Newb with many questions. . .

[fire_mike]

I am looking at buying a 1976 Sleekcraft Kuaui 19' jet boat that has an Olds 455 (out of the boat and needing a rebuild). I would rather just put in a regular GM big block, since I just read about some issues with the olds motor. Where would I go about finding a crate motor for a resonable price? Do I need to get a 'marine' one, or would I be able to get a regular autmotive motor?
It has a Jacuzzi pump, and I have no idea what kind of condition it is in (I haven't been to see the boat yet). If it needs work, would I be better off replacing it with a more common pump (such as berkely), or could I rebuild it?
From what I can tell in the pics, the hull will need to be refinished; what's the best way to do that? Can it be painted (with the proper primer of course), or would re-gelcoating it be better? If I went the gelcoat direction, how hard would it be to do myself? I do have some experience working with fiberglass, and painting cars, so I feel comfortable taking on the prep work, but I'm not sure about the gelcoat process.
Sorry for all the questions, but I'd really like to get the boat and I need to have an educated guess as to what kind of money pit it will be before my girlfriend will give the OK to buy it.
Thanks!!
p.s. in case you can't tell, I'm totally new to the jet boat scene.

[Midlake Crisis]

The action has slowed down here quite a bit - last year at this time you would have been mobbed for talking about buying a boat with an Olds AND a Jacuzzi pump, especially that needs paint. You are looking at a true money pit to turn that in to a nice boat. Unless there is something unique about it that you LOVE and are willing to spend $$$ on find something closer to done that has a Berkeley jet and a decent paint job. Motors are easy to come by at a reasonable price, the other stuff will kill you. Upholstery is important too. All new upholstery will cost as much as the average used jet boat.
I am definitely not trying to rain on your parade, jet boats are awesome and addicting, it is just much better to buy something that is close to done. There are a lot of deals to be had because of the economy and fuel prices right now too (something else to consider. . . . running a big block motor you are going to burn about 4 gal./hr. in a jet.

[fire_mike]

the thing that piqued my interest was the $700 obo price tag - plus the guy is moving and needs to get it sold and moved by the 23rd. I figured I'd low ball the sh!t out of it and see if he bites. My girlfrien does not really want a jet boat, but if I got a project one, I know she'd come around as it was built.

[jetboatperformance]

the thing that piqued my interest was the $700 obo price tag - plus the guy is moving and needs to get it sold and moved by the 23rd. I figured I'd low ball the sh!t out of it and see if he bites. My girlfrien does not really want a jet boat, but if I got a project one, I know she'd come around as it was built.
Mike , not a bad "Classic " combo for a starter jet boat project ,assuming the boat is "sound" its a decent buy .The Olds motor has some "limitations" ,Jacuzzi jets do as well but that Combo was a "standard in the industry for lots of years Please feel free to post up Pm or call with questions I pm'd you my cell as well if I can help you when you inspect the boat Welcome to the boards Tom

[bp]

i'd never want to deter someone from a project, but midlake is right - with a little effort, it's not that hard to find a decent boat with the powertrain you want already there. do you really know the condition of the hull/stringers, etc.?
what you are describing is stripping a boat completely, and re-rigging it. plenty of people have done that; a lot have just turned into big pos's filled with junk that should have never been attempted, while others did it right and ended up with a solid piece. if you have the resources and patience to do a quality job with quality parts/pieces, you could end up with a good boat. but if you're having dreams about tossing a couple grand at it and having a reliable boat, that won't happen. it's like finding an old junk car in a field somewhere - it can be made into a good looking streetable hotrod; not easy, and takes a lot of time, money, and expertise. with a car, when it breaks down because something wasn't done correctly, you can get out and walk. with a boat it doesn't work like that and it really po's whoever is stranded with you when it won't run.
700 isn't cheap; that's giving it away.

[fire_mike]

i'd never want to deter someone from a project, but midlake is right - with a little effort, it's not that hard to find a decent boat with the powertrain you want already there. do you really know the condition of the hull/stringers, etc.?
what you are describing is stripping a boat completely, and re-rigging it. plenty of people have done that; a lot have just turned into big pos's filled with junk that should have never been attempted, while others did it right and ended up with a solid piece. if you have the resources and patience to do a quality job with quality parts/pieces, you could end up with a good boat. but if you're having dreams about tossing a couple grand at it and having a reliable boat, that won't happen. it's like finding an old junk car in a field somewhere - it can be made into a good looking streetable hotrod; not easy, and takes a lot of time, money, and expertise. with a car, when it breaks down because something wasn't done correctly, you can get out and walk. with a boat it doesn't work like that and it really po's whoever is stranded with you when it won't run.
700 isn't cheap; that's giving it away.
I know it would tak alot of money, and I would definately take the time to do it right. Since he 'needs it gone by the 23rd', I am just going to offer to haul it away - I'm not going to spend anything to buy it. If it turns out to be juck, I'm sure I could sell the trailer and motor parts for enough to cover my cost of gas to get it.

[bp]

like tom mentioned, an olds/jacuzzi combo can make a reliable lake/river deal. if all the pieces are there as a platform, then it can be put together right without a ton of money. a jacuzzi wj can function ok; if it's a yj, then you'd seriously need to consider converting it to a berk.
as i said, don't want to deter, but a person should go into something like this with some idea of what's entailed. i know of a couple guys that took a gullwing project, put over 100k into it, and when it was done last year they were trying to sell it for 30k because it was scary fast. of course, they did nothing themselves, and everything was the best you could buy. boats are great, but in project land, you can get a bunch into it in a hurry and what you'll get in return is the enjoyment of building and using it.

