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View Full Version : Want to buy a 1987 Sunsport !!



olivier_20
04-01-2011, 04:02 AM
Hi everyone , i plan to buy a 1987 sunsport here in Quebec/Canada. As far as i read on those Sunsport here on the forum i definately want that boat asap !! The guy asking for about 9000-9500 $ CAD is it to much or if he is really in good shape it's ok (In Quebec everything is more expensive, even our own hydroelectricty !).

Th boat look really nice but i didn't had the chance yet to see it & start it. Seller have made some rebuilt/maintenance and seem to take a good care of it. Boat already have 3x 400lbs fat sack , a 13x13 prop and the trailer look nice to.

The engine have been rebuilt in 2008, tranny & transfert case done in 2009. I will get a compression test anyway just to be sure!

I can see that there's a lot expert here about those old SUPRA.

Do you have a list of : What to look at before buying !!

I know (now) to look a the stringer,engine mount,floor soft spot,electrical wire & gauge if they all working.... what else ??

I don't know a lot about inboard , i use to have an outboard 100Hp !! and i'm really pissed of it, the wave is so small that you can't barely make ollie wave to wave !! But still fun to have a boat.

I read a lot of thread, did some research here and on other site but i'm french and when is start to get technical term i need to translate and i'm never sure that i have the good definition (like the stringer, took me multiple post to see a pic of what is a stringer, dictionnary didn't knew it). That's why i'm asking and i did my best to write something understandable !!

Links of one of this famous Sunsport i want (pics from the classified website)
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5143/5640571508_2d5858d7ba_b.jpg
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5230/5640571530_cdd70363a7_z.jpg
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5181/5639999111_f140c6987f_z.jpg
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5224/5640571558_76a3b6ab21_b.jpg


Thanks in advance for helping and answering !!

michael hunter
04-01-2011, 06:31 AM
Looks to be in great shape . If you are not comfortable with inboard inspection check with your local dealer about having them do an inspection. Check the wood at the bottom of the seats for rot. That roller trailer is not original be careful to make sure you dont disconnect the winch strap and safty chain before you launch.

Okie Boarder
04-01-2011, 11:31 AM
Looks like it is in fairly good shape. The price seems a bit high to me.

DAFF
04-01-2011, 05:17 PM
Make sure you check out the floor for soft areas. Nice boat but seems priced very high even for Canadian standards. You would be much better off buying from the US and shipping the boat up to you.

Also if you have any more French to English problems you can post them here. I will have my son help, it would be fun for us. I can read some french but my son (8ans) is much more fluent.

A fair price would be 5-6 thousand for the boat. Also the trailer is a universal design, making the boat sit much higher on the trailer.

olivier_20
04-02-2011, 02:29 AM
Ok Thanks a lot guys ! I'll check very carefully the floor for soft spot. I just realize that i missed one like that in Ontario.. it was sell 6.999$ and looked in mint condition.
http://www.boatcan.com/showboat.php?ad=1197383710

But with that as a proof i will negociate the price or at least try !!
And i read that some have the foam wet in the hull and cause rot ? it is possible to touch that foam when inspecting the boat ?

Anyway i'm waiting the seller to come back from vacation next week. Thanks again

87SunSportMikeyD
04-02-2011, 09:35 AM
Oliver - Welcome and best of luck! I have an 87 SunSport, it's a great boat. Judging just from the pics, the boat looks like it is in great (above average) condition. The vinyl seats look great. The condition of the outside of the boat (hull) looks great too, it looks like they repainted it and it has been waxed/buffed. The trailer looks good except for some slight rust which is no problem.

It's great to hear they had the engine rebuilt and replaced trans too. This gives the boat a whole lot more life and power. Still a good idea to compression test.

At this point my opinion would be to see what kind of condition the floors and stringers (wooden support beams) are in. Walk around the floor barefoot to feel for soft spots. Bring a small screwdriver and tap the point into the floor to feel if it is hard or soft. Open the engine compartment and inspect the "main stringers" - these are the support beams that are easiest to see without removing the floor. The engine is attached to these beams with big bolts. Make sure the beams don't have cracks in the surface.

