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Baja 220 Sport new to me
Hey All,
Happy almost spring! Just brought home a new to me 86 Baja 22 Sport. I've been looking for a while and contemplating an inland lake boat vs something I can take out on Lake MI. Looked at a couple Wellcraft Nova's and Formual 223, 242, etc along with some old school jet boats and smaller lake boats. I came across this boat close to home and while it needs a lot of rehab, the hull and stringers are in good shape and will get us back on the inland lakes and seeing how much we can use it before getting into a big lake boat. It needs the interior redone and from what I've been able to piece together, the engine hatch / sun deck is the only thing missing. A friend is doing the upholstery if I can get the base wood done. I'm looking for templates for the engine hatch which is missing and rear bench seat which is very rough. Any suggestions? Will send pics when I get them loaded up. Thanks, H |
Originally Posted by hmc710
(Post 4862393)
Hey All,
Happy almost spring! Just brought home a new to me 86 Baja 22 Sport. I've been looking for a while and contemplating an inland lake boat vs something I can take out on Lake MI. Looked at a couple Wellcraft Nova's and Formual 223, 242, etc along with some old school jet boats and smaller lake boats. I came across this boat close to home and while it needs a lot of rehab, the hull and stringers are in good shape and will get us back on the inland lakes and seeing how much we can use it before getting into a big lake boat. It needs the interior redone and from what I've been able to piece together, the engine hatch / sun deck is the only thing missing. A friend is doing the upholstery if I can get the base wood done. I'm looking for templates for the engine hatch which is missing and rear bench seat which is very rough. Any suggestions? Will send pics when I get them loaded up. Thanks, H |
Yep, from old searches I contacted them first. Unfortunately, they said they could not help me.
H |
post 3 of 10
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Hope to get home this weekend to get the carpet out.
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post 5 of 10 to get to pics
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Tried to spin the motor last trip home and got about 90 degs and hit a hard stop. Did not sound promising....
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Pulled trim around ski locker and have some rot there. 2 other soft spots to look at when carpet is out. 2 life jackets and foam in the "cuddy"!
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Dip stick does not show any water, oil not too bad for setting for last x yrs...
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Does the drive spin freely ? Fill the cylinders full of trans fluid and check with a scope !!
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Have not opened gas tanks yet... I'm sure things are pretty ripe....
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10 posts, lets see if pics go through
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Baja 220 Sport pics
Lets see if the pics go through after my 10th post! Pic of boat in local Tractor Supply parking lot. Actually made is 3.4 miles on the rotted tires!!! Had to pull of 10 miles up the road (luckily at a Walmart) because we lost one old one and put 2 new tires on the old rims for the trip home. :)
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...01d64a81fa.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...95818a2835.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...4c24b0212c.jpg Boat has been setting out in elements for a number of years. A tap on the stringers sounded ok and the engine oil looked like oil, so I took a chance. 2 soft spots in the floor so we'll pull the carpet and start the rot investigation. Only thing missing is the engine hatch.... |
If I have time this next week I'll pull the plugs and check out the motor some more. This is all new to me so my boat guy is helping out. Did start searching for 383 stroker kits and will get the Van Norman out of the rack at the shop!
H |
I’d go thru the boat 1st, before building a motor. Imho
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Friend had a Baja like that years ago.
It was a little faster than some of the other comparable models that were popular then. Good luck with the investigation. |
Started pulling carpet and seat pedistals / boxes. Floor is pretty rough. Will try and get a section cut out today and see whats going on. Floor appears to be very thin plywood coated with resin.
H |
The floors were notorious for having issues, the stringers were/are usually less susceptible to rot but still need to be checked thoroughly. And of course make sure the transom is sound.
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Bad floor
Floor is gone, and not having done this in person before, taking note of what I do find. Pulled out the remnants of the battery box, getting fuel tanks unhooked. seat bases out, and started peeling off the loose glass on the floor.
Will probably take it to the shop and pull the motor out to make more room and do better inspection of engine bay and transom. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...443bd0f2ef.jpg Battery box https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...ba50002fb8.jpg Yuk https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...b3febcdc79.jpg yikes https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...371956c531.jpg Rutt row... https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...a39acb5b27.jpg Hatch Mount https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...351affc8e7.jpg tank wires https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...38491e41aa.jpg Tank |
Cutting floor out
Took a saw and cut out the back half of the fiberglass floor, what a mess. Definitely going to have to take out more up into the "cuddy" area which means pulling out the bulkhead / wall. I'll take a look at that this afternoon. Any suggestions please let me know. It looks like two layers of 3/8 or 1/2" plywood that might have had a layer of glass between them. You can see the holes where they cut out to fill in with foam. I'm going to pull the carpet off the sides and see what the cuddy wall looks like so I can pull that out or "gasp" start learning about cutting the deck off....
