Page 1 of 13 1234511 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 130

Thread: '73 Kona Resto build

  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    589
    Ok here goes.I have been wanting to write a thread following the progress of the restoration of My Kona,for a while now,but havent had the time to spend on it.
    However I will try to make the time When ever I can.
    Please keep in mind that some of the pics that I will be showing are of work that I have done on the boat more than a year ago.That being said and My limited budget,hopefully the tread will catch up to the present day progress.
    These first pics are when I went to Huntington beach to pick up the boat.
    http://www.performanceboats.com/html...1&d=1212292312
    http://www.performanceboats.com/html...1&d=1212292312
    I bought the boat less engine,but it did come with the basset water injected headers,and all the stain less braided hoses.
    The pump is a jacuzzi 12wj freshly rebuilt about 4 years ago but never ran after rebuild,with a place diverter.
    A litle story about the previous owner.Aparently he had
    a prety good motor in the boat ,and was running it at lake Mead,as He use to live in Vegas,when He got pitched from the boat.I guess He got scared of it and never ran it again.
    I guess before he decided that he was'nt going to drive the boat again,He had the pump done and new interior and carpet put in.
    The boat has been regellcoated,but the deck has a bunch of tiny cracks all over and other spots that are crazing. I later found that the cracks in the deck were in the glass too,but the other cracks were only in the gell.

  2. #2
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    589
    Ok here are a few more Pic's.
    These are from when I got the boat back to Vegas(back full circle).
    The boat had been sitting under a dark blue heavy cloth boat cover for four years,so it needed a good cleaning.
    http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...leaned_up1.jpg
    http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...leaned_up2.jpg
    http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...leaned_up3.jpg
    http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...leaned_up4.jpg.
    From these pics and from a distance,You could not see the boat acne it had.
    Ok here is where it started getting intresting!
    I bought a 454BBC which was reportedly in good running order,rebuilt with about 5000mi,with 10:1.compresion ,with the intentions of just sticking it in the boat and go have fun.It was end of season and being the curious one,or skeptik,Idid not just want to take the word of another,I poped the pan off to have a look inside.lo and behold what did I discover ?A spunn bearing,I WAS PISSED! Any way I proceeded to tear down the engine .I pulled the heads first and made another discovery.It aint no 10:1 motor and further more one cylinder was really rusty .UHHO!Have I got a cracked block or head?
    I tore the motor completly down and off to the machine shop it went to cleaned and maged.
    well The block and the heads tested good,NO CRACK'S,but the one rusty cylinder could not be cleaned up,so it was time to bore.
    I talked with My engine builder and we decided to go with some more cubes,A STROKER MOTOR! Bored .030 and bought a Scatt 4.25 stroke rotating asymbly.
    Any way while I was gathering parts and with My limmited budget,and being hard headed and not wanting to settle for a lesser motor (i did not just want a stock motor) ,I started picking at the boat! For one the cracks in the deck were driving Me crazy! so I started contemplating fixing the deck, started there and one thing lead to another.You Know one of those ,while I am here I might as well fix this too,situations.
    Anywho here I am a year and a half later and I am still working on it! Oh well hopefully the end result will be worth it,When all is said and doneIt will practicly be a neww hull,as I have filled every hole except the transom cutout,and replaced every pice of wood,except the wood glassed into the deck.I think it will probobly even be built better than Kona built it the first time!
    I am calling It a reso build instead of a restoration ,becouse while the hull is a classic It will be updated and modernized to almost a custom boperformance boat....Hal

  3. #3
    Wicked Performance Boats
    You go Hal, It will be a nice piece when you're done. Pat

  4. #4
    El Prosecutor
    Nice boat, that is a great interior too.

  5. #5
    DOZZR
    Very nice!!
    I just returned from Havasu yesterday from my kona restorations maiden voyage, and I was impressed on how the well the boat turned out. My point being, when you hit the water with your "new toy" every single thing you did, every extra hour/day you put into it although nobody else may notice, makes your smile all that much brighter. Keep it up you have a sweet looking boat and trust me, people "WILL" notice !! And when you put the hammer down for the first time, be ready to capture a memmory you wont soon forget WOOOOOO-HOOOOO what a rush!!!!!!
    Your boat looks great, keep us posted on the progress.

