Going to look at another Supra (1995) after work today...have some questions

Going to look at a 1995 Sunsport after work today, since the 86 sunsport project won't be done till next year or the year after. Plus it's a composite :) So I have a few questions for the more knowledgeable...

1.) Owner says it has a 454 in it. Is that correct for this year?
2.) Owner says there is no Hour Meter on the dash. Thoughts on this? That sounds a little strange. I would think a stock 95 Sunsport would have one.
3.) Since this is a composite boat, I know I don't need to check the stringers. I plan on looking over the hull, engine, transmission, steering, etc. Are there anything other key things I should be looking for?

Hoping to pick her up for around $12K.

Attached are a few pics of the boat.
Attachment 10244Attachment 10243Attachment 10242

I think it's feasible to have a 454 in it, not what I would have guessed but still feasible.

Also, I think sometimes the hour meters were mounted on the motor somewhere...?

I've never seen a Sunsport with a 454, or remember them being an option. That doghouse looks kinda small to house a 454. Take a picture while you're there.

Easy way to tell......454 will have the distributor cap at the back of the motor. 351 will have them at the front. I think 95-97 they switched over to the GM 350 engine though. And that would have the dist cap at the rear which could confuse the owner making him think it was a 454. Get a picture.

Other than that, that is a great looking boat. It should have an hour meter. My guess is they put in a depth sounder or Perfect pass and ditched the meter.

That's a nice looking boat! If you get it, you will surely make a few people jealous.

Since you don't have to worry about stringers, the next most important thing to check is the engine of course.
I can't really think of anything "key" to look at that typically goes wrong with these. I would just check anything you can think of that will be expensive to fix. Rudder/steering, cracks in the fiberglass that might leak (damage on the bottom), etc.

The best thing you can do, if you like the boat and everything looks good is to try and arrange a test-drive.
That's an easy way to tell if the boat is gonna work for what you want it to do. (Boating)
If that's not possible (and even if it is) bring a compression test gauge. Pull the plugs and do a quick compression check. It's easy to do on direct-drives because all the plugs are easy to get to.

As for the engine, I have no idea if a 454 was a factory option in that year or not. The easiest way to tell would be to have the guy send you a couple picks under the engine cover. Post them up here and we can tell you.

Quick and easy: Distributor in the front = Ford 351. Distrubutor in the back = Chevy 350 or 454. Short-wide looking valve covers = 454. Tall narrow valve covers = 350.

no hour meter found--do a compression test then!

I'll defintely snap some pics of the engine and better ones of the whole boat. I really hope this boat looks as good in person as it does in the pictures. I still can't believe my wife is okay with me wanting to buy this while I rebuild the 86. It's going to be tough once the 86 is complete, because I'll have to sell one of them. No way she'll let me keep two boats at the house.

It's got a couple nicks in it but overall it looks pretty good hopefully if the rain let's up here I'll be able to take it for a test drive tomorrow or later this week

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

Found the hour meter. Its on the tach. The boat has 783hrs on it.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

yes pcm 7.4l = 454ci

$12k is not a bad price.

Taking it for a test drive on Thursday. Will work on the price more after I see how it runs.

Deff. a 454, it appears to be factory but I would want to make sure of that, hard telling what people have done, if they did take the time to swap it hopefully they used the right mounts and got the alignment right, 738hrs is nothing as long as the engine has been maintained which the rest of the boat indicates that it has been very well.

As an owner of a 92' composite boat I would jump all over that boat in that condition & with those hours, of course I would try to get it for 10g but would not pass it up at 12g either. You are not going to get into a comparable I/O (junk) for less than 15g.

A test drive is your best bet!!

Good luck, hope it all works out for you

It is a factory PCM 454. After doing some more research I found that the 454/7.4L was an option. I have a buddy that is a boat mechanic who is going with me on Thursday. He said the same thing as you (MESupra), try to get it for 10 instead of 12. Here are three of the pics I loaded yesterday. For some reason they didn't look very clear when uploaded from my phone.
Attachment 10273Attachment 10274Attachment 10275

That is sharp!

no doubt. good bit of rust at riser/manifold connection but shouldn't be a deal breaker.

tight squeeze in there!

Take care of thoes riser gaskets right away don't want water in the cylinders through the exaust valves. Check the spark plugs for rust. Check the oil for water.

Looks like she has run in some salt or black water by looking at the trailer rash. Even at the asking price it is a good deal. Not many BB composites out there.

Looks like a good find to me. Just an FYI--I bought my '93 last September for $10,500 with a makeshift tower, makeshift trailer, and no tower speakers and ~800 hours on the clock (supposedly rebuilt at 600 hours). $12,000 is a good deal IMHO, $10,000 would be a downright steal!

Like others have said, test drive will tell all you need to know. I would love to hear that thing growl!!

Totally agree, 12k isn't high, 10k would be awesome!!! I saw a 1997 Sunsport in navy blue with a fly high pro X tower listed at 13k a few weeks ago and would have done practically anything to dump my current boat(s) to snag it. Needless to say it disappeared FAST.