Rebuilding 1985 ski supreme NEED Help!!

Hi. New user to the iboats forums. been look around the web site for awhile and looks like there are alot of people with some good nolig of boats and how to's.

So the ski supreme i got was not so supreme...
I'm in the prosess of replacing the stringers with the cap off. going pretty good.

I'm having problems finding a pylon, and motor/trans parts. i dont have a complete motor only parts. no block mainly. it had a 351w and i would like to go to a 350??
Also the trans. i can not read any kind of name or any numbers on the cases? the fluid looks great and both shafts turn smoothly.

So mainly looking for info on those parts. anything would help at this point.
Where to get parts, will my trans fit on a 350 chevy???
Thanks Dave

Re: Rebuilding 1985 ski supreme NEED Help!!

Im new here too. Working on an 82 ski centurion w/ pcm 351 power.

A shot in the dark, your trans could be a borg warner velvet drive 1:1. Thats what mine is.

Not too much inboard ski boat presence here it seems, but they make up for it in hull knowledge.

Not sure if Im allowed to post this? But check out skidim.com. They are the authority on pcm powered classic ski boats. Give them a call and they will gladly fill your head with more knowledge than you need. (Im in no way affiliated, theyve just helped me out of the dark multiple times on my projects).

Im sure you can find a bellhousing to mate that trans to a SBC. Not sure where or what specs though.

As for the stringers, Im in the same boat (lol). cut the caps off and dug all that nasty wood out. Im left with very nice glass walls. Ive been recommended on here to use seacast. It seems you just prep the inside of the old glass, mix the seacast and pour. tuck in a strip of glass across the top and wet it and wait for the whole thin to cure, then prep and lay a layer of glass over it all. Ill let you know how it turns out if youre interested. Looks like Ill need about 400 in Seacast ot do the stringers in mine.

Good luck!

Also Ive found that most ski boats of that era are very similar. Im on correctcraftfan forums all the time learning since centurions dont have much support. Youre likely in the same position.

Re: Rebuilding 1985 ski supreme NEED Help!!

Thanks 82skifine
My stringers were totally shot. the wood and the glass. wood totally rotten and the glass was broken off at the bottom of the haul... i am using Rot Doctor produces and so far loving them. ill be glassing the the stringers this weekend. wish me luck!!!
thanks again and good luck on your project. let me know how the seacast works??

Re: Rebuilding 1985 ski supreme NEED Help!!

As far as going to the 350, just make sure that you go with an engine that is for a marine application. I bought an 85 nautique that had a blown motor with the idea that I would just rebuild it as I have countless others for automotive. I spoke with several marine mechanics and they assured me that it is crucial to use a marine engine because of the high rpms that they run for such extended periods.

Re: Rebuilding 1985 ski supreme NEED Help!!

I am also in the process of restoring a 1985 ski supreme. If your boat came with a 351w then it is very hard to change to a chevy motor. Your trany is a velvet drive. The tag for it is on the top left hand mount. Most engines that you will find at a bone yard rotate clockwise. All indmar engines are left hand engines. By swiching the rotation on the trany forward will be reverse and reverse is forward. They wont hold up to good.