1960 Glass Magic Siren - Project

JPalm79

Cadet
Joined
Sep 15, 2017
Messages
15
Howdy all, my wife and I were gifted her great uncles' 1960 Glass Magic Siren. It has been sitting in his backyard since 1996 and let me tell you... it's a lump of coal at the moment. I have all of the paperwork and whatnot which is good. She's got a '71 Chrysler 55hp outboard on the back and we found the original gas tank too.

Had to haul her on a flat bed trailer to my working location at my uncles house, and clean out all of the years of general trash and debris. No question it'll be a complete gut and rebuild. But look at those lines!
 

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JPalm79

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Joined
Sep 15, 2017
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We got her safely over to the working holding grounds... and started the cleanup and tearout. I forgot to bring my good power washer to get it going right... that'll be another day. But was able to clean out most of the complete soggy mush from the deck and get the stringers exposed. Hadn't seen one with 8 wide... I'm kind of hoping they are moulded fiberglass and NOT wood, but I doubt it. I need to go back with my dremmel and a mask and finish cutting it out as close as I can to the side.

Cap will have to come off eventually to get the transom out, I'm sure it's gone too although the engine felt pretty solid. Didn't seem like it flexed that much.

There is a pretty good hole in the front of the bow where the PO hit something hard. I've got to try and access that area first to see what sort of damage we're looking at on the inside.
 

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Big Gee

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jun 29, 2011
Messages
173
Nice project!

Looking forward to following along. :emmersed:
 

sphelps

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Nov 16, 2011
Messages
11,429
Cool old runabout ! Looking forward to seeing her all new and shinny again !
 

Bayou Dave

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Dec 13, 2012
Messages
1,780
You got lucky. Looks like all the original hardware is there and the windshield is not cracked!
 

JPalm79

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Joined
Sep 15, 2017
Messages
15
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Lucky is one way to look at it yes... lol. The windshield is a plexi I'm pretty sure, and it DOES have 3 cracks, but they are vertical and really not that bad. The old hardware is horribly pitted but I may be able to save it all.
 

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JPalm79

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Sep 15, 2017
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Had another cleanup day on the boat... It's about an hour away from home currently and I can't convince my wife to let me garage it yet... Yet. Discovered that the stringers are in fact hollow. Did a couple of drill tests to confirm but there is nothing there, wet or otherwise. So that's good.

The bad... after a closer inspection there were a couple of ugly cracks in the gelcoat around the transom. Now, I'm 100% sure I need to replace the transom anyways, so I'm hoping these are just swelling cracks from the wood expansion and the fiberglass underneath is okay.

But gave her a nice pressure wash and she cleans up okay... I'm ready to pull the motor and bring THAT home at least.
 

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JPalm79

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Sep 15, 2017
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Honestly it looks to me like it was something added later... does seem like a ladder but it doesn't flip up. More of bent metal. BUT... it did come with a removable side-ladder that fits perfectly over the top-cap near the back of the boat. Something to store on-board. I have the original bimini hardware structure as well which is pretty neat.
 

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SOG3

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Aug 24, 2015
Messages
78
Honestly it looks to me like it was something added later... does seem like a ladder but it doesn't flip up. More of bent metal. BUT... it did come with a removable side-ladder that fits perfectly over the top-cap near the back of the boat. Something to store on-board. I have the original bimini hardware structure as well which is pretty neat.
Looks like a failed kicker motor bracket !
 

JPalm79

Cadet
Joined
Sep 15, 2017
Messages
15
Looks like a failed kicker motor bracket !
Oh hey that's a good point.... I didn't even think about that. There wasn't a great place to mount a trolling motor that I saw but I never got that far in my head.
 

JPalm79

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Joined
Sep 15, 2017
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15
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Spent some time this week with a good outboard stand template and using the leftover wood and casters in my garage got my stand ready to bring home the 55hp Chrysler and start trying to resurrect it. Tons of good info on this site on what I need to do to get that process started.

Got sidetracked over the last couple of weeks, but with the kiddos soccer seasons winding down (coaching 3 teams) it's time to dedicate some hours to get this lady back on the lake.
 

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Buckischloo

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Feb 8, 2014
Messages
48
The windshield is truly one of the redeeming items in your project. The plexiglass can be replaced, there are a few posters here who have done it. Having the frame and hardware is priceless. The other hardware may clean up and can be restored. Boats like these have the lines I grew up with and bring back wonderful memories as a kid. Back then everyone had a speedboat, today they all have pontoons. That Chrysler motor is different from any of the ones I have seen. Glad you have a realistic attitude about your project. Good Luck.
 

JPalm79

Cadet
Joined
Sep 15, 2017
Messages
15
Thanks! That's another thing I want to take off ASAP and bring home is all of the hardware I can. I'd love to figure out how to retrofit a couple of LEDs in the bow light but keep the look/feel of the original. I have my interior inspiration from a facebook group.

My dad (60) thinks I'm crazy for trying it all... but then again, tells me about my grandfathers '57 Larson Playboy that he rode around in when he was younger. Totally wish that thing was still around somewhere I could get my hands on.
 
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