1981 23.5 DAYTONA COMPLETE REBUILD (WHAT WAS I THINKING)

SPENT MOST OF LAST WEEK AND SOME OF THIS WEEKS NIGHTS GETTING THE WIRING IN THE BOAT. THIS WILL BE MY FIRST TIME DOING A BOAT SO I HOPE IT ALL WORKS:eek

GOT MY STEERING WHEEL IN TODAY AND INSTALLED.

I just came across this thread. I knew this boat when it was together, owned by Bud Murphy, and had a twin turbo big block Chevy and TRS drive....this was probably in the late 80s to early 90s. Feel free to PM me if you'd like to know more.

Rick

THAT IS COOL THAT SOMEONE ACTUALLY HAS SOME OLD INFO ON THIS BOAT. I WILL HAVE TO GET A HOLD OF YOU AND GET SOME INFO ON IT. IT HAS BEEN A REAL PROJECT. I KNOW IT SAT FOR ALMOST 10 YEARS IN A FIELD ROTTING AWAY TILL I GOT IT. I HAVE ALMOST BROUGHT HER BACK TO LIFE, IM PRETTY EXCITED.

THANKS DON

jUST WANTED TO UPDATE THE TREAD. GOT BOAT BACK FROM INTERIOR SHOP. CAME OUT GREAT.

SO THIS LAST WEEK I WAS ABLE TO GET A LOT OF STUFF FINISHED OFF MY LIST AND HOPEFULLY WILL HAVE IT RUNNING NEXT WEEKEND BARING ANY SET BACKS...LOL, HERE'S AN UPDATE
ALL THE BILDGE PUMPS AND THE BLOWER IN AND WORKING.

TRIM PUMP INSTALLED WITH NEW POWDER COATED BRACKET

EXHAUST TIPS BACK AND INSTALLED..

BEFORE...

AFTER....

SWIM STEPS INSTALLED..

PIC OF THE OPEN BOW FINISHED

Got all the wiring completed and installed. Should be able to just drop engine in, plug and run. We will see though. Got the fuel valve installed that i had bought off this site a few months ago. Dropped the boat off at my graphix guy on mon. to get the few mistakes i had made fixed and also get my scoop done. should be back by thur. afternoon. hopefully if i get a lot of stuff done this weekend i might have it running early next week.

WELL ITS BEEN A CRAZY LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS. TRYING TO GET THIS THING DONE FOR DESERT STORM. BEEN WORKING EVERY NIGHT TILL LIKE 1-2:00 AM JSUT TO FINISH IT. OTS AMAZING HOW MANY LITTLE THINGS U DONT THINK ABOUT TILL U ARE RIGHT AT THE END. GOT ALL THE WIRING DONE, THROTTLE CABLE, SHIFTER LINKAGE, OUTDRIVE AND ENGINE BACK IN. CHECKED ALL MY POWER EVERYTHING WORKS PERFECT. FIRED THE ENGINE LAST NIGHT. NO LEAKS AND SOUNDED GREAT. HAVING A LITTLE PROBLEM WITH CARB SHOULD HAVE THAT FIXED TODAY. TRYING TO TEST IT IN THE WATER ON SUNDAY, AFTER ALL IT HASN'T SEEN WATER IN OVER 15 YEARS. SHOULD BE INTERESTED. I WILL BE POSTING A VIDEO BY MON OF ENGINE AND IT IN WATER HOPEFULLY.

Thanks to Naples Image for the great pic overhead at Desert Storm. Boat is now for sale. Looking for a 24' fastcat or bigger partydeck. I might also sell with different engine. Have a 471 ci that im thinking of putting in and selling it for $18000.00. i would like to keep the 588 for next boat.

This thing came out nice! Did you sell it? I thought I saw it on CL not too long ago

YA SOLD IT A WHILE AGO. SINCE, REBUILT A 26' ADVANTAGE PARTY CAT BEFORE-
AFTER-



NOW ON TO THE NEXT PROJECT, GETTING READY TO DO A COMPLETE REBUILD OF THIS 95 DAYTONA THAT HAD BEEN SITTING SINCE 97 IN A GARAGE

DGRAY75 said:

YA SOLD IT A WHILE AGO. SINCE, REBUILT A 26' ADVANTAGE PARTY CAT BEFORE- View attachment 443521
AFTER-

View attachment 443519

NOW ON TO THE NEXT PROJECT, GETTING READY TO DO A COMPLETE REBUILD OF THIS 95 DAYTONA THAT HAD BEEN SITTING SINCE 97 IN A GARAGE
View attachment 443520

Click to expand...

Can't wait to see the progress! did you sell the party cat or is that the play toy?

DGRAY75 said:

YA SOLD IT A WHILE AGO. SINCE, REBUILT A 26' ADVANTAGE PARTY CAT BEFORE- View attachment 443521
AFTER-

View attachment 443519

NOW ON TO THE NEXT PROJECT, GETTING READY TO DO A COMPLETE REBUILD OF THIS 95 DAYTONA THAT HAD BEEN SITTING SINCE 97 IN A GARAGE
View attachment 443520

Click to expand...

Lemme know if you ever need a hand. I'm in Heritage and love helping on cool projects when needed.