Things I learned when I refurbished my 1999 Legacy

[alabamawaterbum]

I wanted to put up a post giving some insight on things I learned when re-working my 1999 Legacy and thought it might be beneficial for individuals looking at a project boat.

I bought my Legacy (a semi-project boat) 2 years ago for $11,500. It had seen "Brackish" water, but not salt and was generally neglected. I would define it has needing more then TLC, but structurally good.

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa171/alabamawaterbum/Legacy30.jpg

1. The Boatmate Trailer: Mine needed all new springs which I got from Boatmate. It's my understanding this is a common issue, but not that difficult to fix.
Spings $75 BoatMate direct via. Phone
Winch $30 Walmart
Front Lift Wheel $30 Walmart
Carpet and paint for wheels $65 Home Depot
TOTAL ~ $200

Now the controversial part of my trailer work. My brakes were no good, but given my Legacy weighs 2,500 lbs and the trailer is 1000 lbs, I decided to go without. I pull with an F150 extended cab of ~ 5500 lbs. I am an extremely cautious driver and so far this has not been an issue. I ripped out all the brake lines, disks and pinned the front master cylinder stationary. The whole system was no good anyway. Again, this is really dependent on your towing vehicle weight versus what your pulling.

2. Engine 350 Indmar Carb: The Carb is slightly different from a car. It puts the fuel back into the throat and prevents gas from coming out on top of the intake manifold. Also the fuel pump and alternator are "Anti-Spark". I AM NOT a "Gear - Head" so don't be intimidated. The carb bolted on and was ready to go. All the other pieces were also WAY easier then I thought. I have no issue with Holley, my particular carb was in terrible shape due to corrosion and the Edelbrock was a good price. I tend to leave the engine cover cracked OPEN for a day or 2 and allow all moisture to evaporate out while sitting in my garage. I believe the 1st owner left it closed and allowed excessive moisture in the engine compartment. Thus, I replaced a lot of the hardware. When all the pieces were off the engine I wire brushed the block and valve covers then put on gloss black paint along with all stainless bolts.

Edelbrock Carb $300 www.summitracing.com
Carter Fuel pump $100 www.summitracing.com
Alternator $175 www.alabamawatersports.com
Chrome Brackets/Pulley and Belt $100 Seco Performance
Braided SS Fuel Line $40 Seco Performance
Water Separator $30 Walmart
Water Impeller $30 www.skidim.com
Shaft Stuffing Rope $6 www.skidim.com
Water Pump Pressure Gauge $15 www.mcmaster.com
plumbing for water pump gauge $15 Home Depot
Paint and all Stainless bolts $75 Home Depot
Eagle Depth finder $90 Ebay
TOTAL ~ $990

I also installed a "T" fitting after my water pump and ran clear plastic tubing under the floor up through the dash and installed a simple 0 - 40 psi gauge. This tells me that with a NEW pump I get 15-20 psi water pressure at ~3000 rpm. If over time I see the gauge fall off slightly or if I take in trash and the water pressure starts to fall off I am not relying on Engine Temp alone. Engine Temp is your last line of defense. Better to see early warning signs.

The engine Alternator Brackets and main pulley looked like crap so I bought generic GM 350 Chrome Brackets (Indmar wanted an arm and leg for replacement brackets), but when I did this it put the alternator slightly further out. I had to get a new belt, but otherwise it worked fine. I also painted the lifting brackets, throttle bracket, flame arrester and water pump brackets metallic burgundy to match the boat.

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa171/alabamawaterbum/Varroom30.jpg

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa171/alabamawaterbum/LegacyDash-30.jpg

3. Interior/Rear Hatches/Swim Platform
I am putting off my seats given I have kids and they don't look too bad. The rear hatch looked terrible so I did a home made 2nd pull location. It's all solid oak with painted steel "L" brackets running the width of the boat for support (Burgundy and right behind the couch) and 2 kickers going down to the Rudder/keel steel support. I can pull as much from that spot as the rear attach point and now my 2 hatches fold in a way that allows access from either the platform or the back of the boat. I did not like the way Supra set up the original rear hatch lid. Just my personal preferance.

Wood Free from a tree in my yard
Varnish and nonskid sand $25 Home Depot
Home Depot sells some cool white/clear sand non-skid WORKS AWESOME
Lift Shocks $40 Auto Zone
Hinges free Cut/used from my original Supra Hatch
“L” Brackets $40 Home Depot
Trailer Ball for extra pull point $10 Walmart

This was cheap, low enough that it does not interfere with the primary post and high enough that the rope rides well above the hatches. Sitting on the trailer you can't tell, but given the boat rides with bow up just a little it actually pulls from a nice height and is very conveniant. It's also centered up, just the picture shows it off to one side.
TOTAL ~ $115

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa171/alabamawaterbum/LegacyHatches30.jpg

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa171/alabamawaterbum/LegacyStern30.jpg

4. Tower Diywake –
I have a strong feeling it’s made in China and imported to CA, but it’s cheap and seems strong.
The Racks are half bought / half home made. The chrome pieces I bought from Diywake and the tribal wood section I made from solid oak and painted with high gloss black enamel.

