Ville123

Hi all, I am new to this forum, good to see a place where people with similar interests gather .

I have been a fan of Chris-Craft Stingers for some time, and bought a project Stinger 260, year 1987 with twin mercruiser alpha drives a couple of days ago, and I plan to partially restore it to the former glory (at least the parts that are cool and are not missing). Bought it from Finland, and brought it to Estonia, wouldn´t be surprised if its the only one here . We have quite choppy seas here all the time, so I hope the deep-V hull will come handy.
The boat is in a state that the engines, drives and most of the hull is basically OK, but some of the interior etc. is missing, and it also seems it is quite heavily rebuilt over the years. For an example the seats and upper interior is intact, but the cabin has been cleared out. By the way, anyone have the original kitchenette for sale? I would be interested .
I am staring to clean the boat from previous owners stuff etc, started cleaning it, and I have run into some questions, (maybe some of them stupid, sorry in advance) how things should be.

1) I presume the windshield should be glass? Mine is plexiglass, so...
2) What kind are the original kill-switches on the dashboard, I cannot find a suitable cord cap for them. Are mine original?
3) What was supposed to be above the kill-switches? There is a metal plate there with some holes.
4) Were the trim tab switches also black originally?
5) On the passenger seat, was there a padded element between the blue upholstery and the plexiglass wall to the cabin (like there is one at the drivers side, where the cup holders are).
6) I have a blue interior that I haven´t seen anywhere on the internet before. From the 1987 catalogue I understand it was called "Adriatic". Does anyone have a similar interior? My question is, what were the cabin colors with this configuration? Mine is stripped of everything, except the headliner.
7) What is the socket between trim fuses? Too small for cigarette lighter.
8) With this dash configuration, how have you placed radios, plotters etc.? Any good ideas or examples (or problems?). I plan to mount a smaller chartplotter on the horizontal part (where the sticker is now), but the VHF and FM radios I havent decided yet, or found a good place for them.
9) The small lamp above the windshield. Does anyone have a good photo how it should look like? I have a strange screw and bolt holding it in place.
10) The dash buttons, since some of them just don´t to anything, I must ask -
a) Cockpit - is this supposed to light up the small lamp below the steering wheel?
b) Pump man - is this supposed to be manual bilge pump?
c) Anc?

Anyway, if anyone has any further reference photos, close ups of their interiors, then all kind of information is very welcome, especially if there is another one with blue interior, that I could check out

And I will of course upload pics from the cleaned interior, once it is mostly repaired and cleaned. I am sorry for not attaching photos, the forum does not seems to let me attach photos, since I am a new user to this community.

All the best and thanks,
Ville

Ville123

It seems impossible to post any photos to show what I am talking about, I cannot even post URL with the photos here :#
I will try to write some posts somewhere else where it feels relevant and will post photos here when my 10 post limit is archieved

resurrected

Welcome to OSO!
In "The Bilge" section new members have a spot where they can post irrelevant content to get to the ten post limit.
I can't specifically help you with Chris Craft details, but personally I wouldn't be worried about making it original. Build it how you want, with what you have available to best suit your needs.
Do a search for your model here, there has been a few excellent 260 builds. If I remember correctly glassdave had a beauty.
Good luck with your build, there is a wealth of knowledge here and share your progress. I personally enjoy DIY projects.
BTW I have cousins just outside of Tallinn

Ville123

Hi, thanks for the welcome and the tip on the bilge .
I understand perfectly what you mean by not making it completely original, and I can assure you that is not my intention. But there are some things with the Stinger that I want to keep, things that were part of the reason I bought it. One is the wonderful retro glossy cockpit with all the dials and switches and also the seating design . But to make some decisions, and to familiarize myself with it I thought I would have to understand how it was originally. I´m an interior designer by profession, so because I liked the base this boat has to offer I thought it would make a great project.
So, if anyone has any information to share regarding my questions, it would be most welcome. Here are the pics also (it hasn´t been cleaned up yet on the photos, they are made prior to purchase).

And great to hear about family living here, most people even don't know the country exists, never mind the cities .


Lots of cleaning to do here

See the kill-switches and plate above them.

See the gap between blue padding and plexiglass wall.

Lots of cleaning to do here

Lots of cleaning to do here

mdwstinger

I have an 87 260 stinger that i purchased in 92, was all original. I have since changed some things. What I notice with your interior is the bolsters have been recovered, moved back like 3" ( probably to get better floor material to screw to). There should be 3 angled pieces on the side, (missing red one) that is why there is a gap up front, and cup holders in front of shifter. My front is all original, I recovered the rear seat like original, but modified the hatch.

Third side stripe was removed

Supposed to butt up against front

Supposed to butt up against dash

Claudio Nessi

MDWSTINGERS, I like your switch / front panel. Can you share some more pict and instructions where to find the components you've used and where to find the wiring diagrams?
Thank you And freetings from Switzerland

Ville123

Hello, thanks a lot for the overview. I did not notice a reply when you sent it.
It seems that the seats were moved to fit larger people . I have restored the original situation, now I have to create a piece of side stripe and I´m good to go.

Ville123

I presume you mean mwdstingers dash panel. The original black one I have was only made for 1987 year, and was supposedly inspired by fighter aircraft design

Claudio Nessi

Correct, I ment mwdstingers. 😀😃

Claudio Nessi

I like your switch / front panel. Can you share some more pict and instructions where to find the components you've used and where to find the wiring diagrams?