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Got a new day cruiser

41K views 153 replies 42 participants last post by  Last Mohican 
#1 · (Edited)
UPDATE: I have added a PDF that I am tracking all costs of this project. I will update it periodically. I am documenting all costs other than gas. If I bought a tool specifically for this project it is included. if you are interested you can download it here.

http://ifixsolutions.com/misc/boat/sleekcraft/Ambassador/AmbassadorCost.pdf

25' 76 Sleek Craft Ambassador. It needs a lot of work but it will be pimp when it is done. It still has the faux fur and fridge in the cabin. I think the wood grain and white part of the gel will clean up pretty well.

The good
* Floor is solid
* YJ pump has already been converted
* Hydraulic diverter
* All original and everything is there.
* Got it for a song

The Bad
* It is freakin filthy
* Interior is completely shot
* flake part of the gel is pretty faded





 
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#3 ·
It needs a lot of work but it will be pimp when it is done. It still has the faux fur and fridge in the cabin. I think the wood grain and white part of the gel will clean up pretty well.

The good
* Floor is solid
* YJ pump has already been converted
* Hydraulic diverter
* All original and everything is there.
* Got it for a song

The Bad
* It is freakin filthy
* Interior is completely shot
* flake part of the gel is pretty faded





Now thats a "Stabin Cabin" :)hand
 
#18 · (Edited)
LOL!


I just passed on a boat identical to that one. It was parked in a yard for 6 years and was just toasted.
Seller seemed to think I could just rebuild the carb and go boating.
Good one.

Tomorrow I am going to look at a 21' Tahiti BBF.

I need a Delta Cruiser!
 
#22 · (Edited)
This one was $800. Surprisingly the floor is solid. I just started cleaning it up today. The cuddy cabin interior is actually in great shape it's just filthy. It will need carpet but the vinyl and wood is completely salvageable in the cabin. The upper interior, now that is a different story.

I think it may be the Ambassador. I put a tape measure on it and it is 24.5' from the point of the bow to the back of the transom not counting the swim platform.

I took some more pics and a video. I'll get them up shortly.
 
#26 ·
I agree. The two differences I noticed are the Ambassador front seat are cut at an angle near the engine cover The side slopes to the back in a straight line from the windshield to the transom. On the Executive the seats are cut straight across near the engine cover and the side where the wood grain is has a dip about half way back.
 
#33 · (Edited)
I was pretty excited today. I went out at lunch to see if I could turn the motor over by hand. I put a socket on the crank and it moved no problem. I thought that was good news. I pulled the plugs shot some WD-40 in all the cylinders and went back to work.

I went back out tonight and decided I better try to get two full turns out of the crank by hand just to be sure there was not a valve stuck or some other obstruction. I turned the crank and 180* and BAM it came to an abrupt stop. I turned it back the other way 180* and it stops again. I put my tools up and was going to call it a night when a friend showed up. He convinced me to at least pull the valve covers. Long story short, I could see water in #5. We pulled the intake and driver side head and just as I suspected there was a rust ring in #5. I hit it with a hone and it cleaned right up. The motor now turns over smooth as silk for 720*. Other than a little surface rust here and there the motor looks pretty clean inside.

I'm going to gamble a gasket set on it. I'm betting the motor was sitting there with the #5 intake valve open and rain water got in somehow. All I want out of this motor is to get to the lake and test the boat to see if there are any other mechanical or structural issues. Any thing more than that out of this motor is a bonus. I don't want to invest a bunch of money in the motor just to find out the boat goes straight to the bottom of the lake. If the motor needs to be rebuilt I'll be making the change to a BBC.

Keep your fingers crossed for me.
 
#37 ·
25.6 is measuring from the farthest point on the stern to the longest point on the bow..... It measures 10 foot from the longest point in the stern to the dash, and 15.5 from the dash to the top of the bow..
 
#39 · (Edited)
I was really surprised at how clean the inside of the motor is. Other than a little surface rust it looks great. It has been opened up before. I noticed today the one head is drilled and tapped for a smog pump and the other is not. They are both "C" heads. The intake is an old Edelbrock Torker. At one time it was polished. That will never happen again. It is way too pitted.









