Thank you for all the replies!
Plan on picking up the boat at the end of the month. I e got tires shipped to the location of the boat and plan on ordering bearings asap.
I live in Rochester IN.
Junior Member
Thank you for all the replies!
Plan on picking up the boat at the end of the month. I e got tires shipped to the location of the boat and plan on ordering bearings asap.
I live in Rochester IN.
Member
Praying for a safe return. I'm in Lafayette. Would like to see your new toy. Send pix.
Junior Member
I wanted to post a quick update! I'm officially a boat owner! My dad and I took my 03 Silverado with 240k miles, drove 12 hours from home, hooked up a boat and towed it home through the mountains! I'm happy to report that we made the trip without incident. Wheel bearings were good and the seals actually had factory trailer paint on them. I'm guessing that the trailer is very low mileage! We repacked the bearings and we were good!
I'll post pics as soon as I'm able (need another free hosting site), but I think it's it good shape for the year. Interior is in very respectable condition, carpet good, 1-2 spots in the floor getting soft. I haven't had a battery hooked up to it yet, but the bulge pump looks partially disassembled and it's sitting in some water. This water could be very likely from the trip home, as we were given rain off and on the whole trip. I'm hoping to screw with the pump and put a battery on the boat this weekend.
Motor is in good shape, but hasn't ran in a while. My plan is to put some oil in each cylinder and then fog each cylinder. I'll let it sit, then maybe do it again. I'd like to leave plugs out and see if it will crank.
Stringers will need replaced at some point, but I'm hoping I can push it for a few years. I am fairly self sufficient and that will be an eventual DIY job.
Gel coat looks good, though there is some staining and general sun damage. I'm probably not gonna get to buffing it this winter, but I think it'll clean up nice.
Steering wheel will not turn, not sure why. Haven't begun to troubleshoot but I'm hopeful it will be something dumb.
It came with a few sets of skis, knee boards and tubes. I don't have much experience on any of that stuff but I'm excited to try! I'm trying to get my 5 year old pumped for playing out on the water!
I'll hopefully get an order for an impeller and other random parts in the next few days. Anything else I should just replace and not mess with? Thank you in advance for your future help!
Senior Member
Originally Posted by Psode27
Congrats! Glad the trip went well. My '83 Rider trailer had original seals with original paint up until I changed them last year. The outer bearings had been replaced but never the inner bearings or seals. I drove it to Connecticut and back in 3 days with no issues after doing all four wheels cause it's no fun to be stuck on the side of the highway with bearing issues.
Do the engine bolts tighten down? Are the stringers solid around the engine mounts?
Time to change that steering cable. They do get hard to turn with age and this one is toast sitting for so long.
I use IMGUR.com for pics. Just paste and copy the BBCode under the share link tab once you have uploaded images.
Hope to see pics soon.
1983 Supra Rider aka Mischief IV
1983 Supra Beast
1985 Supra Rider
1986 Supra Sunsport Skier
1987 Supra Marauder
1991 Supra Comp ts6m
2012 Supra Sunsport 242
Junior Member
Sorry for the delay in response, life has been a blur! To get you up to speed, boat looks in mostly great shape. Can't complain about the interior, exterior needs buffed, but that actually sound like fun at this point. Engine looks to be in good shape. Haven't tried to turn over yet. I took plugs out and fogged cylinders when I got home. I wanted some oil to sit for a bit before I tried to move things around.
I took out back seat the other day to remove steering cable. Steering was/is completely seized! After about a solid week if spraying penetrating oil down the cable, it's still locked up solid. I might try and put some air pressure behind it. Part of me just wants to give up and replace the cable. While I was down there, I wiggled my rudder around. It appears as though I need to rebuild it. I'm hopeful it's just got wax-rope packing? Never done this before but doesn't look too bad. Next to my rudder, my stringer shows some major rot/damage. I could shove my finger through the fiberglass. It only appears to be bad on one side. I'd still like to put stringer replacement off a few years if possible. I've got a decent garage for the project, however I've got a 63 impala that is gutted right now waiting for me to put it back together. My wife may actually kill me if I tore down a boat at the same time.
Hopefully the pictures work. If they don't, I'll try to fix them!
IMG_20211107_130225981 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr
IMG_20211107_124034581 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr
IMG_20211107_123848013 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr
IMG_20211030_170115302 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr
I forgot to out wrench on motor mount bolts, but they don't look awful visually. I do that next time I'm out there.
EDIT: Pictures fixed
Last edited by Psode27; 11-11-2021 at 08:13 AM.
Junior Member
DSCF2274 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr
DSCF2256-1 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr
DSCF2262 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr
DSCF2235 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr This picture of the tow pole is kind of odd. I have no explanation how this occurred. My aunt said its been like that since she bought it (1994ish).
Junior Member
IMG_20211107_124026092 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr I'm not sure if you can tell by this picture what type of rudder packing I have?
DSCF2270 by Paul Soderlund, on Flickr
I didn't realize there was a max picture limit of 4 per post. I have many more pictures if anything would be helpful to see. I'm not sure if the prop through point in the hull (grease box?) is good or not. Its strikes me though that this might be the time to address any issues I might have there. Boat was last registered in 2017, however I'm not sure that it's seen water even that recent. Any help in identifying potential issues and lake-worthiness is appreciated! I've got two kids (5 and 9mo), a single income and unfortunately no ability at this time to write big checks. I'm pretty handy and not afraid to wander into a decent-sized project. I'm praying, desperately praying, that I can put off any sort of stringer issue for a while yet.
Senior Member
Very nice!! It appears to be in great shape like you say minus the stringer rot. Too bad they did not do a better job with it from the factory.
Scrap that pylon for another one...looks to be in bad shape. I believe I have a spare or two. Not black but solid aluminum.
Otherwise, definitely check those engine bolts before using. Glad to see another saved and find a good home.
I have composite stringers in my '91 but I had to do extensive gel work and upholstery so it's a trade off it seems. Thanks for posting. I like it!!!
1983 Supra Rider aka Mischief IV
1983 Supra Beast
1985 Supra Rider
1986 Supra Sunsport Skier
1987 Supra Marauder
1991 Supra Comp ts6m
2012 Supra Sunsport 242
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