No spark with my 1988 Supra Mariah with 351 Windsor 164 hrs. since new

[hotgrips]

10029I have had this very pretty 21' Supra Mariah with 351 Ford Windsor engine since 1989 but stored it back in 1993, covered in a field until this weekend (yes, 19 years). It has 164 original hours on it since new, and I had bought it when it was one year old. I had changed the oil and filter, drained the carb, marine oil fogger in the engine cylinders, plastic wrapped the air intake wire mesh, and put a robust vinyl cover I had sewn myself on it. I just forgot about it until a few days ago my wife was up for a challenge and asked if we could pull the Supra out and see what it needed. To our surprise, the cover had done a great job, and we only found minimal evidence of mice that had decided to enter by the rear drain hole (MY BAD- SHOULD HAVE PUT A SCREEN THERE). There were a few mud-wasp nests long since abandoned, and 3 of 4 tires held air although had cracked sidewalls. We pressure washed the thick green moss off the carpets without a problem, and a little mild white compounding brought the 1988 green sides back to new appearance. The upholstery was flawless. The engine crankshaft front nut was turned confirming the engine wasn't seized. But when we tried to crank over the starter, we found the starter solenoid had rusted and wouldn't budge. An hour later we disassembled the starter and greased it with waterproof grease, and re-installed it. The dash was totally dead, so we bypassed the starter relay and the engine cranked over fine. Unfortunately no spark. I assumed it was the dash problem, so got into that and discovered a failed "Kill switch" just beside the ignition key switch. I swapped it for the good cig. lighter switch since the switches were identical throughout the dash, and the dash came to light. The blowers were noisy, so we "serviced them" with some spray lubrication" and they quieted down to normal. We used a Harbor Freight inspection camera with a 38" flexible wand on it to inspect areas where we couldn't otherwise see, and found nothing to be concerned about. The wood backing of the playpen front upholstery was rotten, as was the wood piece where the engine cover hinges were located. And the floor around the area of the central ski post was soft, so we have to look at replacing some wood floor in that area alone. The ski storage sun deck upholstery seems like it must have bad wood inside it, as it is heavy, and a little droopy when opened and sitting "in the front position" unsupported by the ski storage tray edges. Question: Is HomDepo pressure treated lumber acceptable for this kind of minor restoration work?

Some of the double-male 1/4" spade blade connectors behind the dash were brittle with age, and some snapped as I explored the area for a problem. So I am uncertain if my wiring is not perfect and perhaps responsible for the "no engine spark" condition. Otherwise all lights work, while cranking the engine the oil pressure builds to 45 psi. Everything seems normal except for no spark. Can someone go over with me the definitive test on checking for a bad ignition coil? I have checked the ceramic resistor in the rear of the engine, which measures just under 2 ohms when I disconnect one of it's wires, I assume to lower the voltage to the coil to keep it running cooler. I replaced the starter relay with an automotive one, but realize I am going to have to get a PCM marine relay so it works like the original one did, with only one of the two relay smaller bolt studs connected. I had to connect the second relay smaller stud to ground to get the starter to function. Is that possibly the cause of my no-spark condition? I tried to run a jumper wire from the first smaller starter relay terminal that comes from the neutral safety switch over to the positive terminal (red wire) of the ignition coil, but when I did that, and turned on the ignition key, the starter immediately turned over the engine and wouldn't turn off when the key was shut off, so I hit the "kill switch" beside the key to stop it. I do understand that this is not a PCM OEM marine-rated starter relay, and have no problem buying a PCM relay if needed. But my OEM relay was a constant "closed circuit" between the two larger terminals, so it was junk.

I tested the coil as best I could, turning on the key, and using a test light at the positive and negative smaller terminals on the coil front. Both are energized. We get about 2 ohms between the smaller terminals and the center output of the coil. But when we remove the coil wire up out of the distributor and have it just 1/4" above the distributor center hole and crank over the engine, there is no spark. The coil to distributor wire ohms out ok near zero ohms. Distributor points gap is set to .018" as we found it at about .028" gap and I do not know how to check for a bad condenser. Since the boat ran fine before we parked it, I assume the distributor timing is close to acceptable, so didn't touch that.

I realize the neutral safety switch isn't a factor since the starter operates normally. Are there any other things I should test? Thanks in advance for any suggestions on bringing this potential beauty back to life.

