'87 Comp TS6m Restoration

Plan to document my boat overhaul. Boat is originally purchased by PO in MA. I bought it from PO in '96. Since then it has primarily been used in MN with one year in FL. It's been with me through my 20's & 30's and from bachelorhood to 2 kids. Lots of good & funny memories, so I'm going to dive in over my head and hope for the best when I'm done. I've enjoyed the threads from many of you in similiar situations (Okie, Sybr, mike, Rigr etc.) I'll do my best to document as I go along. More to come...

Glad to have another MN neighbor!

Mikey...Neighbors indeed, I've enjoyed reading your posts so thanks for doing that.

I had hoped that my two soft spots could simply be patched. I removed the carpet and cut away the floor. It has now become apparent at minimum I need to get the soggy foam out and assess the stringers. This means I'll need to at least take out the entire floor from drivers seat back. I'm hoping that my closed bow will save me some work in front of the drivers seat as that area appears mint on the top-side. While I'm at it, I plan to upgrade the following...

- 18' steering cable package
- Fuel pump & lines
- 3" blowers and vent lines
- Stereo
- Remove pylon/skylon and install rack
- Convert rear ski locker to a beverage cooler

One thing I noticed with mine and I'm sure others can attest to is that the stringers and cross supports were soaking wet even in areas where there was no evidence of water pooling. The wood wicks the water from other areas. If you find that the stringers are questionable, pull the cap and do it right...rip all the old stuff out.

Oh man that really sucks - how big were the soft spots before you opened her up? Oakie you're gonna give me nightmares... :sad:

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Originally Posted by 87SunSportMikeyD

Oh man that really sucks - how big were the soft spots before you opened her up? Oakie you're gonna give me nightmares... :sad:

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To be honest, Id bet that there isn't a pre 90's supra that doesn't have stringer rot!

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Originally Posted by 87SunSportMikeyD

Oh man that really sucks - how big were the soft spots before you opened her up? Oakie you're gonna give me nightmares... :sad:

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Two summers ago I first noticed one the size of silver dollar at the feet of the passenger seat. This last summer it had grown to frisbee sized and I found a second near the back seat the size of a silver dollar. I'm going out right now for ~2 hrs to cut more floor out and start to get a better feel for how compromised the stringers are.

One piece of advice to keep you from repeating a silly mistake I made a couple years back...don't ever keep water in your bilge area for the extra ballast it provides for wake-boarding...it seems to good to be true and indeed it is...very bad idea in hindsight...not only does it further expose the inherit stringer design flaw in the 80's Supra's but it also hurts your transmission & starter to be soaking in that water since they are low hanging parts on the engine...live and learn!

Cut out most of the floor from drivers seat to gas tank, removing foam, took off windshield and part of bumber btw. hull & cap. I definitely see some wood that is rotten (particular wood running across stringers). It's not clear yet how the stringers are. I'll need to get more foam out and probe.

One question, where does the pylon come apart for removal? Is it at the part I've highlighted in yellow? I've been spraying that PB stuff and hitting up on the pylon but no movement yet. Any advice is appreciated as based on my reading of others threads it's unclear to me if I'm doing something wrong.

Anybody of an idea of how heavy a Ford PCM V8 351 is? I have a 500 lb. hoist hanging from my garage rafters and am wondering if I can us it for both cap & engine removal.

According to my manual the 351 weighs 856lbs with the trans. As Okie said if you find any rot in the stringers or cross members pull the cap and replace it all. A patch job may buy you some time but the real fix is to replace it all.

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Originally Posted by michael hunter

According to my manual the 351 weighs 856lbs with the trans. As Okie said if you find any rot in the stringers or cross members pull the cap and replace it all. A patch job may buy you some time but the real fix is to replace it all.

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Thanks, appreciate the quick response

Still looking for advice on pulling out my pylon per the picture above with yellow highlight I added. Is that the right place for applying the PB spray? I've been swinging the sledge hammer upwards hitting the top of pylon to try and break it free. I don't care if I wreck the pylon as I plan to install a tower. Maybe it would be easier to sawzall the brace that holds the pylon just above the plate that is bolted through the hull?

