Brian, thanks for sharing your story. I'm looking forward to the day that we can run with a bunch of other velocity boats. It would be cool to have some old ones like yours around. I wish people had saved more of the old race boats, we never see any in my area.

Best regards,
Jordan

how did the news go with your grandfather? any updates?

Thanks for asking!

Mike and I told the whole family over Thanksgiving and it really couldn't have gone better. Mike's sister's Kelly and Renee could not believe it and were both as happy as could be and so grateful that Mike and I have put in the effort to track down a piece of our history and try to bring it back. My grandpa was suprised and happy too with one stipulation: "as long as you boys don't race it". That one we expected:) To sum it up I think it's best to say everyone was just shocked in a good way. It was certainly reassuring to know that my family is 100% behind what we are doing, which only provides more motivation to accomplish our goal of bringing StillCrazy back to life.

It's a relief now that everybody knows and we can share things with them as the build progresses. Mike and I are heading up to Velocity tomorrow to do some more prep work with the sanders and flat boards and hopefully get the boat on its' side so we can buff the bottom and let Steve assess how much gel coat we need to repair. I'm itching to get her to paint so we can start to see the glimmers of what the new StillCrazy is going to be like. It's been a couple weeks since Mike and I have seen the boat so we can't wait to get up there and see the progress Steve and his guys have made with the glass repairs. I'm sure I'll get a bunch of progress pics this weekend that I'll put up when I get home.

Best regards to everybody still following,

Jordan

Thank you all
 

Had the pleasure of meeting Mike, Jordan and Steve this wknd. You and the family will be proud when you finally see the finished product. Their busting their azzes on that boat. Cant wait to see it finished . Keep up the great work guys.

Hey everybody, it's been a couple weeks since our last post and we don't have a ton of visual progress to show but work is still progressing, mostly the little tedious work that doesn't look like much now but all adds up to a great finished product.

Mike and I have to thank Patryk (ItsPeanut) for generously volunteering his time and driving down from Jacksonville to give us a hand. He worked his butt off all day Saturday and really helped us out. I hope we can make the Jacksonville run and get you out on the boat to enjoy the fruits of your labor :coolcowboy:

Now to the photos....

Mike getting set up for the grind...
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5202/...13052bdd76.jpg

The new transom...
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5090/...cdb4258f31.jpg

Mike and Chris discussing paint, Patryk sanding, Steve filling...
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5166/...b6e3766f45.jpg

Me filling the holes behind the rub rail so we don't get any unwanted water intrusion down the road...
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5287/...a5d3a3189f.jpg

Patryk putting some muscle in it...
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5244/...dbda5c9892.jpg

Checkered flags marking victories we uncovered while sanding. These were so thin, one extra pass and they disappear...
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5287/...eff869a4d5.jpg

One of the coolest moments yet, the first time we've been able to see Mike's dad's name on the boat. You can barely make it out...
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5247/...284743fa28.jpg

Steve changed his plans when he found out we were coming up and spent all day working with us. Every day Mike and I get to spend with him is a gift. Here he is showing us how's it's done...
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5124/...79890f368f.jpg

And laying some new glass on the dash...
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5209/...9ea239591d.jpg

Patryk working on the hatches...
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5163/...0b3d43dee5.jpg

On Sunday, me grinding out some of the gel cracks...
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5050/...f606699400.jpg

Mike filling some holes...
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5042/...af0dec5c4f.jpg

And me working on the windscreen...
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5201/...413d4ebbfa.jpg

That took a lot of time:rolleyes:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5049/...4e2b494749.jpg

Mike and I after another great weekend:ernaehrung004:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5128/...7a17950368.jpg

Another huge thanks goes out to Steve and Kim again, who treated us to an unbelievable dinner and free lodging:drink: Steve also dug out some old VHS tapes and Mike and I saw StillCrazy run for the first time!!!! One video was from the New Orleans speed trials I believe in '83 and boy was she running sweet. Hopefully we can get the tapes onto DVD soon and be able to share them with everybody.

If all goes well this week with Steve's guys working on the bottom, we should be headed up to Sanford this weekend to pick up the boat and tow it down to Eddie Guardado's shop in Miami to start the paint. Hopefully the next set of photos will show StillCrazy back in her stripes:)

Best regards to everyone out there!!!

-Jordan & Mike

Awesome job guys , it's great to see Steve right in the middle of things, you have got the master over seeing this boat and that says a ton .

Great thread! Can't wait to see it run!

This is a GREAT thread! Thanks for keeping us updated on your progress!

Awesome thread guys! This is a great project, can't wait to see it progress more!

Awesome!! Keep it up

It is very cool to see Steve working on this boat! We discussed Still Crazy many times and I know he has a sincere fondness for it.
Steve

Looking good guys......can't wait to see her all painted up.....

Had a great time sanding. Couldnt think of anything better todo on a saturday. Glad I could help out. Did you get it to the booth this wknd?

Great job guys. Please keep the pics and the story going! It is also great that Steve is helping. Things like this set Velocity apart from the rest.

Guys,
Awesome job on all the work so far!!! Glad you got to hang with my Best friend Patryk!! I wish he lived closer to me... My boat would be done by know... I got to hear all about the day, especially when he was uncovering your Dad's name up by the fairing. He is a great worker and good dude to have help out!! Keep us updated! Love what you guys are doing!
Jr.