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...5bf8fb1d70.jpg Section 1 https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...323879c243.jpg Section 2 https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...d0f074d35c.jpg Rot https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...fb3473dbf6.jpg More rot https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...a961a1a9d8.jpg Need to get more cut out |
It always amazed me on the 220 (and other boats with the same thing) where they put the fuel tank(s) RIGHT NEXT TO THE ENGINE!
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The cuddy is out.
Pulled the cuddy wall panels and carpet. Wood looks better. Some delamination at the entry.https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...7cf41a469a.jpg
Pulled the mats out and all the screws on both wall panels https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...98b4e505c5.jpg carpet was surprisingly dry up front https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...2b8a2d3e4a.jpg Wood looks ok up front, hope for the best https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...c11fbca154.jpg some delamination on the left wall side, we'll see how far we have to go. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...325f729f47.jpg Wall panels in fairly good shape. Small pane a bit soft on the bottom. |
Nails, tanks, and hose
Cleaned up some of the old rotten floor and someone actually nailled the plywood down to the stringers! Some of the nails were so rusty I pulled the head right off trying to pull them. Then went after the fuel tanks and blower hose to get a better look at motor mounts.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...a6855a2c1d.jpg Wow, someone actually though using carbon nails was a good idea?!?!?! I guess the good news is that the ones that came out pulled out hard! https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...c0ac21c7af.jpg Finally got the sending unit wire off! https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...6e1beaaae3.jpg Right tank out https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...e1040becad.jpg Left tank out https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...9b7aba79c2.jpg Rotton blower hoses out https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...1fd6967eae.jpg Will pull these another day. |
It's not too late to stop. Not trying to deter you from your project, but just be aware that you are going to spend hundreds of man hours and many thousands of dollars to turn this back into a useable boat and it will never be worth over 5K when you are done. Something to consider. You could take the 20K that is going to be eaten by this Baja and buy a boat that you can use next weekend instead of 2 years from now.
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I really do like seeing these old boats getting some love. That being said if the engine is truly locked up and can’t be saved is assume the out drive needs work. At that point before you continue make sure you love that boat. You will definitely have 4:1 in the boat then what’s it’s worth. You can always get a vortex 350 from a bone yard use your engine parts to make it marine on the cheap side and buy a new alpha drive for cheap. As long as you can do all the work and will use the boat for years to come. While our topgun was u dad the knife for last few years we bought a new yahama 22 jet boat and let me tell you best money I have ever spent. We have gotten more use out of that boat than all previous ones put together. But I’d you have the will the want and the way to do it go for it !
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If you have the means, the desire, and skill to do it, go for it! You are not doing this to flip it, but to use it, so thumbs up from me.
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More teardown
as they say, Time with grand kids....... priceless.
Got the rest of the floor out and boat down to the shop to get the motor out of the way to really inspect the stringer / motor mount area. Got the motor out and tore down for inspection on why it would not spin all the way around. Come to find out, the oil pan was pushed up into the crank preventing it from turning. The motor was never run in this condition so someone did some work and never fired it back up. There were broken motor mount bolts on one side, so I'm thinking someone used a lever or jack to try and lift one side of the motor to repair the mount, pushed the oil pan up into the crank path, and never tried to start it after that. It definitely would have taken at least the windage tray out. A check with the calipers shows the block has been bored at least .020" and I'll get a better measurement later to see where we are. I was hoping it might have been a 383 stuck in there, but the crank appears to be a 350. The heads are not 2.02's and I haven't checked the cam yet. All of the pulleys are pitted from rust so we'll see what our options are there to try and clean up or just replace. One thing I definitely noticed is the weight of the exhaust manifolds and risers, they weigh more than the heads do!!!!! Need to learn more about this to see what we can do to reduce some weight. I recall somewhere that marine headers are extremely expensive so need more education on this. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...c3b9b33593.jpg Pulling motor apart Had the crew on scrubbing duty to get the last years of grime off the deck. We'll have them finish up next week when the weather warms back up and we get the hull pulled outside. Motor mount lags unscrewed from the stringers, but sticking a screw driver down in the holes just found a bunch of mush so we started taking measurements and formulating a plan on repair. Tapping on the transom all sounded OK but we'll have the boat guy take a look and give his opinion. I did find that the local lumber yard had exterior plywood available. Started the process of researching what materials to re-glassing the stringers back in so we can start getting materials together. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...f726f8930e.jpg Scrubbing off the last 5 yrs.... and the saga continues..... :) |
It's cleaning up nicely!
Did you have any issues taking the exhaust manifolds off? All too often one or more of the studs/bolts will break off in the block...not a fun day after that... |
No problem on the exhaust manifolds. The water neck has two very long bolts and one is rusted into the riser portion. Got that soaking. The 4 middle intake bolts were rusted undersize so we sacrificed a 1/2" socket to swage on there to get them off, but they came out!!!!!
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Had to break from the Baja to get another job knocked out. Doing some more research on stringer / floor repair and getting a plan for the motor rebuild. Would like to cut some weight of the stock exhaust manifolds, risers, cast iron intake, etc so looking at alternatives that will get me to a lighter, solid 350+ hp motor.