Yeah, the pylon should seperate right there. Below that you should see 4 "set bolts" that help hold the pylon in place. But that area you highlighted is kind of the "collar" where the pole should slide out. If you can't get it seperated and you do want to remove it, just unbolt it from the stringers and from the floor where it bolts to the tracking fins.

How are you getting the foam out? I used my air chisel...seemed to work pretty good.

Definitely dig around a lot and drill some "test" holes in the stringers where you can to see what the wood is like. I actually had a few areas of one stringer that was "solid" wood. Look at my thread and go back to the pictures from just last week. You can see there is light "sawdust" towards the back of the main stringer. The was the most solid wood I found in the boat. Even that wood didn't have a whole lot of structure to it. You could break it with a twist side load like it was a piece of balsa.

Thanks, I'll work on bangin' it out for a couple more days then will likely revert to removing from stringers / hull as you mention.

I've been removing the foam with a crowbar, coming out in ~6" chunks without much trouble. It's down-right enjoyable labor if I have something good on the radio!

I expect that I'll end up replacing the stringers, just taking one step at a time and hoping I'm wrong once I get all the foam out and thoroughly check them.

Looking good so far! Would love to see pics showing the condition of the stringers once you get that foam out!

Yeah, taking out the foam isn't too bad.

Grinding, on the other hand...have I mentioned I hate grinding?

i purchased an 86 ts6m at the end of last summer and did the same as you. was a soft spot under the drivers seat i hoped to be able to patch but found the soaking wet foam as well. I am going to attempt to replace the stringers without pulling the deck off but you should pull your gas tank as well all the floor and foam under there was toast as well. what do you guys suggest to use for the new foam?

good luck 87supracomp...i'm sure we all started out hoping it was just going to be a patch repair. i had most of the foam out before i pulled the topcap. the deepest part of the hull will have been wettest the longest and therefore probably the most rotten. if the deepest part of the comp hull isn't too far forward, you might get lucky.

Oakies thread has a good discussion on foam. On the more recent pages.

Taking the soft rubber rail off was fairly easy, only tricky parts were where my boat was pressed against the trailer supports. The hard rail that the soft was attached to had lots of screws to remove and broke in one place given the stiffness, but not bad. Drilling out the rivets went fairly well too, but like the rail there were a few I couldn't get to because of the trailer supports. Those I couldn't drill out were hack out w/small saw. Once I got those all removed the top cap came loose without too much trouble. Beer will get my neighbors here over the weekend to carry the cap and set it in the back yard.

I'm planning to set the cap on the ground and put a tarp over it. Okie or Salty, I noticed you supported yours off the ground. Do you see a structural problem with ground storage? I realize it will be more difficult to work on if not elevated, but right now I don't see that as a show stopper.

Once removed I'll be able to fully dive into the floor / stringer evaluation.

One lesson learned...don't try and remove the morse / throttle control unless absolutely necessary. It's easier to unhook the two cable on the tranny and carb and keep that whole unit with the cap.

btw...thanks for the feedback on the pylon removal. I couldn't get mine to budge after 3 days of PB Blaster and sledge hammer so instead I took the entire unit out.

I wouldn't just set it on the ground. Every picture I've seen it has at least been on a ground cart or something that supports in more under the gunnels than anything. Seems like that is naturally where it wants to be supported.

Cap removal went very well. Five neighbors, home brew, and pictures by my bride. There were a couple wires I found needed cutting as we started to lift the cap off, otherwise it was great. We easily carried it out of the garage and to the back yard. For now it is sitting on the ground, but I will look to provide some gunnel support as recommended.

looks like everybody came over to play "poker", nice work........

looks good man i got one at the house just like it needs wotk as well so anything that you can post would be a tremendous help.

Nice! That top must be a fair amount lighter than mine. I highly doubt we could have carried mine with 4-5 people.

Now it's time to start tearing into it.

What's your plan of attack or tearing down and rebuilding?

BTW...that beer looks tasty. I love dark beers.

