New project. Give me your input.

[Dr Honda]

New project. ** Graphix Update 4-9-10**

Hi Guys,

OK... before this goes to far... this is about regular sitdown type water craft. The reason I'm posting here is because this is where I spend most of my time. (in the boat section) If Snipe would like to move it... please do.

Anyway... I'm the kind of guy who prefers a project. I like new things... but I like old stuff too. For example... the boat in my avatar was a beater that I restored last spring.

So... right now, I have the opportunity to buy 3 different watercraft for a spring time project. The first one is a 90 SeaDoo SI (rare) the second one is a 94 SPI, and the third is a Polaris SLT 750.

The 90 only needs some love. The 94 needs an engine. (I have a spare in the shop) and the Polaris is unknown. It runs, has compression, but is lacking power and is "Squealing" according to the owner.

all of them are dirt cheap. (around $200 each)


I know the 94 is kind of the last generation, and that the hull design handles well. But something keeps pulling my eye toward the 90. It's ugly, and square... but if I put my talents on a rebuild... will it be retro-cool when I'm done... or will it just be an old ski??

That's my real question.

I need to move on these soon (possibly tonight) otherwise someone else will buy them to part them out.

Realistically... for $800, and some paperwork, and can get all 3 and a single trailer, so I may just buy all of it, and resale them later when the weather gets better.

Give me your thoughts guys.

 

[Dr Honda]

Because I need to make a decision on this... I'm going to post it in the PWC section too.

Snipe... please delete this if you want.

 

[hitman782]

Well, i dont know if you are looking for help, or if you are looking for some moral support. All i can give is the later, if you think that you can rebuild these, and if you have the time and funds to, go for it. If you think you can flip them in the summer for profit, even better. That being said, i really dont know much about any of these ski's if you can afford it, grab all 3, fix them up, keep the one you like the most and sell the other two for more than you spent on all 3

 

[rookie101]

I'd take all three. I've been trying to find a project for the last couple of years to tinker with, but even non-running they all seem to want thousands of dollars for them up here.

Aaron:cheers:

 

[Dr Honda]

Hitman...

I don't know... help, suport... what ever. But your input is good. I am able to work on them, and rebuild them, so it's not an issue. I'm not really looking to do a rebuild, and resale, but I don't want 3 projects either, but since the price is right... I may just try to get all three. I'm not really a Polaris guy, but for $200, how do I pass on it??

Rokie...

I'm thinking of all 3. I'm thinking about getting all of them... evaluating them, and parting out what I don't want. Cheap skis come around once in a while, but most people want too much for an old, or non running ski. I talked to one guy who wanted $1000 for a 97 GTS that sat outside for a few years, and the engine was full of water. (nutz)


To All....

Anyway... I went to look at the 90 Si last night. It's not in bad shape. The engine started, but didn't stay running. I'm going to assume it's fuel related. It had good compression too (140 cold) so it's been rebuilt somewhere along it's life. The cables are free, and the pump is in good condition. I figure with a good rub-out of the gel, a new seat cover, and some new graphics... it will look good. I wold have taken it home with me last night, but the owner was waiting for the replacement title to come. (he showed me the registration as prof of ownership) If all goes well... I will be able to do the paperwork this weekend, and bring it home.

Here's a few pics.

And here's what I hope it will look like when I'm done. I won't match the graphics exactly... but I'll cut new ones. (like with my boat)

The other 2 skis are about a 2 hour drive from me... so I'm going to try to make some time here in the next few days to get out to see them. The other problem is... the owner of the 94 SPI and SLT works second shift, so I have to make time during the day to see them.

I'll keep you guys posted.

 

[cheappc]

wow go for it, the one you have in the picture, I know you can do a great job, look at your sportster..

 

[jeeperjohn]

Tony
I have appreciated all your advice. I have just joined recently but have been reading for quite some time. I am not familiar with the doos that you mention, but wanted to throw my two cents in here. We had a 92 kawasaki 2 seater that ran real good. The hull was a disaster. I ran across a 95 kawasaki that needed a engine. Long and short was a swap. both my wife and I can not believe the difference in the ride and handling between the two. It was only 3 model years but what a difference. There was some real strides made in hull design. Hope I'm not rambling here but may be you should consider hull design and year if you want a smoother ride. Again I am not familiar with the models that you mentioned so if this does not apply please disregard. And again thanks for the time you put into helping people on this board
John

 

[Dr Honda]

Jeeperjohn... Good points. I've never ridden the first gen SeaDoo's... and I don't how well they handle. I guess I shouldn't drop my spare 720 motor in it. :rofl: But I do know this... the old hull is almost 80 Lbs lighter than the mid to late 90s "XP/SP" style hulls, so it should be fast even with the stock 50hp 580 motor.

