What to look for on a 24
 

I've been searching the threads and have picked up some info but I am going to be taking a look at a 24' next week and would like to know what to look for.
It is an 81 with TRS and a 454 with heads it appears to have hyd steering.
Anything that I should be taking a close look at.

any idea on a fair offer price?? from the pics it looks to be in fair condition.

All the normal stuff that can happen to any boat if not well taken care of, look for stresscracks, waetness in the transom, wet stringers. None of this is anything that specifically happens on a Pantera, but mine is a 1981 also, and had a hard life, it had a few defects when i bought it, but nothing major. Which boat are you looking at?? S/E, or Sport?? what power??

All the normal stuff - transom, stringers, stress cracks. I would carefully inspect the engine bulkhead (i.e. the wall that separates the engine bay from the cockpit). I would also carefully look at the gas tank and related plumbing. I haven't heard of pantera's having these problems, but poor rigging can lead to roted transom and stringers. All it takes is one fugtard mechanic.

We must have been typing at the same time:D

Yes, that bulkhead will tell ya if the tank has ever been removed, as it has to be cut to get the tank out, my '81 has an Aluminum tank(about 50 gallon), which has had no problems.

thanks for the response....

Where exactly is the fuel tank?

it is a 454 and said to be 370hp.

Fuel tank is under the floor centered between the stringers, runs from the backseat bulkhead to the front cockpit bulkhead Approx.

Boat should run around 65 with that setup.

Congrats

anyone have a similar setup that can reccomend a prop. I'm looking for down the road, not even sure if I am going to purchase the boat but you know how it goes when you look at something to buy......

Got any pics? if not, take some.
For that power a 23mir+ or a 24B1, depending on power.

alright don't give me too much sarcasm with this one....... how do I check the stringers and bulkhead???? do I poke them with something or just do a visual??

If you want the boat then spend a little money with a survey.
This will keep you from spending alot on a bad deal.

Use a hammer and knock around - if it sounds hollow its most likely rotten. It should sound very solid if it's ok.

Sounds like the red one in St Petersburg, Fl.
If it is that one, it used to belong to "Bearpaw", he is on here.
The boat looked OK when I checked it out a couple of months ago.

any reason you did not purchase the boat?

Nothing really wrong with the boat itself that I could find, hull seemed solid enough, mechanically, it could use a few improvements, but you can use it just the way it sits and the price is right.
Main reason I didn't buy it is I am in the middle of some major family losses and the timing just wasn't right.

Whats happening george??

Long time no talk, do you ever get over to lauderdale?? If ya do, let me know, I'll take ya for a ride on the 24.

Rick

Hey Rick,
Nice to hear from you. Glad to hear you finally got your 24 going just right.
You do know that I sold the orange 24 some time ago.
I do get into town now and then, I think we will finally be able to come back home soon and stay, since everyone else in our families is gone.
I am looking for another nice 24, let me know if you come across one.
I will take you up on the ride. Talk to ya soon.

Goerge,

I know about yer orange one, and know the owner. Sorry to hear about the family. Just let me know when yer gonna be around, its not that fast(55 for now), but runs real nice, and has a great stereo for hanging out having a cold one or 2 or 3:D.

RIck

This one huh? After some minor work it drives very good, would love a couple hundred more HP but it's ok. It's an impressive boat, handles everything with ease!:D

Nope, thats not Georges old orange one, his was in Tennesee last I knew, but nice boat you have there:D.

alright I finally took the boat out. I noticed it took a while to get on plane. he said it was sitting for a while so I didn't think much of it but when I would throttle the boat around 2k rpm it had little to no response seemed weird. I figured just the wrong prop. When we got back to the dock I was giving it a final once over before I gave him the cash and I noticed some foam near the transom.... with further investigation there was a strawberry shake in the dipstick to the transmission. Appears to be a onepiece mercruiser transmission..... any idea or thoughts on what it is.....

that boat should really get up and go with 370 hp....did you do a compression or leak down test on the engine? Strawberry shake in the tranny means you are getting water in there....did you check the oil coolers for leaks? When you throttled from 2k rpm, what happened to the rpm vs the boat speed? did it seem like the engine was reving up but there was no concomitant movement with the hull? did it seem like the tranny was slipping?....you should factor this in before overspending on the boat

Hey Beck, I know exactly why you have strawberry shake on the tranny dipstick. It happened to me too. I winterized mine the first year I had it, and didn't realize I needed to drian the oil cooler in the merctrans. Well, it froze and cracked. They wanted a small fotune for a new one from Merc, so I just took it to a reputable radiator shop. They brazed it up and have never had an issue since.

Hope your issue is as simple.

Shawn Arnold

engine appears to be running fine, the engine did not bog or hesitate it was like the transmission was just slipping for the first 3/4 of throttle but rpm's would come up fine. once the boat was up and going the rpm's came to 5500 with a 23 prop. could trim to get more but I throttled back to keep them under 5k. I really do not think that the engine has any problems but the trans was almoat like it took 2k rpm to get it to move, it was not abrupt like a clunk just mushy. if it is water in the trans where would it be coming from? I took off the return from the cooling that runs to the exhaust and I looked, it's clean no sign of oil though I'm sure the water wants to go in more then the oil out. I spoke with a mechanic that said somthing about a drive boot alowing water in the trans. with the sterndrive tilted up you can see white residu coming from the lower hole what I see is 2 3" holes vertically in line with a boot only on the upper, is there a lower boot? it looked that there were two smaller holes that came up at 45's that would allow water in if there was a boot but ....there is a similar hole on the sterndrive. it there a seal that is easily replaced or does the trans def have to come out????

what would you think a boat in fair condition, everything working minus the trans, would be worth???

So..........did you buy it?

The lower hole is for exhaust, doesnt need a boot.

yeah I bought the boat....... flushed the trans and I am now getting quotes on rebuilding it. Turns out it was a bad hoseclamp on the bellow. I wwill post pics as soon as I figureout how to attach them.

1st tryhttp://farm4.static.flickr.com/3128/...ce6802.jpg?v=0

Very nice, paint looks like new. Congrats on the new boat

thank you....... I think the light must have caught her just right for the photo... lol

Nice Boat, looks a lot like mine did before i redid it, Good luck and if ya need to know anything, I have been thru mine from top to bottom, front to back.

Congratulations on your investment! Here's a pic of my old one which is now in Tennessee.:(