my 78 chrysler Bass Runner rebuild

[f4milym4n]

OK.. so I traded my 2000 400ex quad for this boat which came with the trailer, electric tolling motor, fish finder and a bunch of rot. The boat has the original 115 motor which appears to be in decent shape. This is my first boat so I am learning everything while diving in to a complete tear down. Already I have encounter very awesome people on this forum in the short time I have posted questions so I know this rebuild will be a breeze.

As you can see in the pics I already took the cap off and the transom is completely rotted along with the floor and foam. So last night I went from complete boat to, cap off and floor already torn out. also have the transom removed. I don't have the pics of the foam removal cus my body was completely dead after trying to remove that crap. the foam is about 90% removed.

Most may say just to part it and buy better... wheres the fun(pain) in that. I like a challenge and I deffinately like learning new things. I am in AZ in the military so I will attempt to recruit as many of my fellow soldiers, friends, family, wife, and kids, to make this project easier. So please join me on this rebuild and please be my guest in the constructive criticism and help. Thanks for the future help everyone.

 

[f4milym4n]

Re: my 78 chrysler Bass Runner rebuild

 

[zopperman]

Re: my 78 chrysler Bass Runner rebuild

Now you have yourself a thread in the right forum with people much smarter than me Everything is looking good, she's decapitated and ready for some work. I'd build a cradle of sorts for the cap while it's sitting so that it retains its shape during the resto so that you don't have any trouble trying to refit it

And many hands make light work... especially for the grunt work like pulling foam.
You're lucky you got the transom out, that can be very difficult for some people (me)

 

[ezmobee]

Re: my 78 chrysler Bass Runner rebuild

That's a nice looking boat and should be a great fishing platform. Nice to see a badass looking Chrysler motor on a Chrysler boat. Good luck with your project.

 

[zopperman]

Re: my 78 chrysler Bass Runner rebuild

BTW -- it looks like you took that aluminum plate off the transom? Just my 2 cents -- would it be of any detriment to keep it on in addition to your new transom?

 

[goboating]

Re: my 78 chrysler Bass Runner rebuild

You had mentioned making a stand for the cap. Please do yourself a favor and make a cradle for the hull. There are some members who now wish they had done this. Its not uncommon for the hull to flex out of shape while you are working on it. You can leave the hull on the trailer and use it to help set up the cradle.

 

[f4milym4n]

Re: my 78 chrysler Bass Runner rebuild

yah that cap was just two pieces with 4 screws on the top of the fiberglass. I will be putting that back on. I had to cut the cap a little on the back because it was super duper uber glued to the transom. I plan on keeping the hull strapped so it doesnt flex in the meantime.

 

[zopperman]

Re: my 78 chrysler Bass Runner rebuild

Yeah.. the cradle is a must. I used a closed cell blue foam sheet from hoem depot. I actually got them from and at the suggestion of another iboats member It's really great stuff, easy to work with. Keep it AWAY from acetone and gasoline and resin and mek-p...

You will be a glassing pro by the end of this. You can use your new skills to fix the cut in the cap

 

[f4milym4n]

Re: my 78 chrysler Bass Runner rebuild

got almost all the foam out and I am down to the fiberglass left over from the stringers. My question for the next step is... what is the best way to get these old stringer fiber strips out of the boat so i can be down to bare hull?

 

[zopperman]

Re: my 78 chrysler Bass Runner rebuild

Nice job! A good shovel really helps gettingthat foam out.. a 4 1/2" angle grinder will get those old glass encasements off

 

[f4milym4n]

Re: my 78 chrysler Bass Runner rebuild

about to make my fiberglass order... any ideas on who i should order from and about how much i should. insight here would be a major help. thanks

 

[zopperman]

Re: my 78 chrysler Bass Runner rebuild

I just went through this.... US composites is the place to order from. Things you'll need: 1708 bi ax cloth, 1.5 oz CSM, cabosil for making the PB, chopped fibers for PB. (Maybe a roller, mixing buckets, RESIN (you can be cheap like me and use the 435 marine resin, but the 404 resin is better) You shoudl read up on fiberglass: http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=286013. The rule of thumb, as told to me by USC, is that 1 QT (1/4th gallon) of resin will pre coat one side of a 4x8 sheet and will wet out 1 yd x 38" of CSM of bi ax... I found that the 1708 EATS resin... it is very thick. But it is also relatively easy to work with.... What is the sq. footage of everything you're glassing...

When i did my deck, I had about 40 sq. ft. and 3 gals of resin did everything and 10 yards of bi ax coated both sides. I had 5 qts of cabosil and have half of it left over.. I would start doing some math and figuring out what you need... you can also talk to the tech (steve) at us composites. He is very helpful...

 

[jigngrub]

Re: my 78 chrysler Bass Runner rebuild

I don't even have a clue about how much, but a lot of people get their glass stuff here:

http://www.uscomposites.com/

They also have the best price I've seen on the 2 part urethane floatation foam.

 

[zopperman]

Re: my 78 chrysler Bass Runner rebuild

they do have good prices on the pour in foam.. PERSONALLY I found the foam sheets very easy to work with and they ARE less expensive... one or two sheets will do that whole boat and then some. I have not worked with the US composites pour in foam, but I am sure it's a great product and many people here have used it and had great results.

 

[zopperman]

Re: my 78 chrysler Bass Runner rebuild

Let's see an update!!