Bring a large wrench to make sure the engine mount bolts do not spin loosely (do not actually turn the bolts, just make sure they are tight.

Lift up the rear bench seats and inspect the wood that the seat base is built out of. Lift up the captains chair cushions and tap the wood with a screwdriver to check for rot or soft wood.

I think the price is a little high too, but he DID get the engine rebuilt, and repainted the hull which are somewhat expensive upkeep items. I also didn't translate the amount he is asking into US dollars, that would help.

Good luck!

dshaff24
04-02-2011, 05:58 PM
I could of sworn someone on here just bought that boat two month ago.. What color cover does it have?


Boat looks to be in good shape.. but like everyone else says.. INSPECT

olivier_20
04-03-2011, 01:26 AM
Fantabulous !! I will inspect everything with a lot of attention. And i have a rendez vous with the seller's place on saturday 16 , i can't wait to see my maybe future boat !!
I'll give you update and pics !!

Thanks again

Ptownkid
04-03-2011, 10:16 PM
Our market is a lot more expensive than the states, so you have to be willing to pay a little extra if you find one in Canada. I drove ten hours to get mine from the states, and it was an easy process, I can give you some info if you decide to go that route.

With regards to that white and teal one, it's been on the market for over a year, and they were asking almost $9000 last spring. Pretty drastic price reduction if it is truly as good as it looks. You can never really tell the condition of an interior from pictures, my beat interior looks fantastic in the shots I have...

I'd say around $8500 would be fine for that boat IF the stringers are ok and taking into consideration that the engine was rebuilt...assuming all other things are in good condition.

olivier_20
04-04-2011, 01:06 AM
All right i will contact you for info if if proceed like you. And my thought was to explain to the guy what i learn here about the stringers and the market price, i will start at 8000 and see where he can go !! after that it's option #2 direct from USA !

Thanks again & again , This Forum is SUPRA fantastic ! :D

olivier_20
04-04-2011, 01:17 AM
Oh! an other question, if he had the engine rebuilt i guess they pull out the engine ? and if they did they should have notice the stringers state during the reassembling ? or it's possible to take out the engine regardless of the stringers ?

DAFF
04-04-2011, 08:14 AM
Engines can be removed several ways.

The best way is to remove the engine leaving the mount section which screws into the stringer intact. This also keeps the alignment for the engine and prop shaft perfect. Also preserving the lag bolt connection to the stringer. When the stringers go soft the engine mount bolts often fall out since the wood turns punky and rotten. Turning the lag bolt will destoy any structural integrity of soft wood.

The worst is to remove the lag bolts of the stringer!!!! Usually this will be followed by pulling the cap.....starting a complete resto.

olivier_20
04-04-2011, 10:47 PM
Thanks Daff ! that explain me a couple things.

olivier_20
04-21-2011, 05:33 AM
Hey guys !! I'm officially a new SUPRA owner !!! The seller was hard to negociate but i had it for 9000 $ -- my max price !

Negative : There is a kinda big soft spot in the area of the ski pole and the bilge trap but when i looked and touch in that trap, the wood floor is really dry/hard and doesn't seem to be really rot/viscous but more smashed like if someone have jump several time a the same spot. The seats are a bit crack (24 yrs boat) but still really clean. Paint is fade a little bit,will need a compound/wax.

Positive : The hull is in great shape. The stringers look really solid. The engine mount bolt look tight to but i didn't get hard with a wrench on those to not rotate them. the protective canvas are brand new (1 for open bow/1 for the rear part). The engine is SO nice & sound like a pure melody !!! Everything's changeable with the engine in place have been changed(seal,ring...). It have an Edelbrock intake, Holley carburator (?cfm), coil pack, plugs,coil.... all new !! Engine run synthetic oil since the rebuilt. The transmission was pulled out, open and completely rebuilt. The clutch or something like that to get the gear engage have been change at a supra dealer for 1250$ in 2009 , and yes the seller have all the bill to prove it. The trailer is very nice to (galvanize,new bearing,good tire...)

Boat came with all the equipment :ancor,vest,radio/dc + 4 marine speaker, safety stuff , cooler and the most important for me 3 nice 400 lbs fatsack !!

