'87 242 Restoration
 

I picked this up this winter for a smokin' deal... The engine was shot and it needed a new interior but other than that its solid. I'm pretty much replacing everything so this will be like new when I'm done, which I hope will be by the end of May. I'll post pictures as things progress...

Here is the plan of attack
1. Sand and buff hull
2. Strip anti-fouling paint off
3. Replace all vinyl
4. Install McLeod electric blosters
5. recarpet cabin
6. Replace cabin bench fabric with black and red ultra leather
7. Install Stereo
8. New Livorsi gauge cluster
9. Replace Alpha drive with Bravo
10. Replace 330 hp 454 bbc with 550 hp 439 ci bbc
11. Repaint engine room
12. Enjoy boat!

This how it was when I picked it up!

After a lot of hard work, its looking great!

The new dash and throttle.

Looking very good.

I like the dash. I am in the middle of the same project. The only difference is mine is the SR1, soon to have twin 383's.

did you get the red to come out or paint it? if you goit it to come out all I can say is DA*M great job

Thats the original gel coat! It was a lot of work even with a DA but it looks great now. I had to go 400. 600, 1000 and then 3m Super duty, Finesse it II, and finally Colinite 885.

Nice work- It's fun to do projects like this. I'm in the process of something similar on the '84 242 I picked up in Feb.

Finally got the bolsters in and the bench cushions finished. Now I need to finish the sun pad. Its starting to look like a boat again.

If anyone is interested in doing this to their 242 there is a little bit of customizing needed to the brackets. I had both cut and lowered 2". After everything was done I realized that the backet that mounts to the side of the boat was slighlty off... What needs to be done is to move the side bracket 1" and cut the legs down 2" or you could just just cut the legs 1" and not mess with the side backet. 2" made a huge difference on this. This is a great upgrade to your old swivel buckets.

That is looking really good. That is going to be one nice Bird when your done. Keep the pics coming Please. I have a couple more things to re-upolster on my 89 before I start working on the sound system. Good luck

Thanks-
I've got a wicked stereo I'm installing as well... I've got a pair of Boston Acoustics G5 10" subs that are going under the bolster seats in custom enclosures. Up front I'm going with Boston Pro 6.0's components and in the back either Pro 5.0's or 4.0's it depends were I put them. For power I'm using all old school Orion amps. (I hate new school class d amps) For the subs I'm using an Orions SX 2150 which will put out around 850-900 watts at 1.5 ohms stereo. For the Mids an Orion SX 275 and an SX 250 for the tweets. It should rock!

That sounds like it'l rock all right. What do yo think about maybe redoing the back seat with a 10" sub on either side of a cooler. You could just slide the cooler in and out from under the seat without lifting the top. This is something I have been thinking about this winter. I also thought about installing a bolster seat for the driver and make a spot for a cooler under the taller legs of the bolster seat. There is not much room anywere else. My kids like to play in the cabin the entire time we are out on the lake. So I want to keep that as open as posible.

I think I can store a cooler on the left side lower storage compartment in the cabin. I've seen some old literature from formula and looked like it was an option to buy a cooler for there.

If you install a bloster your going to sit WAY higher than the passenger. I would do both or none. I think you could put the subs in the back like your thinking. I think I would mount them in the middle section. If you have two subs close together you will get a 3 db increase in sound, which is equal to doubling the power. With a 10" sub you only need 1/2 a cubic foot per sub. Thats a pretty small enclosure. If you haven't bought the subs yet get the boston g3. You can pick them up on ebay for $125 shipped. Thats a hell of a sub for that price. Either way I understand the lack of storage on our boats. The other option would be to mount a pair of 8's in the side storage area.

For some reason I have a fear of putting a sub in the sides. I have a fear that the pounding of the sub will weeken the twenty year old fiberglas and resin. I know what constant pounding from subs can do to things. I have never looked into Bostaon's. I had been planning on JL Audio. I will look into your recomendation about the Boston 3G. Is it a Marine quality sub?