Awesome, awesome thread. Good to see a piece of history brought back to life. Guys are doing a nice job. It's a lot of work, I did a simular resto on a 91 41 5 years ago, alot of work, but it was worth every ounce of energy. Steve Stepp is awesome and always willing to help out. Good people, we don't find that very often. Bob

Thanks for sharing your story it's very inspiring and I'll definitely be following this incredible restoration... Jim

Happy New Year my brothers :-)
 

Be safe and have some fun. Let me know when she heads to Miami as I always love a trip to Opa Locka and Guaradaro's fine shop.
Saluti, Cadillac

Hey Caddy! We towed Still Crazy down to Eddie's shop the week before Christmas so anytime you want to stop by she'll be there. Mike and I are heading over there tomorrow to meet with Eddie and start doing whatever we can to get the boat ready for paint. We can't wait to get the color back on and move on to the next step of putting the boat back together!

Give me a ring if you want to stop by the shop tomorrow or over the weekend, we're going to work till Sunday if there's work for us to do:)

Here's some shots of the trip down to Eddie's Shop:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5165/...955a48d9e5.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5087/...62162a4949.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5083/...58ddb5b024.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5003/...09998cd2af.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5249/...c0f3d4d15d.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5283/...e29fb11283.jpg

Chris and Eddie discussing the gel cracks...
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5283/...7c2de59082.jpg

Qatar #96 waiting for some silver:)
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5203/...6390228aea.jpg

Mike putting tape on all the little hairline gel cracks to save Eddie's guys some time:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5248/...0f5ab00536.jpg

Hopefully I'll have some new pictures soon that are a little more colorful;)

Fantastic Work!
 

I had a question on the Stringers/Structure of the boat. Were they in decent shape or did they require work? Are they wood stringers wrapped in glass or other material?

Again, great story!

The stringers are wood encased in heavy glass as is the transom. Most of the boat was in pretty decent shape structurally with the exception of the transom. There was also rot at the tops of the stringers in the engine room, where holes from mounting bolts were. However, since the stringers were so large before Steve just cut down the top of the stringers until he got to good wood, then re-glassed them. The stringer glass is so thick and such a heavy weave that it probably would suffice even if all the wood was rotted away! We also ended up replacing the backside of the dashboard, the cockpit floors and the bulkhead between engine compartment and cockpit.

As for the cosmetic repairs, Mike and I did as much work as we could grinding out gel cracks, etc., now Eddie's guys are taking it and working on the deck (which has a lot of cracking due to flexing after a previous owner removed bulkheads in the cabin area) and doing whatever else is necessary to get it ready for final paint. We're hoping they have the glass done and the boat painted with slicksand primer so we can come back next weekend and block it down. I'm crossing my fingers:)

Jordan, I remember when I tried to purchase the boat some five or six years ago, that there was cracking along the lifting strakes where they met the hull - have you and Steve addressed that issue? I'm sure you have, but figured it couldn't hurt to ask! Great work, great story, great photos and a great boat! Cannot wait to see the finished product!

Harry

Can't wait to see her back to her glory :) you know Dad can't wait either!

Love you KP:)

Harry, Steve and his guys went over the bottom and addressed all areas of cracking. I know exactly where you were talking about, that was the first thing Steve saw. Everything should be like new, cracks fixed, trailing edges sharp! Steve knows that bottom like the back of his hand:ernaehrung004:

I also missed this thread somehow and just read all 15 pages of it. You guys are doing an awesome job with the help of some of the best in the business! Can't wait to see back up and shining again. Once done be sure to get a family (reunion style) picture with everyone by the boat. Your father will be proud of what you all are doing.

Gonna need a wider paint booth eventually.


great feel-good thread

love you too! And there will def be a family reunion style picture taken!

More sanding huh. I thought you guys might of had enough by now. Have fun.

Great Thread,..................Greater Project

Never Give up !!




Jon

Would love to see how they fix the cracking/crazing issue.

with fiberglass and gelcoat !:lolhit:

Great Story......
 

I've known these two young men for some time now and I've always had an affinity for the story of The Still Crazy Story. I couldn't be happier that the boat is being restored. I can't wait to see the finished project and I will be front row as we all watch SC return to glory. You guys are an inspiration!

How's the paint coming along?

been quite in here!

Just a quick update...Jordan and Mike have been in Miami quite a bit lately working on the boat. I can happily say Stillcrazy is finally ready for paint! They have been working so hard and will probably never want to sand another thing in their lives. Mike sent me some pics today I'll post. Last I heard from them, they were picking out paint colors!

I Just got a call from Mike that the first base coat of white is going on!

Awesome to hear! My bro helped out on the sanding, Its Peanut. He is flying up to Wisconsin the help block my 21 scout... Kpoppa, were you out of in the Bus? My sister lives in Pickerington.. Do you make it up to the islands at all?
Jr.

did it ever have anything to do with this race car? jeff
http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/l...rack/2053a.jpg

http://i314.photobucket.com/albums/l...rack/2113a.jpg

Your story and project is nothing short of amazing. Best of luck with everything!