New supra owner... 454 and stringer rot... what to do

[thepadokc]

Hey everyone.

So just picked up this 86 Supra sun sport with the 454, the ODO shows a low 184 hours but its been neglected. I bought it super cheap knowing its got some soft wood issues but knowing the 454 makes it a cool boat.

That i know of its sat uncovered in a field for at least 2 years...

Heres what it looks like right now


heres the inside.... the engine shroud and drivers paneling (the blue) is nasty and will be replaced but all the other white padding is in great shape (was removed before the boat was parked)


the engine runs and sounds great but needs a new carburetor




now for the HORROR pics.... kids avert your eyes...

this is after pealing up the carpet and ripping up some soggy, crumbling, rotted floor board


and it just keeps going...



so the big decision for me now is how far i want to tear down into it for restoration. I looked through some threads on here and i really want to just say screw it and do a cap off gut it job and know that its all good i just don't know if its worth the money and time.

anyways stay tuned for more updates

[DKJBama92Mariah]

Hi thepadokc,

Welcome to Supra Forums! It appears this post you made last night was somehow flagged by our automated spam filtering system. I'm sure you may have been wondering why your post didn't show up. I have approved it for you now and I don't think you'll have any further troubles. However, if you do make a post that doesn't show up, feel free to make a post in the help forum or PM one of the moderators for help.

EDIT TO ADD: I also closed the other thread you started since it was a duplicate of this one.

[docdrs]

How are the motor mount bolts? Do they spin or can you torque them down. If you can i say do a quicky deck and enjoy the boat. If they are loose and in rot then i think you might as well do. A cap off

[thepadokc]

No its bad....

the one of the motor mount bolts i pulled out by hand hahaha. Its gonna need a cap of rest at some point. Just deciding if i wanna slap some fresh deck over it and enjoy it for this season and do it over the winter.

i will take some more pics tomorrow to show just how bad it is.

[SUPRA_ALLEGRO_LANE]

Any chance you decide to sell any parts of it, I would be interested in the Steering wheel.

[lively]

yes you need to remove the cap and gut the boat and start over , but if you just want to play for the season go put some composite decking . if the engine mounts are loose and or pulling out i wouldn't risk shearing my 800$ prop shaft not to mention possibly sinking the boat , if your motivated i think you could tackle the stringers and deck now and finish the rest out later

[Salty87]

No its bad....

the one of the motor mount bolts i pulled out by hand hahaha. Its gonna need a cap of rest at some point. Just deciding if i wanna slap some fresh deck over it and enjoy it for this season and do it over the winter.

i will take some more pics tomorrow to show just how bad it is.

nothing like the smell of a cesspool of water sitting under a rotted floor (...in the morning, lol). taking her out with stringers like that is dangerous. Wotan has a story of basically sinking because his engine shifted when his stringers were rotten.

if you want to keep the boat for at least a couple of years take the topcap off. you'll likely come out upside down on resale if you want to sell sooner than later, unless you got it for next to nothing.

forgot to ask...what's up with that distributor cap?

[DKJBama92Mariah]

forgot to ask...what's up with that distributor cap?

In two words I'd say: a lot. Looks to be an automotive distributor. Never seen a boat with vacuum advance.

[thepadokc]

if you want to keep the boat for at least a couple of years take the topcap off. you'll likely come out upside down on resale if you want to sell sooner than later, unless you got it for next to nothing.

Well i have no idea what these are worth restored... i have seen prices from 2,000 - 10,000... all things considered yeah i got this boat stupid cheap.




forgot to ask...what's up with that distributor cap?

In two words I'd say: a lot. Looks to be an automotive distributor. Never seen a boat with vacuum advance.

Yeah im a race car guy so thats a HEI distributor i had laying around. Its a ignition coil and distributor all in one. makes life simple since the ignition coil on this motor was bad.



What do these things sound like with the exhaust baffles out? any reason to leave them in?

[DKJBama92Mariah]

Yeah im a race car guy so thats a HEI distributor i had laying around. Its a ignition coil and distributor all in one. makes life simple since the ignition coil on this motor was bad.



What do these things sound like with the exhaust baffles out? any reason to leave them in?

The following parts should never be replaced with automotive equivalents. Use ONLY marine replacement parts:
-Starters
-Alternators
-Distributors
-Carburetors.

The closed bilge of a boat is much different than a car. If a car drops a little fuel on the pavement, no big deal. If the fuel system spills the least bit of gasoline in the enclosed bilge of a boat, the fumes can create an explosive mixture essentially turning the boat into a fuel-air bomb.

Marine starters, alternators and distributors are different from automotive ones in that they are spark protected with screens in the vents. These screens prevent a flame that starts from a spark inside the unit from propagating outside the unit. This is known as being ignition protected.

Marine carbs are different from auto carbs in two ways: (1) the vent tubes are a J-style to route any bowl overflow, and (2) the throttle blade shafts have special seal to prevent fuel from leaking out the shaft bore.

With the boat torn apart and the engine open to the air, that distributor will do fine just run the engine on the hose. However, it needs to be replaced with a marine unit before you splash the boat.

I'm not trying to preach to you or criticize you. I just wanted to make sure you know.