43 GT Build

[torrent]

I thought I would start a thread on the build, take apart, and rebuild of my 43 GT. Since I have owned it for 2 years and this is the 3rd time the engines are out.

To give a bit of back story I bought the boat as a repo with no power, no drives, no gauges and a bunch of other things were missing, broke or gone. The below pics show the condition I bought it in. I will post pics going back to the beginning when I first brought it home.

My new goal for the boat is for it to turn heads and run 100 everyday of the week.

 

[torrent]

Sitting home in my drive way and the stupid ugly hatches which had to go. At the time I only opted to have the hatch redone.



The new hatch with the modern logo


More pics to come

 

[racer511]

keep sending pics, very cool to see how far it has come, you did a great job

 

[torrent]

So... I think I will fast forward a bit. Over the past winter I decided to upgrade the engines from the 454's to 598's. They made over 800 hp and 852 ft lbs of torque and still building. I was able to get it done to run in the Boyne Thunder Poker Run but just barely. I maybe had two hours on it prior. There were a few issues at the beginning of the run, like a powersteering belt comimg off and eating part of the blower belt. Jim Valako happened to be with me at the time and said lets get a belt and see if we can get it back together. So thats what we did. The boat ran pretty well for the majority of the run (77 @ 5000rpms) until the last leg I noticed I lost about 200 rpm's on the starboard motor. It ended up being a valve broke causing havoc throughout the engine. Out the engines come and off to the machine shop. Which leads me to where I am at now. The below pic is engines in process of removal.

 

[torrent]

Here is a side view of the boat in my buddy Ryan's barn. He has been so kind to allow me to keep it there for the summer. See, he can be a nice guy. Don't let his first impressions fool you. LOL

 

[torrent]

One thing with this boat I could never get rid of the musty smell in the cockpit area. I figures the smell was coming from the seats and intended on doing the rest of the interior anyhow. No time like the present. Out the interior comes and off to McLeod Designs in Madison Heghts, MI. They did the redesign on the hatch and did a great job. By the way this cockpit interior does not come out easy at all. What I found when I got it out was much of the backer boards were crumbling. I think I found the culprit.

View attachment 74337

 

[torrent]

Here is pic that a took within the last few days that shows quite a bit of prgress to the current disassembly. I am seriously thinking about making this boat a staggered configuration. I am working on a 3D model to make sure I don't run into any hidden surprises. I would like to hear some of your thoughts. Please keep them constructive.

 

[torrent]

keep sending pics, very cool to see how far it has come, you did a great job

Thank you, The project has turned into a full restoration damn near. The only thing I don't think I will get into is the exterior paint or will I?

 

[Offshore Ginger]

Thank you, The project has turned into a full restoration damn near. The only thing I don't think I will get into is the exterior paint or will I?

I guess only time will tell and if you decide to change the scoops on the hatches let me know .

 

[Ratickle]

Changing to staggered would be a ton of work. Do you think that would make enough difference to be worth it?

 

[Ratickle]

Here is a side view of the boat in my buddy Ryan's barn. He has been so kind to allow me to keep it there for the summer. See, he can be a nice guy. Don't let his first impressions fool you. LOL

View attachment 74336

 

[torrent]

Changing to staggered would be a ton of work. Do you think that would make enough difference to be worth it?

That is the million dollar question. It will be a TON of work but the way I look at it is, there are not many 100 mph boats running out there using the side by side configuration.

 

[torrent]

I guess only time will tell and if you decide to change the scoops on the hatches let me know .

I ended up eliminating the scoops when I had the new sun pad done. The new sun pad covers have cut outs for the blowers to fit.

 

[torrent]

Here is a pic of the gauge panel I built with assistance of my father in laws Fadel to cut the holes.

 

[torrent]

The tv was missing when I got the boat so I had to install a flat screen and a wii. You can also see the switch/breaker panel. I installed this to get rid of all the breakers on the gauge panel. It helps clean it up alot as you can see in the above photo.

 

[torrent]

I seen how BT put a super sweet liquor bottle holder in Ryan's boat so I had to have one. But you cant get this at your local Wal-Mart so I had to build it. I have to do the finishing touches yet but it is functional.

 

[Ratickle]

Is your flat screen AC-DC?

 

[Ratickle]

The hatches as they are currently Artie.

In the middle...

 

[torrent]

Is your flat screen AC-DC?

No, there is an on board inverter.

 

[torrent]

The hatches as they are currently Artie.

In the middle...

Thanks for posting the pics. As I stated the cockpit interior is getting redone right now and I have to choose a color scheem. You can see from the hatch I eliminated red, so that leaves me with white, silver carbon fiber, purple and yellow. I am thinking about putting the silver carbon fiber where the purple is and purple where the red is, but then I think there will be a lot of purple on the side pad. Whats your thoughts?