This is a hard one!

[SupraSteve]

My dad had a 1985 Supra that has sat in the yard since 1995..wow..yeah un covered. In 1994 he had a 8000.00 custom gel coat applied to the entire hull inside and out. He got sick.. Long story short I've pulled the boat out of the trees and stripped it down for a complete rebuild. Hull is in great shape, engine is in ok shape need a few parts, steering turns and prop is free..so what the hell. . . Go for it...

My question is...to remove and replace the entire floor do I have to remove the "top" off the hull.
Removing all the rivets and opening the boat in two..? Does anyone know the process or where I can find a how to?


Here are some before pics...it's a project...started Memorial Day..

[Jetlink]

Short answer, yes. In order to do a proper floor rebuild/restoration splitting the top cap from the hull is the best and easiest way to go about doing that.

[wotan2525]

No! If the stringers are solid, you can easily do the floor without pulling the cap.

If you need stringers... probably best to pull the cap. I'd love to see photos.... the ones you posted didn't show up. (for me at last)

[michael hunter]

You will in for a not so good surprise when you get the floor up and get a look at the stringers. Use the search box at the rt top of the page and search stringers there are many threads on that subject to help you.

[Ptownkid]

Wotan is being a little optimistic...an 85 that sat uncovered for 8 years is likely to have dead stringers.

[SupraSteve]

I'm not to sure about all the stringers yet, but the rear ones seem to be ok except under the gas tank.
The floor is still "solid ish" in the bow so maybe ill get lucky there too.
Anyways, I think is best to pull off the cap just to do the job "right".
With that said,
I assume I just need to drill out all the rivets on the bumper then drill out the rivets on the cap and carefully
lift, making sure all things are loose.
I've got 2 questions:

Will the hull maintain shape with the cap off or do I have to sure the sides while the top is off?

What size rivets would one use to reattach the cap, and do you "glue" it as well as rivet.

Thanks for the help guys.. Ill be adding pics when I break out the laptop.

[Salty87]

seems like lots of stringers that are bad show wear at the transom. the factory must have figured if the front 90% was glassed who cares about the transom end. regardless, chances are there's water in the foam and then it's only a matter of time for rot to take hold. cap off is alot better. it's a nasty job and there's little point in cutting corners to only risk missing something. do it right the first time and you'll never have to mess with it again.

to pull the cap pull the insert on your rub rail. unscrew the base it sits in. drill out the rivets. disconnect gas tank lines and all wiring....bilge hose, blower vents, speedos, etc. the top cap won't come off easily. the windshield and bow area is heavier than it looks. the topcap and hull fit together surprisingly snuggly too. use some pieces of 2x4 to keep the top & bottom separated. work your way around prying the 2 apart. you can either use heavy equipment...front loader, boom, chain/hoist, ropes...i bet each of us who have done this used something different depending on what we had to work with. you'll need to support the topcap once it's off. the bow is sturdy, the stern is not.

the hull will flex more and more as you remove the internal supports of which the topcap is part of. at first the sides will bow out. as you remove stringers it will start to flex more. most people only remove 1 side and then put new stringers in then move to the other side for removal and replacement. you can support the bowing by running a rope across the inside or by supporting from the outside so you're not constantly climbing over a rope.

many ways to skin this cat. my signature has a link to some pics...sybrmike, lively, jasun....i know i'm leaving a bunch of names out but lots of us have documented our rebuilds. some searches should find most of them.

[SupraSteve]

Man you guys are great. I've seen a bunch of forums but this one actually works.

Salty, your boat came out sweet! Great work. I'm just getting started and
hope it comes out close to as good.

What's the aprox. weight on the cap?
What size rivets did you use to marry the 2 halves?

You can add bobcat with forklift attachment to methods
used to lift a cap.. :)

[SupraSteve]

18 years.. Last reg. sticker says 95.
I didn't even have kids back then.. Stringers
Have to be bad.

[Jetlink]

18 years.. Last reg. sticker says 95.
I didn't even have kids back then.. Stringers
Have to be bad.

They don't have to be bad, they most likely are though. I have an '86 and I'm staring down a cap off restoration this fall if I can swing it, otherwise I'm parking the boat until I have time/money.

[Salty87]

Salty, your boat came out sweet! Great work. I'm just getting started and
hope it comes out close to as good.

thanks. it was my first time pulling an engine, first time glassing, first time lots of stuff. you can do it!


You can add bobcat with forklift attachment to methods
used to lift a cap.. :)

nice!


What's the aprox. weight on the cap?
What size rivets did you use to marry the 2 halves?

cap weight is only a guess...500 lbs. they are bulky in addition to being heavy on one end and almost light as a feather on the stern end.
rivets....possibly 3/16...you've got some time to figure that one out. ;)

[SupraSteve]

Back from a short Puerto Rico vacation.. Ready to dig back into the ole supra...
Anyone have any method suggestions on removing the foam between the stringers? Clearly I
Just have to tear it out, but if anyone has a method they maybe worked well let me know.