Maybe it was pricey a bit but i think it worth the price. Now i need a tower , my old subwoofer installed (i'm glad i didn't sell those) and a bunch of led light in like some of you - so cool.

What you guys think about all that !!

**I'll put some pics this weekend or next week.**

olivier_20
04-21-2011, 05:42 AM
Question about the shaft on the inside part of the boat... There is a big screw nut we have to tight or loose for cooling the shaft. The seller tell us this have to drip once every 10-15 second for making a good cooling. he said inside that screw nut it's kinda of a wax rope (??) you have to change sometimes i don't know when !?!?.. And the seller tell us it is possible to make a conversion to replace that system by one using the engine cooling system ??

Can someone explain me that properly or shoot link about that !

Thanks all of you guys !

asmodeus2112
04-21-2011, 08:33 AM
Congratulations! Which one did you buy?

olivier_20
04-21-2011, 08:55 AM
It's the one on the 1st page !!! I just upgrade the pics they are better now.
But soon i will have a lot more ! :D

cadunkle
04-21-2011, 10:01 PM
Yeah price seems pretty high, but it is a nice looking boat! If there aren't that many used inboards in Canada then that would explain the higher prices. Makes sense, with a short season there wouldn't be an many people into watersports.

As for the packing, adjust for a drip every few seconds while idling in gear but preferably a very infrequent or no drip at all while in neutral and the driveshaft is not turning.

There are dripless seals such as PSS, OJ, and Lasdrop that use water from the engine to cool the seal and do not drip at all... So your bilge will be completely dry. From what I've read (not experience, I run a regular rope seal) the Lasdrop is the best. It's also the msot expensive. It has a bearing inside that aligned it to the shaft so the seal is always perfectly centered in the housing and has no side load on it if your shaft isn't perfectly centered in the shaft log.

Ptownkid
04-21-2011, 11:55 PM
If there aren't that many used inboards in Canada then that would explain the higher prices.

Ding! Finding good inboards under at least 7k is rare.

olivier_20
04-22-2011, 02:51 AM
Inboard boat aren't hard to find here in eastern Canada , there's a ton of inboards boat ! I could buy a very clean like new 1995 Glastron (V6 4.3L) for like 7K $ CAD... But a real direct drive or v-drive boat are extremely rare ,especially the older model and a 1995+ supra is way out of my budget !
9000$ CAD = 8575$ USD !!! on april 22 2011.
anyway i want it really badly and i don't mind to do a rebuilt in the futur years. 2 days after i gave a deposit and sign a conctract another guy came with a check of 10.5K$ for that exact same boat.... those boat are rare as this here and seriously this guy was nuts !!
I AM REALLY HAPPY.

cadunkle : Thanks a lot ! so it's call dripless seal (make sens!) , i'll take a look on that but do you think is worth it ?

DAFF
04-23-2011, 12:35 AM
Glad you are a new Supra owner. You are going to love the boat !!! Try to keep the interior as dry as possible to prevent any more damage to the floor.

olivier_20
04-25-2011, 01:57 AM
Hey Daff ! thanks for the heads up ! I'll try to keep it dry as possible and i'm already in love with it. I did a compound/wax this weekend and now the paint look like ''new'' !!

Pics are coming soon ! need a sunny day when i'm not working !:cool:

olivier_20
06-10-2011, 03:57 AM
Hey guys... took a while but here some pics with our home made tower already paint the same as the hull will have during next winter !!!

I drop and drove the boat for the first last weekend and i LOVE my Sunsport !!! It's so nice to drive and what an exhaust SOUND Woohooo !!

the water is still really cold here but the wave was so nice that i had to choice ride it , no excuse !! + i test our tower at the same time and works fantaboulusly !

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2279/5817128033_3cf15e5d58_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3648/5817127935_99295dbc58_b.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2286/5817127703_90ee7e20cf_b.jpg


We put a set of 2 Alpine 10'' type S + Alpine V12 amps + Alpine equilizer hooked on a 4D battery (second). A 3X 6x9 fiberglass speakerbox is in constrcution for the tower + 2 big spotlight waiting for powder coating....

More pics will come shortly !

***** Anyone know a place or a site who sell cheap board rack ??? Thanks *****