1995 Supra update

OVERKILL

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Ontario, Canada
As I expect some will recall, we purchased an "as is" 1995 Supra Comp TS6M a couple of years ago with some superficial cracks in the fibreglass below the engine and was instructed to operate it for the season without worry by the fibreglass expert I consulted with. Previous thread can be found here.

So, issues with the boat when purchased:
1. Cracks in fibreglass below engine
2. Gas gauge didn't work
3. Engine went into limp mode at 3,000RPM
4. Engine surged
5. Transmission seal was leaking ATF
6. Driveshaft seal was leaking water
7. There was significant water ingress at the rub rail

Most of the list has been addressed at this point.

1. Boat was, as noted in the older thread, taken to a fibreglass repair shop that specializes in marine repair. The superficial cracks were ground out and repaired. They were, as expected, shallow, and not down into the Kevlar layer. He installed drains from the floor section into the bilge, as the foam can get saturated if the boat gets a lot of water in it, and this is a way to avoid that. Some small reinforcements were added and he re-adhered the floor to the stringers and bracing, as Supra used an adhesive rather than fasteners and it had let go. The floor, like the rest of the boat, does not use any wood, it's a composite material.

2. I ordered a new fuel level sender from Florida, but I then determined that the gauge was also faulty, so I've replaced that. The sender is a floatless model custom ordered for the boat but we are having an issue now where full is actually just a hair over half on the gauge, so something is not quite right yet. The gauge was ordered to match the profile of the sender, so I've got to reach out to the sender manufacturer and follow-up.

3. This was a bad thermal switch on the intake, temporarily dealt with by virtue of bypass 2nd day of ownership, I replaced the temp switch before putting it in the water this year.

4. This is a common EEC-IV issue, solved with replacing the TPS, whose voltage was all over the map.

5. I ordered a special viton seal from the UK to avoid a butyl replacement, which is all I could get domestically. The input shaft required a speedy sleeve, both were installed out at my buddy's shop when the trans and engine were out of the boat for the fibreglass repair.

6. I replaced the rope seal after a few weeks of us driving it, but it needs to be tightened as it is leaking again. I may go for a dripless seal at the end of the season in anticipation of next.

7. This was dealt with at the same time as the fibreglass work. He removed the rub rail and most of the screws were loose or almost all the way out. It was re-fastened with rivets and re-sealed and is now water tight. Apparently quite common.

So right now, I have one speedometer that doesn't work. I found it wasn't hooked up when I pulled apart the cluster, but reattaching the tube hasn't resulted in it working again. Next step is to blow some air down the tube, assuming it is blocked.

So far, we've been really quite happy with it, given what was paid for it. It has 448 hours on it now, the venerable SBF runs fantastically well and we've already got a fair bit of use of it it this summer.

A pic of it at home in the boathouse:
[Linked Image]


And a short video of my sister (driving), wife and daughter going out for a tour:



Should add, currently has Irving (!!!!) ATF in the trans and Delvac 1 5w-40 in the sump with a Fleetguard stratapore filter on it.
 
Beautiful boat Overkill, and what a sound. Nice work.

I'm dealing w/ several of the same issues on our Century Resorter FGL light resto project.

I almost went for a dripless seal but kept the packing. I was concerned about taking water from the cooling feed. The seal I was looking at can use warm water after the engine, but I want to put some thought into how I'd plumb that. Be curious to what you eventually choose.
 
Originally Posted by wings&wheels
Beautiful boat Overkill, and what a sound. Nice work.

I'm dealing w/ several of the same issues on our Century Resorter FGL light resto project.

I almost went for a dripless seal but kept the packing. I was concerned about taking water from the cooling feed. The seal I was looking at can use warm water after the engine, but I want to put some thought into how I'd plumb that. Be curious to what you eventually choose.


Yes, I recall our exchanges in your thread! How is it coming along?
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL

Yes, I recall our exchanges in your thread! How is it coming along?


Very well. We launched her at the very end of last season and finished up this past Winter. I had to call in the Calvary late this Spring for help w/ the stuffing tube as the prior owner had managed to shear off both set screws on the shaft coupler... They weren't stainless and didn't want to budge.

I've since replaced the somewhat cheesy Grant wheel (which replaced a sticky vinyl one) w/ a period wooden one.

[Linked Image]
 
Originally Posted by wings&wheels
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Looks excellent! How is it running?


Great, thanks (furiously knocking on wood).


grin.gif


Growing up around antiques as you know, I know that feeling well!
lol.gif
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL

Yes, I recall our exchanges in your thread! How is it coming along?


Very well. We launched her at the very end of last season and finished up this past Winter. I had to call in the Calvary late this Spring for help w/ the stuffing tube as the prior owner had managed to shear off both set screws on the shaft coupler... They weren't stainless and didn't want to budge.

I've since replaced the somewhat cheesy Grant wheel (which replaced a sticky vinyl one) w/ a period wooden one.

[Linked Image]
My uncle has an 85? Century Coronado? But it is a Vdrive, great boat. Spacious and reliable.
 
My uncle has an 85? Century Coronado? But it is a Vdrive, great boat. Spacious and reliable.

We had a mid 70's Coronado, which was an inboard with the 440 Chrysler engine. It was a pig on fuel, but as you noted, spacious and generally reliable. Ours was quite loud however, Century did not fit them with mufflers.
 
We are now into the next season!
Got the hull polished up (the blue oxidizes like crazy when it sits):
UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_128c.jpg


Gas gauge is now working properly?! I wonder if I just over-tightened the gauge a bit. The mechanic at the place we stored it took a look at it and didn't see anything wrong, he reached out to Lauderdale Speedo but he can clearly cancel that request now that it's functioning properly. I was going to try another gauge but I clearly don't need to do that at this juncture.

Had it up to a bit over 45Mph on the gauge, which was about 3/4 throttle.

Per the previous list (which unfortunately lost its formatting), I've adjusted the driveshaft seal, which was needed due to it seeping.

Outstanding "issues" at this point are:
- Left speedo still isn't working, forgot to deal with that when it was out of the water
- Need to order a replacement head unit for the stereo, this one was missing the faceplate when we bought the boat and we might as well get bluetooth

And nestled into its summer home once again:

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_129e.jpg


And the reasonably famous Muskoka steamship duo (well, only one of them is actually a steamship, the Winona is a diesel-powered reproduction):
UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_129c.jpg
 
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