Money Pit or Smart Buy for a New Guy ? - Page 2

scarrab30 · 08-28-2006, 08:49 AM

Rob, I wouldnt have anything to do with this vessel unless you have alot off stupid money to throw at it. I would certainly have it surveyed, I think youll find out its not worth anywhere what theyre asking. I own a 79 sport 300 and its nothing but a money pit. I am anal about my stuff and want it to perform to my expectations. It runs right at 90mph and we use trs drives with very little breakage and each motor at 700hp. As i write this the boat is in for a complete restring and bulkhead rebuild. Dont buy that boat wiyhout a survey. Brian

Wally · 08-28-2006, 09:15 AM

Changing the alpha to bravo is simple....only a matter of drilling two hole's in the transom and getting all the Bravo stuff.....they may sit lower in the water then where they should be for optimal speed and performance but you could always go with shortie lowers to get that back

puder · 08-28-2006, 09:09 PM

the conversion itself is easy I did it on my 330/alpha boat. HOWEVER it was a major pain in the ass. Yes at its core its just drilling 2 holes BUT to drill those hole syou'll have to pull both your engines and unbolt all the old stuff (20 year old hardware has a tendancy to rust together) install the new transom brackets drop both motors and re-hang the drives. You'll be able to sell the alphas for afew bucks and it won;t cost you too much out of pocket in the end if you can do the work yourself, but you'll need either a gantry or a forklift to pull the engines AND when you have the engine compartment emptied you'll of course find other stuff that needs work and that will cost you some additional $$$$.

Find a bravo boat and don't take on the headache of the alpha boat. I did it and wish I had known better in the begining.

Strip Poker 388 · 08-28-2006, 10:45 PM

look at wiring and the cables

They have been all pulled out ,that look like prob also..

I would pass

JJONES · 08-29-2006, 12:20 AM

The carbs are or apperar to be edelbrock!Looks like there is a bent trim ram on the left side for the drive!Are your sure they are big blocks?Seems like alot of room in the middle between the engines even with the stock manifolds!The water hose from the circulation pump to the t housing seems shorter than a big block hose!I had one of these boats once and it was a great boat,bought it cheap but was always working on it till the day i sold it but to me that was all part of the fun of ownership!The hull itself does work well on the panther!Mine had 400 hrs small blocks with trs drives that do use a trany,alpha and bravo do not have a trans!Mine would run about 75 with 21p labbed cleavers!At 15k youve got to expect to spend some extra money on it but youd do the same if the boat was 100k or 200k so if your handy under the hood so to speak,I would haggle the seller and get it as cheap as you can but still go for it !

JJONES · 08-29-2006, 12:23 AM

The carbs are or appear to be edelbrock!Looks like there is a bent trim ram on the left side for the drive!Are your sure they are big blocks?Seems like alot of room in the middle between the engines even with the stock manifolds!The water hose from the circulation pump to the t housing seems shorter than a big block hose!I had one of these boats once and it was a great boat,bought it cheap but was always working on it till the day i sold it but to me that was all part of the fun of ownership!The hull itself does work well on the panther!Mine had 400 hrs small blocks with trs drives that do use a trany,alpha and bravo do not have a trans!Mine would run about 75 with 21p labbed cleavers!At 15k youve got to expect to spend some extra money on it but youd do the same if the boat was 100k or 200k so if your handy under the hood so to speak,I would haggle the seller and get it as cheap as you can but still go for it !

robscarab · 08-29-2006, 07:59 PM

Yah I'm looking at paying around 10,000 and adding suitable drives and doing all the labour in my spare time. I have contracted a marine surveyor to inspect the structure and if it comes back with a clean bill of health I will be the new owner. If not I will be looking for another project boat with a sound hull. I believe these boats in premium condition sell for around 20,000 so that gives me a budget of 10,000 to find and install rebuilt drives and other odds and ends it may require. I already have plenty of HP BBC internals including a forged crank and 2 sets of 781 freshly ported heads. (they will support 550+ hp)

I don't think 10,000 would be too much for this boat if it surveys ok

.

Rob

Waterboy123 · 08-30-2006, 10:18 PM

Trust me if you can buy a mint one for $20k do it, you will blow way more than 10k bringing it up to spec, what ever you think it's going to cost you take that number and double it and then add some, not trying to be negative, but have been down this path before, it's so much easier to buy something someone else has dumped a wad of cash on.

Good Luck! (from a another B.C boater!)

GK · 08-31-2006, 08:18 AM

Rob,

I concure with the previous comment... You are better off spending a bit more up front rather than dealing with the hassels of a older boat requiring numerous upgrades ie money pit. It's all about what you will enjoy the most and keep in mind resale because like most of us you will continue to go bigger and faster. The best of luck with your purchase.

robscarab · 09-01-2006, 01:43 AM

Thanks everyone,

I still havn't left for BC to look at the boat ! I will be leaving as soon as my other meeting out there is confirmed. Tomorrow I will have a survey and will get the report on the hull and stringers etc. I have also found some take-out Bravo drives from a local boat. They only have 62 and 59 hrs on them and are from a Donzi that is getting big power and some racing drives. I can buy them both complete for 6000 including an inspection from the Merc dealer here. It will now depend on the survey....