[Supra_Comp]

Back from a short Puerto Rico vacation.. Ready to dig back into the ole supra...
Anyone have any method suggestions on removing the foam between the stringers? Clearly I
Just have to tear it out, but if anyone has a method they maybe worked well let me know.

Garden trowel, shovel and a wack load of garbage bags!

[wotan2525]

Get some HEAVY rubber gloves, too. Like house-wife style things. That foam is nasty.

[Salty87]

wack load of garbage bags!

maybe even a wack ass load.

i bent the crap out of few sawzall blades cutting the foam into blocks. then pried them up with a combination of an old drive shaft and a floor scraper kinda like this:
http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/productImages/400/30/303bb168-a422-4022-9fcf-39f963f2c928_400.jpg

[SupraSteve]

1230712308

[SupraSteve]

12309
12310

[SupraSteve]

Now we must rebuild!

[SupraSteve]

A few pics for those that asked. Enjoy.

[jasun]

Good luck on this! I remember this part like it was yesterday! Lots of good resources here so if you get stuck, feel free to ask because I can bet one of us has run into the same problem!!!

[DAFF]

You will be back in the water in no time. As for the stringer question... Solid factory ones are getting more and more few and far in between. There are some but most boats are in need of replacement in the near future. :(

[SupraSteve]

Brain pickn time.

Stringer wood type?

Fiber mat? 1708?
Cheap source? Other the eBay?

Thanks for the help all!

[awesomesteven]

I started looking into this when I first got my boat this year but have been stuck working on the engine. I ended up getting good pricing from the sources I found (below):

marine ply and doug fir seem to be the most common around here for stringers. I don't know where you are but I found a lumber yard here in Charlotte that priced out pretty well for me.

For the fiber mat and poly (or epoxy) you could call a boat repair shop and see if they give you a good price if you buy it all in bulk. Or you could just find out who they used and buy off their supplier directly.

[angus2112]

i have did a few stringers. i always use ( lvl ) Laminated veneer lumber beams. you can get then as long and wide as you need. you do not need to seam or glue them and they are stronger

[haugy]

Everyone has covered everything, I just wanted to say Holy Crap that boat looks great on the outside.

Get the interior done right, and polish up that gel-coat (main hull doesn't look like it needs much) and take some awesome pictures. That boat is primed to be a top contender for a top-shelf show stopping rebuild.

Welcome, and keep posting pictures.

[SupraSteve]

Back to the grind.. Literally :•|

Does anyone know if the is a resource for original stringer layout for supras?
Blueprints, cad drawings, anything?

I'm taking plenty of pictures and plan to measure and draw before I cut out the stringers, but it would be a great help to have factory specs.

[Jetlink]

Pretty sure that if they had blue prints, the factory used them more as guidelines when building these boats.

[Salty87]

ain't that the truth. Friday was probably the make it up as you go day.

cut your stringers out intact as much as possible and keep them for size reference. if the wood is mulch the fiberglass skins left behind work great too. this was especially helpful to me when rebuilding the engine support area. also good for knowing where in that area the motor mounts attached. you'll also need some reference of where the engine 'pan' fits in the hull...how far from the stern.

[SupraSteve]

Good laugh for a hot Saturday..

I think this clears up the question of:
Do I need new stringers-
12401
12402
12403

Yes... Those are actual tree roots..

Before:
12404

B- bust
O- out
A- Another
T- tree??

[Sirgonz]

Good laugh for a hot Saturday..

I think this clears up the question of:
Do I need new stringers-
12401
12402
12403

Yes... Those are actual tree roots..

Before:
12404

B- bust
O- out
A- Another
T- tree??

WOW glad to see your taking the time to do it right.... you will have a great boat . I fix chimneys for a living and you would be amazed how things grow where they shouldn't and yet how hard is it to keep house plants alive.

[SupraSteve]

Not a bad days work
This morning
12412

10:43 tonight
12413

Engines out in the morning.

[villain]

friggin tree roots in the stringers? thats the craziest thing i think i have ever seen!

[SupraSteve]

Sittn uncovered since 95

[SupraSteve]

What's up guys.. Getting ready to start my weekend.
I'm sure it's discussed on the forum plenty of times but just so I'm sure..

2 quick questions to avoid a mistake
My hull is still on the trailer and I'm getting ready to install new stringers..

Is that position (on the trailer) a good position to install the new stringers. I'm sure the hull flexes in different positions this is why I ask.

After I've got my stringers cut and positioned;
Is the proper method of instillation to glue down with PL glue then, tab in w 1708, then cover?

Thanks for the advice in advance, I want to avoid any costly errors.

[awesomesteven]

Is the proper method of instillation to glue down with PL glue then, tab in w 1708, then cover?


I believe you have to have a 1/4 inch gap between the stringer and the hull, then put the PL glue down. I've read that ppl use that pink panther insulation sheet. Cut out little tabs for the gap and fill with pl in between. Wait a while, remove the strips then fill that gap with pl.

[jasun]

I used thickened resin to bed my stringers. alot of people use PL glue though.