Man that's something.!!! I can see how that would take A LOT of time. Looks nice enough to put a babe in there :coolcowboy:

Lol !!

Thanks & yes lots of time !! Ofcourse a good bit of it is going over my glass work & what I have done converting from a twin to a single with the stringers , tank mounts ect.. But I am also doing allot of smoothing of the factory glass work too & I Don't mean that in a derogatory way at all b/c I would put Sabers build quality up against Anybody's !! its just that in my opinion most All boats could use some smoothing over, after all it is fiberglass.. :lolhit:

Its all in primer !!! :party-smiley-020:

I can smell it !

me too, everytime I blow my nose & pick ---- out of my eyes.. :grinser010:

:d

Since the last post its been sanded back down & then another coat of primer over all of it... Now the bilge is Completely sanded again & If all goes as planned it will get washed down tomorrow then a good coat of white sealer & yellowed tomorrow evening..

for any of those who havn't been watching the upades nextdoor I am in the process of painting the bilge as we speak.

Here's a couple shots all taped up & then a shot of it after spaying the sealer on.

That thing looks great.

That looks better then the BMW hood I shot on Friday! :p

Thanks guys.. I cant wait to start rigging & watching it really start shapping up..

Here are a few close up shots from last night I posted next door.. Pay no attention to the poor color quality in some areas they were taken from my cell phone..

That turned out great...very nice. What paint you using?

Thanks John, I primarily use PPG products however on this I choose to use a Martin Senour single stage urathane b/c it was just a better fit for me on this application.. I don't really shoot single stage paint very often but I have used this product in the past with good success on several applications.. I put it over top of Global 8081 Chromatic sealer.. Im kinda weird in the fact that I am not neccesarily "brand" loyal as far as product goes , however I am often hard to get to try new products if I know a particular product works well for me in a particular situation.. (if that makes any sense..?) In custom work Its not uncommon for me to use a few different mfg. products on a single job.. For instance My 24 Pantera primarily had PPG, but it also had HOK, & M.S. in some areas that I was looking for a particular mix.. Although at the shop our normal production work pretty much exclusively gets PPG's DBC base & 2021 clear..
Last example (then I will shut up about paint) the orange car in my avitar although it was a new build had another mfg.'s single stage urathane underneath the DBC base & 2021 clear however don't tell that to PPG b/c they used it at the Nats. that year as a display car & didn't have a clue..:eek:

That's funny....somewhere some poor biotch is trying to figure out why the orange on the car he just painted isn't the same as the one he saw at the show!

What's your thoughts on single stage vs base clear for my black hull sides? I want to be able to easily fix any...um incidentals if need be. Something like tape off a repair, spray than buff. Would that be single stage or base clear?

As far as your hull sides goes if you plan on water sanding & buffing it after you are finished you would be best with the base/clear , but if you are just looking to shoot & go with it the single stage is hard to beat & still has it uses.. Reguarding "spotting in" later for woops areas, black is never really a good color to try to blend within large panes such as a hull side , however not saying it can't be done ect..ect.. its also not as if we get to pick where something gets scratched at so... If I had to go back & "spot" an area on a hull side I would rather do it in base/clear than attempt it in a single stage.. Unless you are talking spotting in old school laquer which you would definalty not want to put on the sides..

PPG makes a product called One Choice that is a blending solvent in an aerosol can that has been working really good for me blending clear in areas such as the tops of quarters that have no seams & flow into the roof & into the other quarter.. However even an area like that can be challenging at times to get an absolute perfect blend in black.. But it can be done..

If you are talking about touching up a scratch & not necc. talking about spotting in an area the singe stage works well for that by just being patient & slowly filling in the area & then ultra finning it & buffing over it for a camoflouge that most will never see , depending on the area ect..ect.. may even be less noticable than a blend area of clear..

Yeah Its funny b/c the reps were getting asked so much what the color was on the car that they finally wrote down the paint code & put it next to the car.. Its was a new Lambo color at the time called Arancio Atlas Pearl.. I can about guarntee you that I was the only one with a "paint mfg" display car that actually paid for all the paint.. Dupont & House of Kolor both had 2 of that years Ridler Great 8 cars in their booths.. However I was working on my old 24 at the same time I was building the orange 37 & when it came time to shoot the Pantera I will give them credit b/c they took care of me..

What did you guys put on the dash & the transom ??

We used Diamont. Which looks great, but I'm just wondering how much clear it will take to do the job. As you know that stuff ain't cheap! I was just thinking that a good single stage might be easier to spot in and buff than a base/clear...if I ever had to. Something like PPG's Concept line.

Man that that bilge is beautiful. You going to wax it every year too?