[lively]

Purple wire going to coil should have 12 v on run.. once u have that pull the cap and take some fine sand paper and clean a new
face on the contacts (points) ... then reinstall and check again. . Most of the time its just the points that are out of wack
u can turn motor over and watch the points make and break contacts and should arc a little .. good luck and put some pics up

[michael hunter]

After reading your story I feel a little sick what a waste? Anyway take your test light and probe the negative side of the coil [distributor side]connect the other side of the test light to ground. Crank the engine and watch the light it should flash on and off with every opening of the points. If it doesn't you have a primary problem [points,condenser,wiring] you could sand the point contacts for test purposes but they need to be replaced after 9 years . If the condenser is shorted out it can cause no spark disconnect it and see if you get spark . You can run without a condenser but the points will burn up quickly. If your test light is flashing check out the distributor cap,rotor .spark plug wires and coil.

If it was my boat I would go to skidim.com [they carry PCM brand parts] and order points,condenser ,plugs, cap,rotor,and spark plug wires. Also get a starter relay and while you are at it you might as well get a carb kit it most likely needs it.

[hotgrips]

After reading your story I feel a little sick what a waste? Anyway take your test light and probe the negative side of the coil [distributor side]connect the other side of the test light to ground. Crank the engine and watch the light it should flash on and off with every opening of the points. If it doesn't you have a primary problem [points,condenser,wiring] you could sand the point contacts for test purposes but they need to be replaced after 9 years . If the condenser is shorted out it can cause no spark disconnect it and see if you get spark . You can run without a condenser but the points will burn up quickly. If your test light is flashing check out the distributor cap,rotor .spark plug wires and coil.

If it was my boat I would go to skidim.com [they carry PCM brand parts] and order points,condenser ,plugs, cap,rotor,and spark plug wires. Also get a starter relay and while you are at it you might as well get a carb kit it most likely needs it.

Thanks for suggesting skidim.com... I ordered it all for under $200. and located a 322 page PCM service manual online in .PDF so was able to confirm my ignition coil was to specs with 1.6 ohms between the two smaller terminals and 8000 ohms resistance between the center and smaller terminal.

I read about marine rated wood and where it is appropriate and inappropriate to use pressure treated wood. I am just going to use it on the front (playpen area) seat upholstery as a base, under the sundeck upholstery above the ski storage bin above the gas tank. And at the engine cover hinge wood location. I still have to investigate why the floor around the black center ski rope post ahead of the engine cover is flexing. Did the Supra factory use rot-able wood for flooring back in 1987 build era?

Has any one used composite polymer wood on the Supra as an alternative to pressure treated or marine rated lumber? It's very expensive, but seems like it would be less likely to rot from moisture exposure than either. I'm on to the 12% moisture content rule on the wood, and had some pressure treated lumber that has been kicking around stored indoors for several years, and it checks out at 11% moisture content with my lumber meter. (I used to have a log skidder and a woodmizer portable sawmill so happen to have the ability to measure the moisture content with a Ligno-Meter.

[hotgrips]

I didn't forget I had it, it is one of those things that with my own home business that things got very busy for a few years and priorities in my life changed from having fun to satisfying customer orders and customer service. Business has slowed down over the years with competition from China and we have free time on our hands again. So we can have the luxury of slowly and methodically fixing non-business things that have been long neglected. This morning I was able to spend the time to remove the plastic windshield brace mounts and duplicate a broken one in aluminum on my vertical milling machine. I didn't even consider that it was probably a $5. part, I just saw the opportunity to casually fabricate something without watching the clock and followed thru. Rebuilding the upholstery with the rotten original wood is going to be a similar satisfying project. There were just two stainless steel 1/4-20 nuts and washers holding the playpen front seatbacks in place, accessible when the teak wood is removed next to the hoisting ring.

[hotgrips]

Purple wire going to coil should have 12 v on run.. once u have that pull the cap and take some fine sand paper and clean a new
face on the contacts (points) ... then reinstall and check again. . Most of the time its just the points that are out of wack
u can turn motor over and watch the points make and break contacts and should arc a little .. good luck and put some pics up

Here are some photos of the condition of the boat after uncovering it and dragging it out of the field after 19 years.1003810039100401004110042

[lively]

Here are some photos of the condition of the boat after uncovering it and dragging it out of the field after 19 years.1003810039100401004110042hey take some pica of your motor . Id like to see the condition of the seliniod.

