1996 Ski Nautique In Storage for 3 years

[TRBenj]

Interior and carpet are expensive. M3 is right- youre looking at ~$2500 for new factory skins, plus another $1k+ for foam and install. You can save some money if you reuse some of the old foam or go with non-factory vinyl, or do some of the work yourself. Carpet can be had for $300-400 plus labor to install.

Wetsanding is very tiring and time consuming, but is well worth the effort. I wetsanded and buffed my entire top deck this spring and it brought the color and shine right back. Id say I spent close to 40 hours on it though.

If the engine is a GT40, its a 351w (5.8L). I wouldnt buy it without a test drive. Make sure the driveline is free of vibrations or thats even more work and money you'll be dumping into it.

I would expect to pay under $10k considering the condition.

[dmiracle]

Thanks for all the informative feedback thus far.

TRBenj - You're dead on. I spoke with Bruce at Midwest CC today. They recieve all of the design templates from CC and are the authorized source for factory spec skins.

New skins - $2550.00
Labor - 1400.00
Carpet - $400.00
Labor - $500.00

If I can get this boat for $10K or less, I'm figuring not a bad outcome.....a 1996SN w/GT40 that will have brand new interior for less than $15K.

Thoughts??

[Andrew]

that over heating is my only red flag. u don't really know how long it ran, or how much damage. was done. replacing all the "aesthetic" stuff is rather easy (and can be cheap) but if there was any damage done to the internals of the engine, then u are on an expensive road. i'd do a complete inspection on the engine (or have a qualified mechanic do it)

and i'd definetly stay away from cc when doing the interior. find a quality uphosltery shop, and let them use ur existing vinyl as a pattern. their material and labor costs will be close to half of cc's.

[M3Fan]

I don't know about under 10K... the GT40 crate motor is nearly 8K right there. Add a PP trans, driveline, underwater gear, the entire wood-free hull, etc., 10K is probably a little unrealistic IMO. Plus the boat is a 96- fairly new. 12-14k would be a good deal. Mint 96's usually are seen around 16-17k, from my boat-browsing experience.

[Hollywood]

I wouldn't pay more than $10k for that basket case.

[erniea15]

I'm with Andrew here... the overheating can be a big issue and should be a sign to proceed with caution. It sounds like there is significant work to be done. I'd say under 10k is a good figure. How much are they asking? Are you mechanically inclined? If not, I'd walk and go for a mint ride.

[Nautiqueman]

Whenever I bought a boat that has needed work on the front end, I have never thought when I finished working on it that I bought it cheap enough...

I believe that all GT-40 engines are the Ford 351. Right?

[DanielC]

A few more things. If it is a 302, it is not a GT-40 The GT-40 in a nautique is a 351 (5.8L) multiport fuel injected engine. Mine has 1823 Hours on it.
The hull design is pre TSC. The TSC hull came out for the 1997 modle year. The current hull is the TSC3.