87 sunsport project

[csl]

I just picked up a project for this winter. its an 87 sunsport. Needs serious buffing and polishing along with the teak redone. Motor seems in fair condition. I was having trouble starting, but replaced the plugs, wires, distributer cap and rotor and that seemed to help some. Haven't had it on the water since I did that, so I will be curious how it goes. My question is the water temp gauge isn't working. There is the main brown wire coming into the top center stub on the guage and then two bundled wires on each side at the bottom. If I switch them, the needle either goes all the way to the right or all the way to the left. The guage itself must work, but something in the wiring must not be. Any comments would be great. Thanks102_3047.jpg

[lively]

welcome ! nice ride CSL ! ... how does the interior look / deck/ carpet?? you need a new sender for the temp gauge .. thats common ..

Things you may want to check :

Exhaust manifolds - underneath where they bend to divide for the exhaust ports ... look for cracks or corrosion .. if you have and cracks , they will need to be replaced or you can kiss that motor good bye

Steering- Lube your steering cable , it under the fuel tank and has a grease sert do be shy with the grease ...

velvet drive trans- check oil level after warming motor up and make sure you have enough ( always)

Tear your boat apart , look for rot and spend loads of hours replacing wood drinking beer and fighting with wife lol no im kiddin ..

and all you need to do to bring back the gel coat is to wet sand and then get a buffer with some 3m rubbing compound .. works great ...

motor issues - check your timing , check your carb , check your fuel pressure ....

Good luck and take some more pics of the inside .. I my self have a 86 ' sunsport , doing stringers , and full resto in progress

[csl]

hey thanks lively, I will check all that stuff out. I got the temp gauge working. It was just a wiring mess that needed some attention. I was able to take the boat out this weekend and it stayed at 150 degrees. Here are some pictures of the boat.
As you can see it is pretty oxidized. I have started taking off the pinstripe.
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Here is the interior. There are no rips but the seams are coming apart in some areas. I think I can staple everything back in place. I will need to rebuild the back seat due to
rotten wood in the seat.
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Here is a shot of the motor. Has 800 hours on it, but runs very smooth. The previous owner hit a log in 07 and had a brand new prop, rudder, drive shaft, and velvet drive
installed.
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I have checked out the floor and stringers as much as I can, and here is what I am finding. The floor is solid everywhere except for a small spot by the back seats. The motor
mount bolts are snug as far as I can tell, but there is a soft spot inside the motor hatch. I punched a hole to the foam and it is definitely saturated. Someone has also drilled a hole under the back seat and the foam is wet there also. I know the stringer replacement needs done at some time, but I would really like to hold it off a year or so if possible.

[csl]

Here are some pictures of the hole in the engine compartment and under the back seat.
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the stringers seem solid when hit with a screw driver, but what is everyone's advise. Can it wait a year?

[lively]

CSL- If you look at mine and all the other pics on here with sunsports and salt's rebuilds .. The foam holds the water in between the stringers and in turn will rot out the wood , It all depends on if you want to wait a year ... if the motor mount bolts will tighten up and not strip then u should be ok .... but im just going to be honest with you and say that " where there's water , there's rot" and the foam HAS TO COME OUT .. look at your exhaust tips , take that center nut off and look at your seal ... if it's not sealed water is coming in , under the gas tank usually foam is most saturated and the deck will pull right up ... but don't be discouraged these are bad ass boats man and that 351 winsor will run forever if you keep up with it .... when it comes time to do the stringers .. PM me and ill give you all the info i can , best of luck ... -lively-

[csl]

Does anyone have a vinyl cleaner they recomend. I am redoing some of my seats and need to clean some mildew and mold. They are not terrible, but need some attention. Thanks

[csl]

Update on my project. The vinyl was coming loose in the bow because the wood under the seats was getting soft. I removed the vinyl and foam, and remade the wood. Pulled my hair out a few times because there wasn't a straight line anywhere. all curves. Anyway got the upholstry back on and ready to move onto the next. Everything turns into more than you originally think i'm finding out.
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[lively]

looks good bro ! , I am redoing all the wood in mine this winter.... lol im still dreading the bow area ..

[csl]

Slowly checking off the list of things on the boat. Every time I check something off, I add another. I have spent as much time learning stuff from you guys on this site as I have spent working on the boat. My wife thinks I've became obsessed! Here are a few pictures of the wet sand and compound process. I really hope I don't have to
do that every year.
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Heres a before and after wet sanding
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don't know if it was a good idea, but I painted the window trim with an enamel. We will see if it holds up or not.
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What kind of sealant needs used around the exhaust on the back of the boat. I took it all apart when wet sanding, and need to seal the trapps back on.

[Jetlink]

Ditch the trapps and get flappers instead... I think 5200 is what I hear people throwing around as the sealant they recommend for the exhaust... I'll be doing that in another two months myself.