1991 Glasstream 180SE restoration

[Tex60]

Ok it wouldn't have been my first choice but when a buddy calls up and says FREE boat and the hull looks decent I'm thinking good summer project for my son and I and if it turns out to be a bust, there is not much money tied up in it. These are the before I touched anything pics I just pulled it home and parked it (well sorta I did get about 8 to 10" of leaves out of the floor before taking the pics)

 

[Tex60]

Re: 1991 Glasstream 180SE restoration

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: 1991 Glasstream 180SE restoration

If it were me, I would not even take it for free. It looks like the engine is gone, and so is the interior (stringers, transom, seats). The only good thing is the fiberglass hull. I am not sure the numbers, but to make it safe and get it on the water you may be in the ballpark of 6 to 8 grand.

 

[Tex60]

Re: 1991 Glasstream 180SE restoration

That was the day we brought it home, today I got some good news on getting the registration cleared up so, I went out and took a siphon pump and pumped out all the old gas in the tank(6 gal). Removed the home made seat/engine cover. Next step is to get the shop vac out and get the rest of the leaves and crud out of the floor where I will be spending a good bit of time as I'm working on the engine. The story I got on one of the guys that had possession of this boat is the kind of guy that would have pulled all that stuff off of the engine even if all it needed was a set of spark plugs, so the condition of the engine is a mistery. We will do a compression test then just start putting things back where they go. BTW the deck is solid just needs a piece of carpet. If the engine does need a rebuild because of the auto racing and kart racing I have the ability to do the rebuild myself including the machine work. My wife has some apolstery experience so while it won't be fancy when we get done it won't cost much.

 

[Tex60]

Re: 1991 Glasstream 180SE restoration

If it were me, I would not even take it for free. It looks like the engine is gone, and so is the interior (stringers, transom, seats). The only good thing is the fiberglass hull. I am not sure the numbers, but to make it safe and get it on the water you may be in the ballpark of 6 to 8 grand.

Thanks for the encouragement there! Good thing your not working on it then!

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 1991 Glasstream 180SE restoration

frisco posted before you posted your second update. At that point in time we were looking at a most likely rotted hull with a most likely bad engine. At that point I would have agreed with him. However if the deck is indeed solid and you think you can get the engine going without having to drop the coin for a new one, then in my opinion it's a worthwhile project because it is a sharp looking hull that will be real nice fixed up. Please check VERY carefully to make sure that everything is indeed structurally solid. 90% of boats like that one left out in the weather unprotected for a while as that one clearly has....would be rotted to the core. Deck, stringers, engine mounts, etc etc. Those issues are all fixable but it's time consuming and the materials aren't exactly cheap.

 

[seamorewaterVIP]

Re: 1991 Glasstream 180SE restoration

Question How do you know that the deck is solid?

have your drilled any inspection holes? or are you judging solid from the "feel" of it.


frisco is a wealth of knowledge from experience you might look up his thread on the sea ray and read the first ten pages.

A Good feeling deck can be disceaving.

You are ahead of many of us because some of us actualy paid good money for our rebuilds not nowing the were rebuilds when we bought them. HOWEVER, there will be some cash outlay just be ready to bust out another thousand.

I say check it over real well before you spend your first dollar. Then make a plan and go for it.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1991 Glasstream 180SE restoration

Question How do you know that the deck is solid?

have your drilled any inspection holes? or are you judging solid from the "feel" of it.


frisco is a wealth of knowledge from experience you might look up his thread on the sea ray and read the first ten pages.

A Good feeling deck can be disceaving.

You are ahead of many of us because some of us actualy paid good money for our rebuilds not nowing the were rebuilds when we bought them. HOWEVER, there will be some cash outlay just be ready to bust out another thousand.

I say check it over real well before you spend your first dollar. Then make a plan and go for it.

EXACTLY!!

From the looks of it, it appears to have been sitting uncovered and exposed to the elements for some time. Do you understand the substructure of a boat and what lies below the deck? Have you done core samples on the transom! Have you checked the integrity of the Outdrive to ensure it was winterized properly and did not freeze up and crack? Have you pressure checked the Gas tank to ensure it has no leaks? Does the boat have Floatation Foam? Is it WaterLogged? We are NOT trying to be NEGATIVE. What we ARE trying to do is save you the time and effort of working on something that will drain your wallet and NOT pay off in the long term. We have ALL been there and done THAT!!!

 

[Tex60]

Re: 1991 Glasstream 180SE restoration

Priority is to get the engine running but with the OT I've been working and getting home with not much daylight left I wanted to do something so I got a bucket and washed it off. All the black came off with soap and water and a spunge. I figured it would based on the wet finger test I did when I looked at the boat the first time. We live in the forest in the mountains of NC I have to pressure wash my house once a year to keep that stuff under control. So the gel coat will need a buffing and polishing to put the shine back on it. I told my son to use the heat gun to remove the pin stripes, something he has experience doing and he can do when I'm not home. This will make the buffing easier/faster when I get to that and then just put on some new ones that aren't messed up.

I did do a compression check since my last post and got 150 in all 4 cyl. and my son and I pulled about half a qt of oil out of it with a small hose run to the bottom of the oil pan through the dipstick tube, no water but I did smell some old gas in the oil, that would explain why the guy pulled the carb and intake off. Tomorrow evening or Sat I plan to drain the oil to confirm there is no water in the oil.