Removed the gas tank, vent hoses and some floor boards without any trouble last night. Next I plan to remove the rest of the floor boards and foam then drill test holes in the stringers to assess full or partial replacement. I can see there are multiples areas where I'll eventually need to decide whether to replace wood/fiberglass from the side of the hull for parts which aren't currently broken (stern - speedometer sensors, vent line box/elbow, tow/lift eyes etc.)

So a few questions:
1. Based on my approach above, pictures, do you have an opinion on whether I should cut out those areas I view as optional?
2. Tell me more about grinding, since it was one of your least favorite things to do in the stringer replacement job and I don't have an appreciation for it.
3. Any suggested plans / strategies for me moving ahead based on where I'm at?

A couple lesson's learned:
1. Wish I would've taken the cap off earlier. It's intimidating, but as soon as I knew I was going to replace big sections of the floor it would have saved me time on tinkering with gas tank removal and evaluation of floor/stringers.
2. The cap on my '87 Supra Comp ts6m is not as heavy as other caps and may not require any support. I have it sitting on the ground in the back yard and so far it seems perfectly content.

Man, parts of that look waay too familiar.

1. If by "optional" you mean the wood in the transom - chances are it's still good. Those pieces don't sit soaking in water except maybe at the very bottom near. Only the swim platform & tow eyes are really structural (not like an outboard transom). If you're talking stringers for a partial repair, then you'll have to cut back to good wood anyway.

2. Grinding sucks!. When you cut out a stringer (or other), you'll have a lip of fiberglass - good for a reference line, but will have to be ground flush when you're ready to re-glass. Depending how much room you have in the area needing grinding, an angle grinder or belt sander with coarse (~80 grit) works pretty good. Makes a big mess everywhere. Dust mask, eye protection, long sleeves, etc. all mandatory.

3. Measure, sketch, take pictures, measure again, etc. Read & re-read the excellent rebuild threads (Oakie, Salty, etc.) for ideas & potential gotcha's. Keep moving - you can easily fall into paralysis by analysis.

Good luck

1. I would assess the situation on your "optional" areas to work on. If it is wood glassed over, you might drill some pilot holes and see if the wood is wet. If it is wet, I'd replace it. If not, drill a few extra small holes and inject CPES in there to help plasticize the wood and help aid against future rot.

2. Yes, grinding sucks! Wear a tyvek suit and use a good respirator. I also would wear latex gloves and tape the seam at my wrist. I found the 24 and 36 grit sanding discs worked best for me. I went through around 50 of them. Make sure wherever you are going to glass you get the tinted resin off and I would suggest grinding past any glass that was laid atop the hull from the original stringers.

3. Measure like crazy and think about how you're going to ensure you get things put back in right. A you can see in my thread, I did the stringers one at a time. That helped me ensure I got them placed in the right spot and to the right height for the floor. Try to cut stringers out carefully and as close to the hull as possible so you can use them as a template for cutting the new ones. I would recommend using doug fir and putting CPES on every piece of wood you put in there. I would also recommend using epoxy resin since it will be less likely to let water in. If you're going to foam, I'd probably build the framework without drains. That seems to be the general consensus on another forum I'm on with guys that have a lot of experience with rebuilds.

Also, keep yourself a good stock of beer so you can spend some time sipping a beer and staring into the boat to think about your next steps. ;-)

As far as working on it, I would definitely try to dedicate as much time as you can. It does take a lot of hours to get it done, but if you constantly put in a few hours here and there it progresses along very well.

I'm going to list this boat for sale ($2k) as I'm just not motivated to finish the restore now that I have a different boat. I've already posted on craigslist, let me know if you're interested.

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/da...248843471.html

Is this thread dead then??

I'll give you a thousand.

Boat is sold

Wow - sorry to hear you didn't get to finish her. But maybe that's good for you! What do you have for a boat now?

What did it sell for??

Glad to have another MN neighbor!

Sold for $1750, I've got a 2001 Tige that I'm very happy with so far.

ngavdba - Everyone's entitled to their own opinion and you certainly have yours. I believe there's good *free* DIY documentation on the process of dismantling a boat in this thread. Don't hold your breath on the new owner documenting the ending, especially with viewpoints like yours.