To all...

Since the other 2 skis were a 2.5 hour drive away... I wasn't able to jump on them fast enough, and they got sold. I hope to take delivery of the 90 Si this weekend.

 

[jeeperjohn]

You are right about the weight. In the Kawasaki's case the 750 SS motor in the 92 only had a single carb. The 95 had twins which we were able to use on our motor. So over all the ski is a little slower but the handling is so much improved plus the ride over chop that it is worth it. Anyway good luck on your project.
John

 

[Dr Honda]

Hi Guys,

OK... the guy finally got a replacement title, and we did the paperwork. Since it took so long... I was able to talk him down to $300. (he didn't want to loose the sale)

I'm happy to say, it's now sitting in my shop. :hurray:

So... over the last few days, I was thinking of a first gen SeaDoo with 85hp, and how fun that could be. (I have an extra 720 on the shelf) But, I checked compression today, and it's showing 142 psi on each jug !! The little engine in it seems to be just fine. I don't know if it's a very low hour engine, or if it's been rebuilt... but it looks like I'll be running this engine for at least one year.

Now... it will start, but it likes half choke, so the carb needs cleaned. It has the early round body BN38 on it... with the external fuel pump. I have a good SBN38 here in the shop... so I will probably swap that carb on to the ski, and get rid of the external pump.

Also... I found a few of the plastic trim parts to replace some of the faded parts... and I ordered a seat cover. I'm going to send out the handle bar cover to our buddy in FL, and he is going to make me a new one.

Well... if things keep going the right way... I'm going to have a restored, running ski for about $500 and a few hours of labor.

If you guys have any input on the new graphics... let me know. (they're free) I would like to keep the stock colors on this since the Si seems to be a rare ski. It looks like the made it for half a year, and only sold it in Canada.

 

[voodoo]

I have been a reader on and off for a few years, my daughters boyfriend had a polaris 3cyl 800? that needed loads of work and I did many so-called tricks like making all custon formed stainless lines with flex to the carb banjos, it ran great till it overheated and then I learned the ropes of the seadoo family, one less cyl means disaster is 400bux cheaper when buying stuff and the seadoo is stronger running all around. Anyway I was surprised to see the handlebar pad on for such an old machine, you did well and I am thinking this is gonna be one of those fairy tales come true, single carb means less tinkering with setup a few mph does not mean any less fun.

 

[voodoo]

And another look at the trailer, looks like it was washed and waxed between outings.

 

[Dr Honda]

And another look at the trailer, looks like it was washed and waxed between outings.

It's not in bad shape... and the galvanizing is holding up. The only real rust is the upright, but it unbolts, and can be painted.

Well... Things are going well with the project. I've swapped a Super BN38 for the standard BN with the external fuel pump. I also replaced the choke with a primer. Right now, it starts, and idles well, but we will see how close I am with the jetting once it's in the water.

I also took the pump apart, and the seals and bearings were still good, and I found a Solas impeller in it. It's not in perfect shape... but I can clean it up later. I also changed the driveshaft seals to make sure it wouldn't sink on it's first trip out.

Tomorrow is suppose to be 83 degrees, and we are suppose to break a record... so, what to do... go to my shop, or play hooky and throw the new ski in the water????? (I know what I need to do)

The stupid thing is... I'm actually looking forward to play with this OLD ski. I guess I got to a point in life where projects are cooler than just throwing $10k down, and buying a 70mph hot-rod.


I'll take a couple pics and post up tomorrow evening.

 

[Dr Honda]

Update....

Today I played hooky from my shop, and like I said above... we broke a record for a high temp. Right now, it's 82 degrees out. The average high for this time of the year is only 65. But, even though the air was nice an warm... the water was PAINFULLY cold. (probably around 40~45f )

Anyway... The trip to the water went very well. I backed the trailer into the water, and fired up the engine. Since I did a carb swap... I needed to adjust the idle, and tweak the low needle. Once I was satisfied, I took it off the trailer and proceeded to give it a little shake down. After a few minutes of idling around, I finally got on the throttle a little. It cleared out almost immediately, and ran smooth at full throttle. Also... even though the impeller wasn't in perfect shape... the little Si didn't show ANY cavatation.

I think my jetting is pretty close for doing a swap. I may give it a little tweak later... once I get it out when the water is warmer.