  6. #6
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    589
    Hey Pat! How have You been doing? Hope all Is well.
    Thanks Guys.The boat does'nt look near as good now!
    The thing is in a million pieces,body work has been done and is in the primer state right now.
    DOZZR,Your boat looks awesome!I have been admiring You'r boat ever since You posted about it. I really love the flames! I plan on painting Mine with a bunch of Ghost flames. It's nice to see actual Konas, and not the Tahiti Tigers that ours are splashed from.
    Do You have any pics of Your restore proccess? What all did You do to it?Let's see more pic's of it!
    Here are a few pics of what the deck looked like up close .
    http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...ng_on_deck.jpg
    http://www.***boat.com/image_center/..._cracking2.jpg
    http://www.***boat.com/image_center/..._cracking3.jpg

  7. #7
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    589
    heres a couple more pics of the boat accne.
    this is on the side of the hull.
    http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...74crazing4.jpg
    this is on the top of the cockpit area
    http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...74kona_011.jpg.

  8. #8
    DOZZR
    Here you go Hal,
    I wasn't really planning on getting into a complete restore, so unfortunately I dont have alot of close up pics of the original condition of the boat. But it had no clear coat left on it at all, when I would wipe it down after running it my towell would have all kinds of metalflake in it, and the finish was like sandpaper :jawdrop: , I still have to get the seats upholstered, I made new ones ( http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...atpaint033.jpg ) and they are at a guys shop but when the guy saw the boat he all of a sudden decided to double the price, I guess he thought I had alot of money to blow.
    So now I need to find someone who can get it done affordably.
    I was fortunate that the hull was in great shape, I didnt have to get into hardly any glass work at all, there was some delaminating spots around the stringer connections but it was still protecting the framework, so I was able to repair it easy enough without replacing any wood. there were some stress cracks here and there but I grinded and filled them and after the Havasu beating it took they seem to be holding up perfectly.
    I dont want to take over your post so I'll cut it off here, but feel free to ask away if you have any questions, so log off, and get buisy on that boat !!, we have to get all these Kona's together at one time and have some fun.
    Have a good one,
    John
    http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s8/Dozzr/TARA0.jpg
    http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...31061918-1.jpg
    http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...r/HPIM0286.jpg
    http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s...27061906-1.jpg

  9. #9
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    589
    Ok here are a few pic's of the interior ,before we get into the ugly stuff!
    http://www.***boat.com/image_center/.../interior1.jpg
    http://www.***boat.com/image_center/.../interior2.jpg
    http://www.***boat.com/image_center/.../interior3.jpg
    http://www.***boat.com/image_center/.../interior4.jpg
    http://www.***boat.com/image_center/.../interior5.jpg
    Well next we will be getting to the ugly stuff of getting rid of the boat accne replacing the wood and the fun fiberglass work...Hal

  10. #10
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    589
    Ok well while I was waiting on My engine to be built,I was sitting here staring at the deck on the boat.Every time I would look it over I would tell Myself,Man i should fix this! After a while I started picking at the deck.I had seen Roostwears Stevens thread ,and He was scraping the paint with a razor blade,and I thought would this work for Me.
    I started scraping and it was working
    http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...zor_blade1.jpg
    It started comming off pretty easy
    http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...zor_blade1.jpg
    Aha! The original gell,Silver metal flake!
    http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...zor_blade3.jpg
    http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...zor_blade2.jpg
    Ok! Well this scraping is taking way toooolooong! Time to break out the big gunns!

Page 1 of 13 1234511 ... LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. 18 SS Sidewinder resto
    By sidewindingfool in forum Fiber glass & Hull Repair
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 07-12-2008, 01:20 PM
  2. Rayson resto pics
    By sofa king smooth in forum V-Drives
    Replies: 40
    Last Post: 11-13-2007, 06:31 PM
  3. '73 Kona Resto build
    By holorinhal in forum Fiber glass & Hull Repair
    Replies: 47
    Last Post: 06-24-2007, 05:23 PM
  4. Pretty funny story (Kona vs Kona)
    By DOZZR in forum Jet Boats
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 06-11-2007, 11:37 AM
  5. Does your boat or ski need paint or resto?
    By SERIOUS ISSUES in forum Parts 4 Sale
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 08-30-2006, 04:32 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •