History of the 1991 Comp Ts6m
I'm gonna post up a few pieces of history on this boat before I post any more pics of the restoration. With the original paperwork, engine manual and brochures included in the sale and being only a one owner, low hour boat, it made the purchase a no brainer for me. Well, that and the fact I stole it for $1250.00 which is a far cry from the $17,000 it sold for new. Sorry Michael Hunter! There was a trailer included for that price which they sold off at some point since this boat just sat on a lift in a boat house year round and serviced by on-site mechanic.
Built in January of 1991 with composite materials (confirmed) and then used as a Factory Demo (see paperwork), it was not sold to the original owner until March of 1993, two years after being built. Turns out it was the same local Supra dealer my Rider was purchased from ten years earlier.
I also found a receipt for a 25 hour service which was written on August 16th, 1993 just 5 months after it found a new home. They did not list the hours of the boat on the invoice at that time, which I was hoping for to see how many hours may have been put on the boat by the factory before they relinquished control of it. The last line made me laugh though, "customer says boat uses too much gas." Not sure you can fix that on a carbureted 351W inboard.
I am still in touch with the family I bought it from and have kept them up to date with the restoration progress. They are happy it went to a good home and hope to see it in person one day. The son grew up slalom skiing behind this boat and then competed nationally from my understanding.
https://i.imgur.com/9RonrqO.jpg
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Continued progress...1991 Comp restoration
Back to more pics of the boat. At this point, exterior was wet sanded and looking incredible but the inside of the boat was dull and chalky white. Windshield was removed to gain better access to polish dash. The entire inside of boat was wet sanded, polished and waxed.
Old carpet was then pulled for new carpet. The search for red marine carpet matching the original is very limited even as 90% of the world's carpet is made here in Georgia. We did find a 20 ounce rubber backed that was a fraction of shade off original.
Getting it under the OB seat was a bit tricky but doable.
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Continued progress...1991 Comp restoration
Continued progress...1991 Comp restoration
Day ONE - Bringing her home. 03/28/2019
https://i.imgur.com/DLoLc8n.jpg
Day 365 - Heading off to shop. 03/27/2020
https://i.imgur.com/9wsbc1f.jpg
Day 519 - Coming home from shop. 08/28/2020
http://i.imgur.com/4L3jtz8.jpg
1991 Supra Comp - UPHOLSTERY
I keep meaning to update this thread and then never do. Have been over at Michael Hunter's place several times recently inspecting his work on his '85 Comp and so it gave me pause for thought and I realized I have just been lazy in not uploading new pics.
I have a lot going on boat wise and can't believe it has already been a year since I got upholstery done on this one.
The shop I went with did a real good job, not great, but very good. I had to take it back to them after 3 items I found were not done correctly or that I was disappointed with. They were a bit arrogant and gave me some push back but kept their word ultimately to make all of it correct...after they kicked me down the road for several months. Finally, I was told to bring the boat in and they would have it done in 2 days. I got there and they said they had no room for it. I said I just drove 54 miles with a boat and you're just now telling me you can't take it? You guys called me 3 days ago and said bring it over. I kept my cool but so perturbed as I pulled out of their parking lot. Finally, 6 weeks later they called and said bring it over. I said are you sure this time? They got it done in 2 days.
In the end, I probably overpaid for the work they did but I am happy it is done and pleased with how it ultimately looks. I went with some high quality vinyl and we matched it well to the gelcoat and carpet color.
I have since found a new upholstery shop that has treated me with respect thus far along with great communication, great attitude, and great service. They are only 46 miles from the house but you have to travel to find quality nowadays and I hope for better success going forward.
I added the racing stripes to the engine cover. Michael Hunter had it on his '92 Comp before he re-did his upholstery and my wife liked it. She thought the amount of white in the boat was bit too much and so I decided to stay true to Supra's concept on other years or models, just wasn't original to this boat. Some like it, some don't. Since I bought this and other boats without telling her first, I am lucky to get to restore it and now that she's happy, I'm happy.
BEFORE PIC
https://i.imgur.com/kneOvBE.jpg
AFTER PIC
https://i.imgur.com/XOS8QFX.jpg
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1991 Supra Comp - UPHOLSTERY
Few more pics on the upholstery showing before and after. I decided to cut down on the seams by doing 3 stripe vs 4 stripe which gives me same effect but one less seam to split open. For the bow storage at OB seat, I opted for a small pull instead of those two upholstered grab handles for a more streamlined look.
Before the upholstery went in, cleaned up the plastic seat bases best we could.
https://i.imgur.com/73OUJ2E.jpg
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1991 Supra Comp - UPHOLSTERY
On the rear seat, we added red piping over the hinge in between seat and ski locker. Again, break some of that white up. This is another detail I have seen on other Comps and preferred it to what was original.
The red piping on the rear cushions did not line up evenly and appeared to be wavy so I made them re-do all of them. These pics are after I got it home the first time but before they made the final changes.
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1991 Supra Comp - MOTOR / TRANNY
It was time to start working on this motor and tranny now that the gelcoat was done, the carpet was done, and the upholstery finished. Let's find out what's going on with this 30 year old boat and get her back on the water. Previous owner stated the tranny went out and had nothing in forward or reverse. He stated the motor ran great all summer and had just been winterized when I bought it December of '18.
Forum member MJHKnox, being the great guy he is, found someone selling a PCM 40 1.23:1 tranny on FB and passed his number on to me seeing I might need one to replace mine. This tranny was also from a 1991 Comp which was the 10th Anniversary Edition (a.k.a. the white whale) that unfortunately had a tree fall on it so the owner was looking to part it out to recoup his money after he just spent a wad restoring it.
Forum member NGAVChris came down to help me remove the tranny as he had experience from doing his back in the day on his '97 Sunsport, not to mention, he is just a better mechanic than I am. We spent nine hours one Sunday breaking it down finding a multitude of issues that would need to be addressed before she ran again.
I think two words sum up a lot of what we found...deferred maintenance.
JUST NASTY!
https://i.imgur.com/yW1Vc9A.jpg
WRONG FAN BELT. AN AUTOMOTIVE STYLE BELT WAS USED VS PCM. PIC SHOWING DIFFERENCE. UPPER ONE IS INCORRECT AND MUCH SMALLER.
https://i.imgur.com/V8iHIo0.jpg
HERE AGAIN, $13.00 AUTOMOTIVE BELT VS. CORRECT $23.00 PCM BELT FOR 351W.
https://i.imgur.com/eCRs4ng.jpg
FOUND OLD IMPELLER PIECES IN WATER PUMP. THIS IS ACTUALLY THE SIDE OF THE PUMP WHERE THE WATER IS INPUT FROM LAKE. THAT CAN'T BE GOOD.
https://i.imgur.com/0gDaIKD.jpg
