I've been in the market for an 80s Supra boat for some time now. Today I looked at an 85 comp that looks to be in decent shape. The hull looks good with no cracks. Motor starts and runs fine. Seats need to be recovered but otherwise the interior is pretty clean. Floors are all solid. Here is my only stumbling block on this boat. About half of the engine mount bolts will not torque down fully. They move with a decent amount of resistance. They aren't totally loose but they won't torque all the way either. However the mounts all look good and there's no cracking around them or anything. So far every boat I've looked at has had about the same thing where some of the bolts won't torque down fully.
The owner had the stringers and floors redone back in 2006. He showed me receipts and that was a $5k job. However that was 9 years ago. Could the stringers be rotting already? With some of the motor mount bolts not tightening, is that a definite sign to stay away? I'm torn because I like the boat but I don't want to end up having to do a stringer job. The owner wants $4500 for the boat. Your thoughts?