 
#40 ·
Made some more progress today. Dawn (my wife) and I got the entire interior stripped from the top side including the carpet. Dawn got some of the carpet out of the cabin as well. I hooked a battery up, turned the key and :crickets: I shorted the starter solenoid and it turned over so either there is a bad switch or some faulty wiring. When I shorted the starter it seemed to turn a little slow to me. I think I am going to go get a couple of new battery cables and hook the battery to the motor, hot wire the dizzy and use a starter button. That way I have pretty much eliminated any other electrical issues. Sorry no pics today. By the time we finished we just wanted to pick up and get a shower. That was some nasty disgusting work getting that carpet out.
 
#41 ·
Made some more progress today. Dawn (my wife) and I got the entire interior stripped from the top side including the carpet. Dawn got some of the carpet out of the cabin as well. I hooked a battery up, turned the key and :crickets: I shorted the starter solenoid and it turned over so either there is a bad switch or some faulty wiring. When I shorted the starter it seemed to turn a little slow to me. I think I am going to go get a couple of new battery cables and hook the battery to the motor, hot wire the dizzy and use a starter button. That way I have pretty much eliminated any other electrical issues. Sorry no pics today. By the time we finished we just wanted to pick up and get a shower. That was some nasty disgusting work getting that carpet out.
Exact reason why i havent made any progress on my project. i have to get all the old carpet out and something about doing it while its 110 outside doesnt sound fun.
 
#43 ·
Hiya Matt.... wow looks like a different boat now that you and the wife cleared away most of the grime! I hear ya on the NASTY carpet...cat pee...mold....dirt...fishguts....whatever....yuck

we rollered on a fresh coat of poly resin on our whole deck and then painted it before carpeting....made for a nice sealed and clean surface....no way for water to get in through pinholes in the floor....:)devil

wow that deck looks awsome...what exactly was all that junk on the front? looks like dust and muck....
 
#45 · (Edited)
Hiya Matt.... wow looks like a different boat now that you and the wife cleared away most of the grime! I hear ya on the NASTY carpet...cat pee...mold....dirt...fishguts....whatever....yuck

we rollered on a fresh coat of poly resin on our whole deck and then painted it before carpeting....made for a nice sealed and clean surface....no way for water to get in through pinholes in the floor....:)devil

wow that deck looks awsome...what exactly was all that junk on the front? looks like dust and muck....
Good idea on the resin Paul. I may put a thin coat of resin just to fill any pin holes. The floor is really solid. I'm quite surprised considering how long it sat out uncovered. No clue what all that crap was on the deck. It reminded me of gunite splatter like you see when they install an in ground pool. I know that is not what it was but that is the best way I know to describe what it looked like. Good thing is most of it came off quite easily with a pressure washer.

Haha. Me too. Just to freaking hot, well and the kidney stone doesn't help much.
Boat looks great, thats a better deal than mine for sure. Keep the thread going so I have some much needed motivation ;)
I'd rather work in this heat pulling carpet than pass that stone. :))eek:)) How is the Wreidt project coming?
 
#46 ·
kinda like gunite....strange!....mebbe they roofed thier house or somthing and used the sleek to pile thier junk shingles on it...who knows...what a shame to let such a cool boat get to that point....well atleast it's going to a good cause...YOUR CAUSE! :D and for a great price! heck you cant get a JetDrive that cheap or a BB motor for that price...heck a trailer runs more than $800 these days for a used double axle... you did good


Wow your interior seats are in great shape...kinda faux leather look...not bad, same with the engine....hope it runs well!

keep on posting those pics!

ps Matt we used Vinyl and 3M spray glue on our fuel tanks and inside the cuddy on the walls...less chance of mold and wet stink with vinyl.....luckily our ceiling was fine headliner style material and not shag.....that would be alot of glue and work to replace the ceiling material


the fuel tanks are a bitch to clean out......we kept ours installed....drained 50 gallons total out of the 2 tanks, 10 year old gas....man it stunk...and replaced the pickup tubes..they were clogged with fuel residue. put 10 gals of new fuel in and drove the trailer around mixed it about braking and drained em again....put some more gas in and drained em again...used that gas in our pickup truck
we Used Polyethelyne semi flexible tubing....as the originals were copper and had to be bent to get em out.... removing the tanks would have made it easier and would have done a better job of rinsing em out..... its just a couple straps made of fiberglass holding em in...that would prob be a better way to do it (remove em)
 
#47 ·
Got it to make some noise tonight. It only ran for about 5 seconds and I was out of gas. Replaced the steering cable today also. There is no way the boat ran the way it was. Timing was 180 out. I just moved the wires today. Tomorrow I'll re-stab the dizzy and fill the gas can. Saturday should be productive. It ain't much but it is progress.
 
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