[fire_mike]

like tom mentioned, an olds/jacuzzi combo can make a reliable lake/river deal. if all the pieces are there as a platform, then it can be put together right without a ton of money. a jacuzzi wj can function ok; if it's a yj, then you'd seriously need to consider converting it to a berk.
as i said, don't want to deter, but a person should go into something like this with some idea of what's entailed. i know of a couple guys that took a gullwing project, put over 100k into it, and when it was done last year they were trying to sell it for 30k because it was scary fast. of course, they did nothing themselves, and everything was the best you could buy. boats are great, but in project land, you can get a bunch into it in a hurry and what you'll get in return is the enjoyment of building and using it.
I looked into swaping the pump for a berk, and it is around 2 grand (not too bad in my opinion). I feel comfortable doing the hull work since I have experience with fiberglass - I used to work in the car stereo biz, and I did quite a bit of glass work. I know a few people that build engines, so that would be a money saver. I also know a few guys that paint cars, so agian, a possible money saver. The only thing that I'd have to find a stranger to do is the upholstery. I know it wouldn't be cheap, but I'm betting I could do it affordably without cutting corners.
I looked at more pictures of the boat, and the hull in actually in pretty good shape. The interior is all there and it is in surprisingly good shape too. The trailer has new tires, bearings, and hubs. Even if I gave the guy a couple hundred bucks for the whole thing, I'm sure I could sell the parts to cover my costs (if I get it, I will immediately sell the engine).

[hkunz]

IF you do get it, and IF you swap out the engine, add an extra grand to your budget to buy the parts to put in a different engine. Things like the logs and scrolls, the motor mounts, etc, and then you need to move the holes in the transom, if you are really lucky.
I did what you are about to do, and would do it again.... BUT, don't pay anything for it. A non-running jet boat is a haul away. I got mine for "free" (the owner signed the pink slip, and I drug it out of her back yard) ten years ago, and it took 8 grand before the girls would ride in it. That's with the Olds motor being reused.
The "swap out an Olds" comes up a lot. It is much cheaper to buy a die grinder, some restricters, and a gasket set, and go with what you've got.

[fire_mike]

IF you do get it, and IF you swap out the engine, add an extra grand to your budget to buy the parts to put in a different engine. Things like the logs and scrolls, the motor mounts, etc, and then you need to move the holes in the transom, if you are really lucky.
I did what you are about to do, and would do it again.... BUT, don't pay anything for it. A non-running jet boat is a haul away. I got mine for "free" (the owner signed the pink slip, and I drug it out of her back yard) ten years ago, and it took 8 grand before the girls would ride in it. That's with the Olds motor being reused.
The "swap out an Olds" comes up a lot. It is much cheaper to buy a die grinder, some restricters, and a gasket set, and go with what you've got.
I guess it depends on the condition of the olds as to whether or not I'll rebuild it. It it's in absolute crap shape, I'll swap. Why would I need to move the holes in the transom? Are you talking about if I swap the pump? If so, the swap I would do just uses the jacuzzi part up to the transom, and replaces the outer part with more common berk parts. From what the company claims (american turbine) you get a 20% increase in performance with this kit.
Now for my newb question - what are logs and scrolls?
Also, to everyone who has given me thier input - thanks! I really do appreciate it.

[hkunz]

The header outlets may not line up - the new engine may be wider, or narrower than the old engine, so you'd have to move the holes.
An Olds in absolute crap shape may still be cheaper to rebuild than to swap a BBC. That is unless you plan to go big power - over 5-600. At that range, you need to talk to Timminator, or someone else on here that works with boats in the really high HP ranges.
Logs are the headers - most jets have an aluminum log-type exhaust manifold that is water jacketed and feeds into scrolls, which act as mufflers and keep the water from running back "uphill" into the engine. The scrolls feed large rubber exhaust hoses that go to the transom and out. You may not have logs and scrolls, you may have headers. There are several types - zoomies, no muffler, four pipes per side that sweep up and back, or the basset type, which look like car headers upside down. Bassets and logs have water fed to them and coming out the back, I don't think zoomies do.

[bp]

they are logs and risers. risers are often referred to as "snails", because of their shape. http://www.rexmar.com/page225.html
logs are water cooled exhaust manifolds, referred to as logs because that's what they look like. logs are almost completely water jacketed, so will stay cooler than headers. engine outlet water is t'd to flow through each log, then into each snail to the hoses which keeps the hose cool and muffles the exhaust, then overboard.
logs are extremely restrictive and hinder performance, compared to a more tuned exhaust system. they "work fine", but exhaust flow is not tuned in any way. there are thru hull exhausts available that are much more effective performance wise, but they are pricy. you can see several different examples in the rex catalog.
like logs, the jacuzzi conversion "works fine". but replacing the intake and matching suction piece is better; i.e., the whole pump with either a complete amt or berk.
unless something is cracked or broken, the olds is rebuildable. it all depends on what you're after and what you're expecting out of it. do you want a cruiser that you can take out and enjoy, or do you want a gofast hotrod? going to a chevy, you'll need motor plates, rail kit, bellhousing, flex plate, flex plate hub, align the drive shaft while rigging the thing the new motor mount system, the right length drive shaft, a starter, and brackets/mounts for other peripherals. and if you're going to that length, why have just a jacuzzi conversion behind it rather than replace the whole thing?
two very different approaches. interior costs vary depending where you are and who you can find to do it, and what you want. here in havasu, i have my favorite that i go to frequently.. they are very good and very reasonable.