If anyone else has an old ski, and wants to swap on a SBN... (it gets rid of the external fuel pump) the jetting I'm using is:

130 main
67.5 pilot
1.5 needle @ 35 psi pop-off
1.25 low
.25 high

Tonight, I'll give it a good once over to make sure nothing went wrong... but right now, I'm happy with the way it runs.

Next week will start the clean up.

Here's a couple pics, and short vids of the day.

 

[cheappc]

Awesome... I love the way you put the videos up! thats great..


By the way that seadoo looks very fast...

 

[Dr Honda]

I was very happy with it. As far as speed... I bet it's getting into the low 40's. After I do the clean up on it... I'll take a GPS with me, and get it's real speed. It's not going to be the fastest, or best handling ski on the water... but from what I can see... the little hull is going to be a fun "get wet" play ski. I have a big Yamaha XL 3 person... and I can ride it all day and not get wet. (if I want) The first gen SeaDoo hull is a wet ride. When you start to turn... you get spray off the nose... and if you let go of the throttle... the water splashes you in the back.

 

[SeadooBOB Square Pants]

Dr. Honda if you enjoy this you should venture into stand-ups, those are fun.

 

[Dr Honda]

Dr. Honda if you enjoy this you should venture into stand-ups, those are fun.

Way ahead if you. I've been playing with stand-ups since the late 70's. I just sold a couple... but I still have a square nose Super Jet in the stable. (best bang for the buck) :hurray:

 

[Dr Honda]

****Update*****

Hi All,

Tonight I stripped off all the old, faded, cracked graphics, and buffed out the gel coat. It doesn't look as good as my boat did after buffing it... but it's dam good for a 20 year old ski that wasn't really taken care of.

I should have time to do the graphics on Wed.

Let me know what you think. :hurray:

 

[96seadooxpBC]

I love the looks of this thing, stripping the graphics and cleaning it up makes all the difference, my ski was pretty rough looking when i got it. i know what u mean about these old hulls, they get you soaked and theres no real way around it. What is one of these old ones like in comparison to the newer big hulls? as you mentioned you can stay dry all day.

keep up the good work, think that 720 would ever fit in there? maybe next year eh

 

[Dr Honda]

keep up the good work, think that 720 would ever fit in there?

Yes... the 720 engine will more or less, bolt right into the hull. The 587, 657, and the 720 engine are evolutions of each other, so most of the critical dimensions, and mounting locations stay the same. The electronics are even mostly compatible. The only down side is that the rev-limiter in the Si is set to 6500 RPM, and the red-line of the 720 is 7000 rpm's. So... to take advantage of the bigger engine... an aftermarket rev-limiter needs to be used.


As far as the ride difference between the new and old hulls... it's night and day. The old hulls are very light, and have good power for their size, but they don't handle as well as the new hulls. But... because of that, they are fun to play with. (spin, splash, fall off) The newer hulls go fast, but they are heavy. They are better suited for long distance riding.

Everyone's idea of "Better" is different, so it's just best to keep a few different skis in the garage so you can pick what you like that day. (that's why I'm doing a clean up on this old ski)

 

[Dr Honda]

***** Update ****


I got a little time to work on the graphics. I don't know if I like it or not... but until I can think of something else... this is it.

Let me know what you think. :cheers:

 

[Dr Honda]

Hi guys,


I know there isn't much of a following here... but I wanted to finish the thread.

Here she is... more or less done.

I cleaned up the pump, Rebuilt the driveshaft seal, swapped on a super BN38, put on a primer, replaced the old crusty grills, stripped the old graphics, buffed the gel, put on new graphics, put on a new seat cover, and got a handle bar cover made from our buddy at SeaDooupholstery.com. (very good prices) I even found a couple new old stock warning decals on ebay. (the dash instructions, and the roll over decals) The only thing I'm waiting for is a new starter button cap. The one on it is hard, but it's functional.

Let me know what you think.


Oh... I almost forgot. We have a grand total of $350 for this project. :hurray:

Last thing... if anyone bought a sheet of black Hydro-Turf, and has a few strips left over... and wants to sell it to me... Shoot me a PM. (for the foot wells.

 

[RFoster130]

Wow that thing looks great. You do great work. I know you have posted before and I need to searchm but how about the cliff notes on how you buff the gel coat out so good? My boat needs a good buffing.

 

[Dr Honda]

Wow that thing looks great. You do great work.

Thanks... I try. :cheers:

I know you have posted before and I need to searchm but how about the cliff notes on how you buff the gel coat out so good? My boat needs a good buffing.

I need to do a thread on how to add gauges to a Sportster... so I guess I can add this to my list of "How Too" threads. (there has always been questions on it)

Look for it this weekend.