Well I just recently bought a 1971 Tom Sawyer, and it's actually in pretty good condition which I'm really happy about. It has a 165 MerCruiser inboard/outboard motor in it that starts up perfectly like it was brand new. Now since this boat is in pretty hood condition it's going to be a while before I actually get to fully restoring it, but I will be doing some small things to it through out the year. I don't have any pictures of it right at this moment, but I will for sure get some pictures up here as soon as I can. I'm also going to be redoing the trailer on this boat as well so I want to do a 2 part restore on this thread being the boat and trailer. The trailer will be done way before the boat is done so I will for now be putting more pictures of the trailer on here.
A little details on the boat since I can't get any pictures on here right now. It is white in color which it will remain that color when I repaint it. The interior first with the seats. They are green in color, and starting to crack. I will have to eventually have new vinyl put on the seats, but that will be after the boating season is done for this year. The carpet in it is also a greenish color, and will be be replaced after this boating season as well. The interior vinyl is a darker yellow kind of a gold color. I will be changing the interior either to a blue/white or black/white coloring. The outside of the hull will have some graphics painted on it.
Now as far as the restoring I'm going to do on the boat through out the boating season; I'm planning on replacing the lights on it, possibly place new carpet in it, add a stereo, and a few other small items.
When I got this boat the gears were stripped on the lower drive unit, and I called MerCruiser about this and told them about my 1984 Ebbtide boat and the motor on it. They told me that the lower drive unit would fit on the drive unit on the 1971 Tom Sawyer which was nice to hear. I took the lower drive unit off the Ebbtide, and matched it up with the upper drive unit on the Tom sawyer, and perfect match. The whole outer drive unit was taken to the local boat shop so they could test it, and it works perfectly. Now I just have to take it to the boat shop in 2 weeks and they will slide the outer drive unit back into the boat, change the rubber grauments on the trim, grease it, and put the new prop on it. I was told $150.00 for all of this which I think is a pretty good price. They are also going to change the plugs, and oil on it as well.
The trailer is going to be a simple restore project. I'm going to replace all the rollers with new ones. Right now it is white, but I'm going to repaint it as a metallic black with silver flakes. The wiring harness has been replaced with a new one already, and I have already put new lights on it. I also put 5 extra lights on it as well. I added a yellow on each side on the front part of the fender, and red on the rear of the fender. I also added the 3 light bar on the very back of the trailer in the middle. I will also be taking some "O" bolts and welding them along the top of the trailer for the bungie cords for the boat cover. That way it will make it easier to tie down the boat cover. The trailer also has trailer brakes on it that are built into the tongue which I just need to build a new cover for it since the old one broke on me.
This is going to be a fun rebuild project, and I will enjoy it much more than my Ebbtide that I have another thread about. This boat thankfully requires less work to be done to it.
A little details on the boat since I can't get any pictures on here right now. It is white in color which it will remain that color when I repaint it. The interior first with the seats. They are green in color, and starting to crack. I will have to eventually have new vinyl put on the seats, but that will be after the boating season is done for this year. The carpet in it is also a greenish color, and will be be replaced after this boating season as well. The interior vinyl is a darker yellow kind of a gold color. I will be changing the interior either to a blue/white or black/white coloring. The outside of the hull will have some graphics painted on it.
Now as far as the restoring I'm going to do on the boat through out the boating season; I'm planning on replacing the lights on it, possibly place new carpet in it, add a stereo, and a few other small items.
When I got this boat the gears were stripped on the lower drive unit, and I called MerCruiser about this and told them about my 1984 Ebbtide boat and the motor on it. They told me that the lower drive unit would fit on the drive unit on the 1971 Tom Sawyer which was nice to hear. I took the lower drive unit off the Ebbtide, and matched it up with the upper drive unit on the Tom sawyer, and perfect match. The whole outer drive unit was taken to the local boat shop so they could test it, and it works perfectly. Now I just have to take it to the boat shop in 2 weeks and they will slide the outer drive unit back into the boat, change the rubber grauments on the trim, grease it, and put the new prop on it. I was told $150.00 for all of this which I think is a pretty good price. They are also going to change the plugs, and oil on it as well.
The trailer is going to be a simple restore project. I'm going to replace all the rollers with new ones. Right now it is white, but I'm going to repaint it as a metallic black with silver flakes. The wiring harness has been replaced with a new one already, and I have already put new lights on it. I also put 5 extra lights on it as well. I added a yellow on each side on the front part of the fender, and red on the rear of the fender. I also added the 3 light bar on the very back of the trailer in the middle. I will also be taking some "O" bolts and welding them along the top of the trailer for the bungie cords for the boat cover. That way it will make it easier to tie down the boat cover. The trailer also has trailer brakes on it that are built into the tongue which I just need to build a new cover for it since the old one broke on me.
This is going to be a fun rebuild project, and I will enjoy it much more than my Ebbtide that I have another thread about. This boat thankfully requires less work to be done to it.
