OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
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:
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.
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:
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.