1959 Lone Star El Dorado "Project Texas Tornado" - Winner 2016 Resto SOTY Award

[Luke000]

1959 Lone Star El Dorado "Project Texas Tornado" - Winner 2016 Resto SOTY Award

Not two weeks after finishing the last boat (1956 Duratech S13R “Project Pop Can”) I was on Craigslist and something caught my eye… a 1956 Lone Star El Dorado and I fell in love with the thing. The last project was a boat for my dad, and after loving doing all the work on it, I decided I wanted to take one on for myself. The boat was about a half hour away from my house, I went with my dad and grandpa to look at and ended up making an offer and settling on a price. We did not have the right stuff to pull it home so we came back a few days later and brought her back.

The Boat is 18 feet in length with an 84 inch beam, made in Grand Prairie, Texas, very tall sides, and a cabin with plenty of headroom for my 6’2 frame. The boat is in good shape, most of the original parts are all there. The boat did not come with a motor, but it is rated for up to an 80 horse power outboard or twin 40’s, I will probably go with something around a 70HP. The boat DID come with a trailer that I believe is the original Lone Star trailer. It is going to need LOTS of work (and money) to get into the shape I want it but I am ready to do it. The first job is to get the hull stripped down and tested for leaks, then after that is done I will rebuild the trailer and get it into restored condition.

The history of the boat is the original owner bought it new, always kept it inside and kept it in good condition, he passed and his son-in-law took position of it where it sat uncovered in his yard, filled up with water for many years before finally getting sold to the guy I bought it from who used it a few times. It was last in the water 3 years ago.

The name of the boat is going to be “Texas Tornado” after the old Buck Owens song.

And now for some pictures!

Bringing it home:





All home!

 

[Luke000]

More Pics:





Now we ran into a little problem, our garage door is 6’11 tall and the boat is 7’1 when the trailer jack is all the way down and the grab rails are on the roof. I decided to take a spare trailer ball, a 2X6, and a furniture dolly and make this little gem! All it needs is a floor jack to drop it down low enough.


It JUST was able to fit in our garage. I got some of the stuff out and really take it in.

 

[Luke000]

Some More



You can see how much water was in the boat over the last few years



And finally a few cool original things that came with the boat:

Canvas that closes off the cabin


The original commode!

 

[jbcurt00]

Awesome 2nd project! Congrats!

 

[GA_Boater]

Looks like you found a time capsule, Luke. Good find! :thumb:

 

[jigngrub]

Very cool boat!!!... and with a SJ, uh... er... poo poo jacket ta boot! All the girlies on the boat are going to love that!:cheer2:

What's the decking in that little jewel, is it painted or vinyl or what?

What size motor you going to put on her?... please don't say a 9.9.:faint2:

That boat seriously needs a "toot-toot" steam whistle.:rockon:

 

[friderday]

I was waiting for the garage remodel like when the last one went in the basement. Cool old boat..

 

[jigngrub]

I was waiting for the garage remodel like when the last one went in the basement. Cool old boat..

Yeah, they're going to have to take down more than a knee wall to get this one in the basement... maybe dig a tunnel too!:laugh:

 

[jbcurt00]

interesting stuff over @ FG:

I like the convertible back to backs (which look to be in decent shape in your pix, or at least present) plus they fold out forward, and that the aft cabin (rear deck area) was wide open & empty originally: no built in seats, benches, storage etc, w/ just a fold down table.

Not sure it's the 'right' way to say it, because I suspect it's seen plenty of action but the marine head is a true survivor as it matches the sales ad for 1959, so it's original ainkiller:

Be careful if it's a macerator head. It's designed to discharge directly overboard thru the hull. And can lead to unpleasant results when at anchor..... I bet it's no longer legal in most waterways. Your DNR/Fish & Wildlife should be able to tell you.

If you got it at a great price, watch out for WOG, Mike has contemplated joining the dark side (the TIN nation) w/ this exact style/size boat :cool-new: to match the Blue Flamingo :cool-new:

 

[Mikeopsycho]

Wow! An awesome find! I'm gonna tag along for this rebuild, looks like lots of room in this jewel of a boat. A real piece of history.

 

[Luke000]

Very cool boat!!!... and with a SJ, uh... er... poo poo jacket ta boot! All the girlies on the boat are going to love that!:cheer2:

What's the decking in that little jewel, is it painted or vinyl or what?