Sorry I missed this post somehow.. As far as how much clear I really would want to have 2 gallons availible & since you are just doing your sides & no deck, transom,ect.. I see no reason why that wouldn't easily do it.. It also depends on how many coats you are looking to put on it ?? I have never personally shot the Diamont so I don't know how high solids it is.. What series did you use & how much was it a gallon ??

As far as the Concept goes its good stuff & would work well however it sure isn't cheap either.. I could be totally wrong & may learn something here but I don't relly think it will spot easier, if you are talking about having to "blend" an area like say a 12" gouge down the side from the idiot on the jet ski who forgot to learn that they don't stear well when not under power that wanted to get a closer look of your "Cigar boat" but thats my opinion & like I said I may learn something here myself..

Thanks !! Not so sure on the waxing but I have been doing some polishing..

Oh ,...OK. now I see what's going on over there in TN.:evilb:

For the record...what are you doing for power? I'm sure you either told me or posted it but I'm to lazy to find it.

As far as the paint goes I don't think you have to worry about learning anything from me :lolhit: And now that you mention 2 gallons of clear I think I still hace 1/2 gallon left from the transom and dash...plus a quart of base.

John, If you have a 1/2 gallon left you may be able to get another one & make that work.. As I said not farmiliar with the diamont & not sure how high solids it is but if its a 4:1:1 ratio clear then that would give you 2 gallons plus a quart of sprayable material & I really think that would do the sides... I really shoud be able to tell you allot closer but to be honest that can be kinda tricky b/c there are some variables there & it can be hard to tell untill you really get into it..

For power I will be running a 511 CID Tall deck with an intercooled Vortech V-4 Centrifical on it.. hopefully making in the 750 range.

I was at the shop today and looked at what I had and I think your right. Another gallon of clear and maybe a little more base should do it. When I get closer to a color decision I'll get ahold of Russ.

750hp should be nice. I would say it should put you in the high 80's. What are you thinking?

High 80's would be real nice !! However mid 80's is more my thinking but I like your thinking better..

Anything over 85 is in the highs :rolleyes:

Very true... So what qualifies as mid 80's..?

Oh yeah, to most I would have to say 63-67..:lolhit:

85.1......gps:D

hey guys I think the single sutphens 30/31 would be close to you guys for speed and hp. 850hp will get the new 31/32 boat to 85gps and 92 plus with 1,000 hp. still not sure what I am putting my konrad ace and Dean Gellner blower motor1050hp in yet, I am thinking between the 28saber old / old sutphen 30 or if I go new a joker 28/ sutphen 277, for hulls. lil I bet that vortech without breathing hard would make you easy 800 to 850hp. my 509 got up to 670hp na with 9.5 to1 comp. I love the blower whine at 6000 rpm on the boats. so do you think by spring you will be in. I was hoping for this fall but have had set backs with my knee replacement so can't work.:angry-smiley-038:. if things stay bad for me I will install this package in my baja:eek: which after 19yrs I want to go bigger by a few feet. thanks for the thread keep us posted.

That Konrad would look sweet hanging off the back of this...hint hint ;)

-Air Time- Wow sounds like you have a really sweet combo to say the least !!

As for me being in by spring..? I can only hope so.. I wanted & planned to be in the water a spring or 2 ago but as I'm sure you are well aware of plans often change.. Its funny b/c I just got on the computor to give a quick update & wasn't sure which site I would get on so I geuss its oso.. haha..

Anyways I have the bilge completly painted as seen a few posts back.. The fuel tanks are pretty much done with the exception of paint.. The transom assy is mounted up & inner plate tourqed in place & I have been patiently waiting (as poor people do) on an alignment tool & much to my surprise after chatting back & forth I had a fellow memeber graciously offer to ship me his yesterday !! So first chance I get after that arrives I am dropping in the power !! Tonight I have been working on stripping off the old powdercoat off of a pair of really nice Optima battery hold downs I bought from another member a good while back.. They were the wrong color..

So that being said yes its moving along but as I was telling somebody just recently that with my personal projects they have 2 speeds "wide open" & "no wake zone" mainly for two reasons.. (#1) I have to go as I can afford to and (#2) Customer work comes first.. Since I have had the Saber I have had a ton of side projects some minor & some major.. Ofcourse all that is on top of "regular shop load" So that being said I am sure I'm not alone on that one..

As for my power I wouldn't complain but I really don't see it making 800-850 due to cylnder head restrictions & the fact that I am conservitive on my compression.. However that being said I did hear from a good source that Dean Nickerson made right at 1000hp on a set of ported iron 990's with a V-4 centrifical.. So we time will tell.. My plan is to go ahead & drop the motor in so I can be doing all my rigging with the items I already have & then when I get a few more things & I can afford it I will take a couple hours to yank it back out, load it up & haul it west a few hours & do some pulls & tunning on it..