Those are great looking bolsters,are they from and other Formula I am sure they were not cheap.

They were out of a '99 312. I got a good deal on the bolsters but I had to have some customizing done on the brackets and some new skins made by McLeod. All in all it was a great upgrade and worth the effort to get them to fit.

I am restoring an 88 242LS and am looking for the original VDO gauge bezels which are clear plastic. Did you happen to keep yours (2 sizes, large and small)???

Looks like a great upgrade! I really like the white out theme. What did you use for the engine hatch? I am hoping to have mine ready by the end of the month.

I don't know what the previous owner used. I know its heavy though. Under is the factory fiberglass hatch cover. I'm going to remove what is screwed on now and replace with 3/8 ply with 2" foam on top and 3" foam for the top of the seat back then cover it in white vinyl. All of my vinyl came from McLeod. Their prices are great if you need any.

As far as the gauges go I sold them on e-bay.

Were they cut to fit??

Was what cut to fit?

Todays project was to get the amp rack built. These are all old school Orion amps from the 90's with matching old school Audio Control crossover. Unlike todays amps these are class a/b and put out gobbs of power and were hand made in the USA, no China junk here. I should be very close to 1500 real watts with this set up.

The skins. I have the older style bolster and was wondering if they still had the patterns.

I don't know, I had my bolster arm skins made at McLeod but they are the current style. Give them a call. Everything else I did myself.

I talked to Formula about four years ago when I re-did my hatch and back seat. They didn't have the material nor the patterns. I went to McLoed for the vinyl. Mcloed didn't have the patterns either.

I wouldn't worry about patterns. I made mine from the old worn out skins. I've never done this before and they turned out great. So if I was able to it, any canvas shop can.

I just got the short block back from Wesco Racing Engines. The heads are AFR 265 ovals.

How much did the bolsters run you?

$800.00 that includes new skins from McLeod on the arm rests of both bolsters. IMO I got a great deal on them

Now that summers over I guess I should post some more pics of the project. These were all taken this spring so some of the things that are not finished here are now done. I'll get some final pics later. Attachment 431432

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Speakers! Don't mind the dirt on the floor or the hanging wire, this was taken when things were still going together.

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I went a different route on the engine. I decided to destroke my 454 and go with a 427 crank. So the total engine size is a 439. I got a lot of slack for this but it worked out with the help of Bob Mandera. I told Bob what I wanted to do and he pretty much spec'd everything. I ended up with AFR 265 oval port heads, Weiand Stealth intake, Prosystems carb 830 cfm, compression is 10:1, Mandera custom cam, Scorpion Endurance Marine Rockers, Morel Lifters, Stainless Marine Exhaust, Crane Ignition. I still need to get in on the Dyno but our guess is around 530-550 hp. So far I've got up to 64.6 mph with a really crappy Mirage. Once I have Brett at BBlades do some treaking on a new Mirage Plus I should be pushing 67+ mph. Either way Bob did a great job on a project that many said was a waste of time and couldn't be done, you can't find a better guy to work with.
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On the water going slow, I think this was around 40 mph.
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looks good, nice project

Nice job

Thats awesome. No rot?

Hi cogratulations

Nice project, very intresting.

Any more pics or videos of your boat??

i know this thread is a few months old but i have an 86 242ls with bolsters and twin 350s, SR-1? i'm not much of a boat person. only stuff i've owned was outboard skiffs. if anyone is interested. needs some work but i have harldy any money in it. would make an excellent project. i dont have the time or money to fool with it. bought boat and trailer cause friend wanted the trailer. boat is blocked in my yard. i'd love for someone to get it and fix it up. shame for me to let it sit. let me know if anyone is looking.

Finally got a Mirage Plus on the boat as well as the Eickert Headers and I picked up a 6-7 MPH for a total of 69 mph. I'm still running the a stock prop so I expect to pick up a few more once BBlades labbes it. For those thinking about removing the hook, I think its pointless. At this speed the hook isn't in the water. I'll post a close up and you'll see.