What size motor you going to put on her?... please don't say a 9.9.:faint2:

That boat seriously needs a "toot-toot" steam whistle.:rockon:

The OE decking was a composite "wood" matirial that was screwed down and painted in the much beloved, original, "speckle paint" that seems to cover the rest of the interior uke: (I have a few of the original floors and sides) but the guy I bought it from had used plywood and a vinyl flooring when he replaced it. I will, of course, be doing something new, but I have not decided on that part yet.
As for the motor...I am going to be looking around for a mid/late 70's Evinrude/Johnson 70HP triple OR a similarly powered Mercury. Once I get closer to buying a motor I will do more research into what brand I want and what meets my needs. And my needs wont be satisfied with a 9.9 :lol:

 

[Luke000]

interesting stuff over @ FG:

I like the convertible back to backs (which look to be in decent shape in your pix, or at least present) plus they fold out forward, and that the aft cabin (rear deck area) was wide open & empty originally: no built in seats, benches, storage etc, w/ just a fold down table.

Not sure it's the 'right' way to say it, because I suspect it's seen plenty of action but the marine head is a true survivor as it matches the sales ad for 1959, so it's original ainkiller:

Be careful if it's a macerator head. It's designed to discharge directly overboard thru the hull. And can lead to unpleasant results when at anchor..... I bet it's no longer legal in most waterways. Your DNR/Fish & Wildlife should be able to tell you.

If you got it at a great price, watch out for WOG, Mike has contemplated joining the dark side (the TIN nation) w/ this exact style/size boat :cool-new: to match the Blue Flamingo :cool-new:

For the week before I got the boat, I was constantly looking at the sales ad from '59 on FG. And this boat has and came with all the "Custom Accessories" on that list except for the flying bridge.

I forgot to mention, I do have that original fold down table too! It is somewhere in the pile. Seats are present and a perfect template for new ones, that is about it; they look MUCH better in pictures than in real life. The head is a macerator head unfortunately...It seems to function but I am %99.99 sure it is illegal in Michigan, the PO pulled it out and temporarily plugged the holes in the hull. I don't think it will be re-installed, unless there is some possible way to convert it to a mini holding tank system. It is a shame, it survived 55 years with the boat and only needs some fresh paint/glaze. If someone can think of a way for me to rig something up LET ME KNOW!

The sealed off fittings for the head:

 

[Luke000]

I got a good amount of work done. Cleaned out the boat, stripped it down, power washed everything and filled it up with water to find leaks. There are a few small leaks that I will seal with West Systems G-Flex, and about 25-50 rivets that will need to be replaced, some where they are a little corroded, some loose, and some completely missing that some HACK replaced with bolts and globed on the silicone. The transom is solid, and that is good because I would have to drill and replace A LOT of rivets to pull it out. But overall- good shape for the age and nothing that can not be fixed!

Pictures all striped down and washed:

 

[Luke000]

Some of the bolts that a PO has replaced with bolts and silicone....


And a pile of the flotation foam I removed from the sides...



It is a tight squeeze, but no match for my custom trailer caster :first:

 

[GA_Boater]

Other than the leaks/rivets you mentioned, the only bad thing seems to be the starboard windshield. The rest of the windows look good. The head will be trouble converting to a holding tank - Not much room for a tank. Thank stinks! :smile:

 

[Corjen1]

When we had the pop up camper, there was a cassette type toilet in it. never used it, but might work in this situation,,,,,

 

[Luke000]

When we had the pop up camper, there was a cassette type toilet in it. never used it, but might work in this situation,,,,,

I will look into that, but for now it will probably be just a coffee can unless I can find room for a 3 gallon holding tank

 

[wilkboater]

Just subscribed, cool boat. Looking forward to seeing it come back to life.

 

[Luke000]

Now that step 1: tear-down, is complete and onto phase 2: trailer. With the help from my brother, dad and two guys from work we were able to lift the hull off the trailer (about 6-700 pounds) and set it on some wood posts. After some paint scraping, I found out that the trailer is indeed the original Lone Star Boat Co.-made trailer! The model is called the "Road Crown" with a 1600LB capacity and had a retail price of $359. It is in decent shape for its age, I am going to completely restore it, bring the necessary stuff up to modern standards, and get it ready for many miles ahead in its next 55 years.
I stared disassembling it and when I took the tongue off I realized that underneath the winch mast it was extremely rusted and a huge safety hazard, it was also a little bent and the welded on coupler was very sketchy at best (I am being nice) I decided to bite the bullet and I drove to my favorite metal supply yard in Detroit and got a brand new 10 foot 2"X3"x1/8 rectangular structural tube. This will allow me to add a few things and have a clean slate to start from that I know is solid. The rest of the trailer is all heavy duty C-channel (no place for water to get trapped) and is solid as a rock.
I have the trailer mostly disassembled now, ready to get stripped and prepped for paint. And a just placed a parts order for lots of new goodies!
I think I will have to pass on the green shag carpet that someone used as bunk carpet ;D

Cool note about the trailer, there is a lever that when pulled releases the tongue so the trailer can tilt, it also drops the rear bunks down so the boat can slide off easier.

 

[Luke000]

Old Vs New


Bad rust


Bent coupler and terrifying latch


Name sticker under some paint- Will have to work on getting a new one made


Brochure