Towers are a funny thing. Kind of a personal choice as to visual appeal, but my biggest criteria was a collapsible design. The Diywake tower folds BELOW the windshield which I needed. By adding the custom board racks I gained a little stiffness, but trade off Set-up / Tear Down time. Maybe 5 minutes to raise and install the racks. But again the whole thing fits in my standard garage and I can cover it with the factory Supra cover.

Tower “Pro Swoop” $676 www.diywake.com
Brackets (qty. 4) $80 www.diywake.com
Board Rack Fingers (qty. 2) $154 www.diywake.com
Board Rack Mounting Base Free AlabamaWaterBum Original
TOTAL ~ $909

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa171/alabamawaterbum/Rack30.jpg

My total cost with some misc. added in ~ 2,300 + $11,500 = $13,800. It's been fun to customize for my own taste, plus I'm in at a decent price. It has not been the deal of a century, but if your looking at a late 90s Supra and you bargain shop you can get a solid deal.

The stickers were all free. Just call Indmar and Edelbrock. Good luck with any of you doing a “Project” boat.

AlabamaWaterBum

[deerfield]

Alabama - This was wonderful to read. Great descriptions and pictures. Looks like you have a great boat. Thanks for taking the time to put this post together. Any chance you have a picture of the Legacy before starting the project? - Deerfield

[ACF]

Thanks, I am fixing up a 1988 Comp and I like your wood hatch. Noticed your swim platform is also wood, and looks good. Did you make it or is it original ? My boat looked real bad when I got it, but is cleaning up pretty well. My main challenge is the interior, which was heavily covered in mold, to the point it was uniformly dark brown. I thought it was a total loss, but it is actually cleaning up, except for the rear hatch, which got more exposure and damage. For the rest of it, I only have a few places where there are some stuborn spots. The boat only has 191 hours, but it hasn't been touched, let alone started, in over ten years. It was put away right, for one winter's storage, but it had a lot of gas in the tank that is now closer to varnish than fuel, so I have some work to do with the fuel system before I can think about starting it.

[alabamawaterbum]

Both the Hatches and Platform are solid Oak. I used 4-5 coats of varnish mixing in the Non-Skid sand from Home Depot. The platform is 1.5 inches thick and sturdy as hell, but also fairly heavy. The sand is in the PAINT department and it's so clear/white you barely see it once the varnish dries. I found the platform was slick when I used the sand on the 2nd coat and then added 2 more applications ontop. So I applied a 5th coat and added more sand. Now it has the perfect amount of grip without being too abrasive. The hatches were done just putting sand on the final 4th coat and have perfect grip. There was a little trial and error for me when I did the platform first. My kids love jumping off the hatches so I needed some solid footing. But again, just put the sand on the final coat and really lay the vanish on kind of mixing and spreading the sand around to give it that even grip.

I’ve also found upholstery gets expensive so my hatches and walk through area up to the bow are done with the nonskid oak. The only piece I need reworked is the spotter seat and the rear couch, but I am putting that off.

The down side to oak is fading/yellowing over time. In my case the boat is stored inside a garage and I hope to get 4-5 years of use before needing refinishing. The advantage is nicks are easy to fix versus a tear in upholstery and cost assuming your doing the work yourself. I have really come to prefer the twin center fold up hatches versus the single factory hatch. Most of the time I find people wanting to get ropes or jackets on while in the back of the boat as a rider is climbing out onto the swim platform. And with these hatches one person is climbing into the boat via the starboard side while the other is digging in the port hatch. If you decide to ditch the factory hatch I would recommend making that change.

Good luck with your Comp.
WaterBum

[DKJBama92Mariah]

Pretty boat you got there Bum! Is that Huntsvegas? I'm in Florence on Lake Wilson.

DKJ

[alabamawaterbum]

Yep. I work at NASA on the Arsenal in Huntsville.

Usually ski on Guntersville, the "river" in south Huntsville, Tim's Ford in southern TN and Smithlake (When they have water).

I've read many of your posts over the past year which were very helpfull. Finally got my boat where I was ready to officially join the Supra family.

One of these days I need to trailer towards the Shoals and hit Wilson Lake.

WaterBum