1961 Texas Maid fiesta restoration

[Timbalero80]

I came up on a nice 16" Texas maid with an excellent running mercury 800!! However the upholstery along with decking was no good due to time in the sun and all the good elements of mother nature lol. Anyway I already replaced all the decking with 3/4" plywood which I applied 2-3 good coats to water proof and had my brother who has done upholstery for about 18 years now ( which by the way does excellent work ) install new carpet. So now my next step is either buying new seating or building some, which ever will be more cost effective ( I'm not a tight wad just on a budget ) anyway i am looking for used parts for my boat. I am in need of a windshield and raking for my boat. My goal is to try and restore it to its original condition. If anyone knows where I can find parts and has advice for a newbie like myself I would appreciate it. I will post some pics of the progress.

 

[andgott]

Re: 1961 Texas Maid fiesta restoration

Nice boat.

If you haven't found it yet, here is the original brochure-
http://www.fiberglassics.com/wiki/images/a/ad/Texasmaidb61006.jpg

Looks like it had fold down 'lounge' seats, which will be easy to replace.

The windshield will be a little tougher. That looks like an old taylor windshield. they come up on ebay from time to time, but shipping is killer. You can always make one-

http://www.glen-l.com/weblettr/webletters-5/wl43-windshield1.html

 

[Timbalero80]

Re: 1961 Texas Maid fiesta restoration

Thanks for the links!! Would I be able to use the old molding to the original windshield? I do have it but the plexiglass is broken. And also I have the original seat but like I said they are no good and it seems to me that at one point they were re done because they are made of 2x4's and they don't seem original to me but I could be wrong. Do you know of another link that can show me some original seats? Thanks again for your help!!

 

[andgott]

Re: 1961 Texas Maid fiesta restoration

Thanks for the links!! Would I be able to use the old molding to the original windshield? I do have it but the plexiglass is broken. And also I have the original seat but like I said they are no good and it seems to me that at one point they were re done because they are made of 2x4's and they don't seem original to me but I could be wrong. Do you know of another link that can show me some original seats? Thanks again for your help!!

The main texas maid page has loads of brochure pics-

http://www.fiberglassics.com/library/Texas_Maid

There are various years, and you'll probably see similar boats to get an idea of the seating.

You can use the aluminum that you've got to make the new windshield. Also, if you've got the old broken one, you can use it as a template. If you use Lexan, you can use MUCH thinner material, and it will bend without heat. I'll be doing this with my Lake N Sea- I've got the same taylor windshield and the plexiglass is cracked. My aluminum was bad, too- so ive got to replace it, too.

 

[Timbalero80]

Re: 1961 Texas Maid fiesta restoration

Thanks again for the info. I might just buy the seat already made because it might cost more to make. Doing the math and figuring out the cost of materials I'm looking at roughly about 500-600$. To buy two seat already made will run me about 350-400$. So yea I'm still debating. But I will defenately just replace the windshield with lexan. Thanks again!!