John the back of your boat looks pretty sweet as it is !! hint hint..:D

Nothing majorly exciting but here are a few progress shots of the battery holdowns.. obviously the blue is from earlier today before the stripping started & the other two are from just a few minuets ago stripped & partly polished.. See I told you guys I actually had a wide open speed.

May sound silly but its pretty cool to me b/c "to the best of my knowledge" these hold downs came out of the first Cig. Top Gun ever built.. I bought these from (firstgun) here on the board who again "to the best of my knowledge" owns the first Top Gun just before he redone it. Maybe thats prophetic as to the next boat I will own.. ;) As they are pretty high up on my pretty short list.. Its doubtfull but hey one can always wish..

Sounds like your moving along pretty good. Can't wait to see the pics of the mill dropped in. Cool story about the optimas too.

i had to put a box in my trunk today and saw your exhaust rings in there. oops. I completely forgot about them.

I'll try to get over to the post office tomorrow and send them to you...

No problem.. Thanks again !!! Hows the Pantera power coming along ??

Been updating a little next door so though I would throw one up here.. The engine has been here at the house for a week orso getting some attention & accesorized.. It is really ready & can be dropped in anytime.. However I brought it home from the shop in an attempt to get as much as I can get done on it before dropping it in the hole to save the climbing in & out sydrome..Not to mention the most important part of being at home with my family a few steps away & having my wife & two little girls coming out in the garage checking on me !!

Anyways back to the update... The accesories are coming along pretty well.. I have the back of it in pretty good shape & am in the process of waiting on a few front end things to come togather.. I droped off a couple items with my Tig guy this evening that I have been fabbing on.. Such as the water pump mount along with the Ignition/coil/merc 10 pin wiring harness mount that will mount on the rear of the starboard head.. Once I get my crankshaft accessory pulley from Vortech I will ahve the front ready to roll & will most likely go ahead & drop it in the hole, unless I decide to go ahead & pre-wire it to the merc plug ?? (we will see how patient I am on that one)

As I have said somewhere ?? I plan on redoing a new (more organized) thread when this is all said & done !!

Ilike the paint design:coolcowboy:

Ingnition/coil/wiring harness plug Bracket along with a few of my supercharger mount plates have been at hte powdercoaters for a few days now so they should be back in a few more days..

The crankshaft acessory pulley I have been needing from Vortech is officially on its way as of yesterday.. I also just ordered the 9 pin merc. engine harness so hopefully that stuff will make it by the weekend..

Nothing ground breaking but progress indeed !!

All the parts are back from powdercoat & mounted up.. Wiring harness is in & mouted up on the engine (however I still have to wire it in.) The ignition box is also mounted as is the coil.. Supercharger is mounted up.. Crank accesory pulley finally arrived & with a little tweaking all my belts are finally lined up to where I want them.. The Jabsco has a new impellor & is mounted up, also the p/s pump.. The alternator is on & lower mount all fabbed up (although I do have to pull it back off & take it to the alternator pimps of town)

Anways it is moving along.. Here is a quikie shot from the cell phone taken a few nights ago.. The belts along with a couple other items are on there mearly for mockup.. Before somebody asks if I really plan on running zip-tied belts, or just a regular ole curburator on er..:rolleyes:

I've been attempting to work on it as much as I can between life happening.. Long story short last week my buddy who was getting my powdercoat work done for me by another friend of ours had his house catch fire last monday night.. Along with his wife & two small kids he got out ok & only suffered some minor smoke inhalation due to him trying his best to put it out.. Along with the million other things he lost was a Super Slick big supercharged power mustang cobra he has had & been building on for 10 years.. I was in the process of doing some work on it when the fire happened (to bad it was a fairly small part that unbolted so it was the only part at the shop) He also lost a nice 88gt that he has had since he was 17, along with an average early 90's driver F150.. Worst part of the vehicles is that those only had liability coverage.. Out of his other 2 vehicles with full coverage only one was minorly damaged.. It really breaks my heart b/c he's a True hottrodder, just a regular do-it-yourself dude who has busted his butt & labored not only for but on every cool toy he has ever had !! His exact words to me on the Cobra was "It was the car I always wanted but never could afford"

Despite his world temporarily being torn apart & several coversations from me telling him not to worry about my parts, he still managed to get them back from the powdercoater on schedule & I finished up final buffing on his rear spoiler that he will not be using for a while today.. Good part is he is a man of charactor that realizes things could have been allot worse & he's relentlesly ready to start over..

Soooooo I get to the bottom of the post & realize I can't even post a pic b/c my membership here must have expired a few days ago... I guess I will copy & paste so look next door..:lolhit:

Man that sucks....sounds like he had some nice toys that he took alot of pride in building.

Pony up and post some pics over here....