[michael hunter]

I do work for Cover Girl Marine Upholstery here in Georgia . I repair or replace any wood that is damaged or rotten. If you are going to use wood I recommend marine plywood or MDO sign board .The MDO is a little cheaper and uses the same construction and glue as marine plywood. Both will need to be treated to prevent rot. For the best results I would go with Starboard or PVC plastic it never rots but is more money up front. When I do my 89 I will use the Starboard for anything that you can stand on and the PVC for seat backs and side pads.

[sybrmike]

FWIW - I used PT plywood, 2x2, & 2x4 for all my seat bases, bottoms, backs, etc. in my new interior. I also coated every piece with two coats of CPES (except for the amp rack & driver seat bottom which got a single coat of poly resin since I ran out of CPES). I'll let you know in another 20 years how it holds up...

Good luck with the resto!

[hotgrips]

hey take some pica of your motor . Id like to see the condition of the selenoi10049100501005110052d.

Attached are pictures of the engine and how well the trailer carpeting moss cleaned up after 19 years in field.

[riveredge]

Hey, any progress on this? I'd love to see this boat all cleaned up and in the water...

[haugy]

I stopped reading after "I left in a field for 19 years".

http://gifsoup.com/webroot/animatedgifs/168830_o.gif

Stay calm Haugy, stay calm..........

[hotgrips]

Hey, any progress on this? I'd love to see this boat all cleaned up and in the water...

Unfortunately my son broke his collarbone and that put a stop to recreational pursuits for a while anyway. We have all the parts now and will get to it this early summer. I did sit for a couple of hours and marvel at how (managed to not stab myself) many stainless steel staples the Supra factory used in the bow seat, which I had to disassemble so I could put in a new wood seat back. I wonder if I am going to be able to figure out in what order the factory built the seat up from scratch. It seems they not only stapled the naugahyde cover to the wood, but also the foam to the wood. It looks like they did a good job, but should have used wood that wouldn't rot like it did. I took a few photos as I was pulling the staples out, so I can at least remember what it is supposed to look like. There was not enough left of the wood frame to make a template, it came apart in black splinters nearly throughout the seat.

We did give the Mariah a place out of the weather in our car shelter so we would work on it rain or shine. Here are some photos. Any tips on rebuilding the bow seat would be appreciated. The floor area around the ski post just ahead of the engine cover is a little bouncy, so there must be a rotten floor or rotten wood section in that area. We were thinking of just installing a cross piece of pressure treated lumber to strengthen it. I cannot see taking the top shell off the bottom by drilling out the rivets and going the total rebuild like some of you have done.

Oh, on the 19 years on the field behind our house. I dug out the original file folder I had on the Mariah and read thru all my notes from 1990. It helped me to recall how much trouble I had with the Mariah the first summer we used it. We managed to shear off the prop and rudder and bend the drive-shaft on a truly hidden unmarked rock in a local 5 mile long lake. I didn't like the sound of the state Safety Report and the Insurance Company write-up and so went to the trouble of locating the rock, and the prop and rudder, retrieved it, and then brought the state Recreational Safety guy out to the spot so he could acknowledge that "yes, indeed, you did locate a previously unknown and un-marked hazard, so we will put a marker buoy on it." I just had to prove to the Insurance Company that I was truly faultless and did hit something that was an unmarked hazard. When we brought the Mariah in for repairs, the mechanic thoughtlessly set the back seats on each other so that the bottom plastic of the upper seat permanently stained the seat below it. When we got the boat back we noticed that they had reinstalled the gas tank on top of the bilge exhaust hoses, crushing them so that they were non-functional. The trailer brakes used to splatter wheel bearing grease all over the tires, and we discovered that either they had been overfilled, had the wrong grade grease, or were overheating from dragging. We learned that you cannot back up the trailer up an incline, or the trailer surge brakes will turn on and put the brakes on. So we had to make a mechanical block on the curved track of the trailer surge brake mechanism to allow backing up a hill. It was a summer like that with the Mariah, so leaving it in the field when our manufacturing business got busy was not too painful.

[riveredge]

Sorry to hear that, but it sounds like you're making some good progress. I used over 900 staples rebuilding a jump seat last winter. I thought I needed about 200.

Is that floor piece the only rot aside from the seat bases? Might be worth checking those motor mount bolts and make sure they don't spin when you tighten them... just a thought.

[lookin4agoodsupra]

Several have commented on wood repair at the base of the seats in the playpen, so I have an idea of the type of wood to use on that. Anyone have pics of that project or other tips? I have the same situation where what I pull out is going to be all rot and no way to make a template.