Hope to get back at it late next week and get the rest of the floor opened up and get a plan for repairs and get materials coming. H |
Attacked the stringers yesterday, what a mess....
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...58398a0b06.jpg Fuel tank framed with plywood https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...296bb412f0.jpg Fuel tank pad https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...3914483519.jpg Board laying on foam https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...73813db1ba.jpg More rot https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...dba9119c70.jpg motor mount https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...813f795980.jpg Rotten motor mounts https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...c26c13fda6.jpg Peeling off more glass https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...a62b1aef23.jpg All the way to the front https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...b2f8ae8bd8.jpg had water trapped in the front section https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...a7fc5edfe6.jpg front flooring https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...1bd136ca43.jpg Stringers! https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...12bed4e09e.jpg Glass thicknesses. Single layer on flooring. thicker on engine bay My Plan is to probably use 2x8's for the stringers or laminate some exterior plywood together. I definitely want to add weep holes for all bulkheads to prevent the water trap issue. The fuel tank areas I'm going to look at redesigning because all they had was some plywood stapled together with a thicker glass layer on it. Also created at water trap between it and the main stringers. Some of the foam was water logged so I want to find a way to prevent that. I've read where some use foam pnuts in plastic bags. The old stringers were 7.5" tall at the motor mount, but cut down to 6" tall near the transom. I don't know if that was for some clearance issue or what, but the way they were cut really weakened the wood. Will look into that as well. Here is a profile of the old floor. There was a gap between the plywood and the hull and it was glassed to the sides with a single layer. I would think you would want the plywood to have some more support from the bottom of the hull? https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...ad927d0038.jpg profile of flooring I'll do some research into that as well. Going to drill a couple holes in the transom where the stringers were attached to see whats behind the glass...... Any thoughts or suggestions appreciated! |
Stringers glassed in
With the help of my daughter we attacked the Baja the other day! Got stringers glassed in and measured out and cut floor supports. Hope to get them in this week and start on the floor...
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...4c92cd0f21.jpg Final sand, vacuum, and acetone clean up. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...19e5ec050d.jpg Whew, for a couple of first timers, it wasn't that bad. Lots of advice from the forum and prep things as best you can. Layup is 10x better than what I cut out, I know that for sure. |
More floor supports - foam recommendations
Went after the floor supports the other day and letting that cure while waiting for more supplies to come in. Bedded them in last week and tabbed them in Tuesday.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...6a24b391eb.jpg stringers glassed in https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...14c162df52.jpg bedded supports After we finish glassing the supports in we'll start cutting plywood for the floor and mock up everything for the motor mounts, fuel tanks, back seat, and ski locker. Once the motor and fuel tanks are mocked up, we'll resin the floor pieces and figure out what we will do for the foam under the floor. The stuff I took out was the 2 part pour in and it was water logged and weighed as much as water. What are the alternatives to the 2 part pour in? Does it hold water right from the start or does it break down over time and let the water soak in? I've read where some have vacuum sealed Styrofoam and filled the cavities with that. Any suggestions on the foam will be welcomed. The old floor was covered in carpet so I need to make that decision coming up as well. I got some gelcoat if I want to try my hand at putting that down on the new floor. Got the heads cleaned up for the 350 motor and got new gasket set ordered. Might look at a mild marine cam to put in while I'm at it. Front seats have been done and she's waiting on me to get the back seat designed. More to come.... |
Great progress and it is looking really good! I wouldn't mess with foam, personally. All it does is trap water...and then the problems start. I may be entirely off base here, but I believe its purpose was to fulfill a Coast Guard requirement for boats to remain "floating" even if filled with water, that manufacturers had to comply with.
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Daughter has been a great help! We both have the same, "Lets just get it over with!" attitude.
That's kind of my view on the foam as well, that water logged crap I took out hurt more than it helped in my limited opinion. If there was something that wouldn't trap water it would be different. I like the though of just glassing them closed, theoretically, they should remain sealed. Only install drain holes at the back of the ski locker. Still thinking about the front "cuddy" as well, a younger man might have different intentions, but its a pita to crawl up there to grab a vest. Hard enough getting up there to glass in the stringers and supports. We'll see what happens when I get the floor in and the bulkhead at the drivers side. All thoughts on foam / flotation / ???? are welcomed! H |
https://waterprooftips.com/is-expand...am-waterproof/
Good article on truly what is and isn't waterproof expanding foam. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...0a7ac789c9.jpg |
FLoor and foam
THanks for the info, will start looking into that. Got first piece of flooring cut today, not much time to go after it. Hopefully get 3 of the 5 pcs finished tomorrow and test fit so we can coat with resin and get them laid in place, pending our foam decision.
H |
Got the 4th pc of floor cut but need to make a few mods before I put anythng down. Haven't had much time on the Baja as the Webbcraft motor rebuilds have taken priority. Also picked up a scrap Wreidt Stinger with SBC and early alpha 1 outdrive... Did get the motor fired up on it!
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