn't handle any fuel directly but needs to be looked at for any splits or leaks. It prefers the intended 6mm ID line, that particular barb connection is aluminum and while 1/4" lD hose works just fine for the rest of the fuel applications to the brass barbs you don't want to get heavy handed drawing the clamp down to seal that one.

That connection nets me several calls and emails every year from people that broke it while reinstalling it looking for a new pump cover. The 6mm ID seals itself just fine on that aluminum barb and I use a fuel tie on those after installation.

 

[MLars]

Great thanks Bob. I'll give you a call tomorrow about sending the carbs out.

 

[Waterluvr]

Great thanks Bob. I'll give you a call tomorrow about sending the carbs out.

Good work, you've gotten that a long ways already from where it started these resto threads are invaluable to people trying to save one of these I took a few minutes and read through all of this thread so far.

I'll be in the belly of the beast doing some refrigeration system upgrades on commercial shipping most of this week but I'll call you back when I get topsides if I miss you.

 

[MLars]

All the goodies from Overton's and McMaster came in today! Gonna be working on painting the worn backrests, hood, and replacing the oil lines while the carbs are out being rebuilt by Waterluvr.

 

[clmboating]

Looks very nice, keep us posted!

 

[nickj718]

Nice work! Glad to see your taking your time and doing it right.

Just a little tip I learned from doing so many seats if you wipe it with some acetone it will renew the seats and take that fading away. Just tape off the fiberglass because you will take a little color off. Iv done it always had the seats turn new and never damaged the vinyl

 

[MLars]

Thanks guys! And thanks for the tip Nick, I may have to try that out.

 

[MLars]

UPDATE 4/25/15:
First of all shoutout to Waterluvr for the extremely fast turnaround time on the carbs (he finished them the same day he got them). Great person to deal with if you need carb work done, cannot recommend him enough. He found some very discrete things that would have made this resto a nightmare if I hadn't had him rebuild them.

So today I finished all the oil injection lines and oil filters. If I were to do it over again I would have gotten a smaller sized pack of zipties along with the normal sized ones. The normal sized ones were tough to get tight on the 3/32ID line, but I think I got them snug enough (couldn't pull line off). Will bleed tomorrow and probably paint the seats too. When bleeding should I do both engines at the same time or just one?