Need some help

[86Pirata454]

Ok, so I am looking into a 87 Supra Pirata with a 454. It has 600 or so hours and new floors, he said the stringers were good when they did the floors and the carpet. He says the neutral safety switch is bypassed and the speedo doesnt work. What else should I look at when I go look? Are any of these things hard fixes? I know the general concept of this particular boat because my uncle used to have one just it was about 8 years ago. SO any help would be great

[mapleleaf]

Things I'm learning about my 19 year old Supra.... Pull up a few seat cushions, snoop around everywhere. Are you taking it for a test drive??? Do all the switches in the dash seem ok??? How about that removable section of floor behind the motor, I'd want to look in there with a flashlight towards the transom, cracked fiberglass, mounting plates, etc....
It's a long list and I'm just learning, you could do a compression test on the motor, though 600 hours is decent I think for a boat that age. I'd basically look for anything that looks worked on or show's signs of leaking/rot. Digging around in this forum you should find some answers....
Good Luck hope, it works out....one way or another

[86Pirata454]

ok do you have a picture of this piece that comes out of the floor? I dont remember it from the old one

[mapleleaf]

check my Interior's out post, there should be a shot of the drive shaft exiting the hull. The floor above this area should be removable. Square in the middle of the boat just in front of the back bench. I found a little delam and rot on my stringer's just below the gas tank, behind the rear bench, should be visible if you get down and have a look. Hopefully they didn't repaint the the hull, which might hide stuff.... Here are the pic's, the floor piece is already out, but it'll be obvious with seams in the carpet on the one you're looking at, the second shot is of the delam itself, a little blurry, sorry....

[86Pirata454]

ok, how would i beable to tell if the stringers by the motor are bad?

[mapleleaf]

in my second picture the fiberglass is delaming from the stringer, behind the cracks is the begining of a rotten stringer. If the fiberglass is cracked and there's mushy blackness back there, you got rot! If you can push your finger into it, well you know the rest...
By the motor is tricky like Elmer Fudd used to say, you must be verwy, verwy careful. Take a rag and wipe off any grease under the motor, you'll know if it's soft.

[Salty87]

when looking at the stringers by the motor, look for any signs of water running down the stringer at the motor mounts. there shouldn't be any rusty trails, water stains, cracked fiberglass, caulk...it should be clean. the cleaner the better.

poke around in all of the hard to reach areas looking for things that don't belong or could have been taken better care of. look under the seat cushions, storage areas, under the dash, as far forward and back in the bilge as you can humanly bend.

crawl under the hull and look for any damage, cracks, signs of it being beached on shore too much.

look all over the place...does the person take care of their stuff? if they don't and they've had the boat a long time, i'd think long and hard about it.

the worst thing you can do is buy a boat that has wet foam. look for any sign of water intrusion you can find...stringers or wood where the fiberglass is pulling away from the wood...run if you find it. also check where the swim platform attaches to the hull. this is a common problem area and can let water into the foam.

ask for pics of the floor rebuild.

i think DKJ posted a few lists around here for boat buying, you might search for it.

last thing...water inside a boat is bad. looks for signs of it- stains, wet/soft areas, excessive rusting of the engine and components/mounts/brackets, swollen/split wood, seat bases start to fall apart and wobble, funky smells, crappy cover.

the best thing to find is a great previous owner that needs to sell. buy whatever he has or be willing to travel a few extra miles. this is a buyer's market.

[86Pirata454]

the best thing to find is a great previous owner that needs to sell. buy whatever he has or be willing to travel a few extra miles. this is a buyer's market.

Thanks for the great input, I am planning on going to look in the nexe few weeks. This is the reasin why I was looking into boats, I have saved some money and was looking into a camaro then realized that I could buy the Supra I have wanted forever haha. \

If I buy a moisture meter off of ebay could this be of any help, one of the ones without probes of course

[86Pirata454]

So I was reading and found that I should test drive before I buy, but its frozen and he is in a huge rush because he has no job

[Salty87]

that's no good. if you can't come to terms on some sort of contract dependent on a successful lake test OR he won't lower the price to cover the additional risk you're taking on....i'd walk.

you need to see it perform under load, i wouldn't settle for running it on the hose. it's not the same.

sucks for him but that shouldn't become your problem.

[Morphix]

Yeah, I bought one like that last winter, I picked up a 92 Supra comp for literally 25% of what it should have been going for. Luckily i knew supra's pretty well, and from what i could tell it was ok. Since the 92's was all fiberglass, I didnt have to worry about "much" rot or water damage. Needless to say.. when the winter faded away, last summer.. the freeze plugs were rusted through, i managed to put new ones in without taking the engine completely out. Amongsts some other electrical problems and small leaking problems.. it took me about 100 hours of work to get her up and running great, shes all ready to go this summer. So all in retrospect.. was it worth it?... ehh... yeah the repairs costed me about $200, i saved several grand which i can use for other things. So i consider myself very lucky.

My bottom line is this... if you buy a boat in the winter, assume it will have leaks and major problems. If you have balls and are willing to accept a nearly dead boat and have some level of insanity such as myself, go for it... else if you are afraid of buying because there might be problems with it, wait till you can test drive and thouroughly check the boat. From my experience, most boats sold in the winter will be lemons... As salty said, get a contract dependent on a successful lake test.

[86Pirata454]

I am a mechaninc so I know how to do motor and trans work but I dont want to do fiberglass

[mapleleaf]

If you're not afraid of the mechcanicals, then it's back to those earlier post's get a GOOD LOOK, The more you look the more you may find......
Hope it works out.... you and A boat!!!!

[86Pirata454]

When I go I will be taking many photos so I will post anything i am unsure of

[mapleleaf]

Sounds good, I didn't mean to to be rude, I ignorantly dove into a 1990 Conbrio for $3500, and love it, with it's problems!
My feeling is there's always something you'll miss, hopefully calculated it's not HUGE. I gotta do an interior, patch work on some ding's, rebuild my trailer and paint it, probably paint the boat too, bilge pump's, wiring, new swim deck, etc... I don't have a single regret, my motor's strong and tranny is good, can't wait to buy another.....

[86Pirata454]

I understand the mechanics great so I hope i find something small I can blow out of proportion to negotiate lol (Im not being a dick but its a buyers market) I am afraod because he said the front is dinged from something. I guess I will have to have a fresh battery and a new memory card!

[mapleleaf]

when I was a kid my dad bought a Starcraft that had been run aground. Huge impact to the front starboard side. I guess he got a deal, it was the first boat I skied behind. it always leaked, It always planed out funny, I think because of the bent aluminium. I have fond memories, but don't think it was a good buy!!!!

[86Pirata454]

Yea, definitely have to see when I get there. Hopefully there is nothing big wrong with it, just hope its the fact that he needs a job that is going to cheap