1987 Supra SunSport - First Pics: Engine

Hello WakeWorld - I've been lurking for a few months as I've been searching for and researching my first inboard purchase. After searching my area for the big three (80s MasterCraft Stars & Stripes, 80s Ski Nautique "2001s", and 80s Supra SunSports) I really liked the SunSports deeper V and wake plate, not to mention it's the ONLY with an open bow!

Of course, it's all about what you can find and how the prices compare for you. I love that MasterCraft has the reputation of being more "waterproof" throughout as compared to the Supras who have the reputation of being somewhat more susceptible to holding water in some scenarios. I love the SN2001s' rep for being a wake-beast and how well they hold weight. But with the Launch hull, the open-bow and a great price, I couldn't say no to the Supra!

I found this beauty about five hours from home, went to view and made a deposit. Coming back in a month to test-drive (YESSS) and pay in full, and then haul home behind a newer Tahoe.

She's in fantastic shape, 1987 Supra SunSport Skier open-bow 19'6" w/ 600 hours for $7500, 2nd-owner (they used it for barefooting) with a 240hp 351cu" Ford V8.

The exterior and interior are great and the floor and engine bolts seemed very solid. It was always stored indoors and on a lift/trailer and the colors inside and out are great. To me, I think this seems to be pretty good evidence that it should be pretty safe on the floors/stringers.

Great trailer with some custom mods (single-person drive-on thingie) and great chrome dualies.

She has a hydrolic wake plate!!! WHO KNEW they put these on factory in this early year! WOWIE what a suprise when I saw that! Of course right now it's frozen up and the owner says it hasn't worked that he knows of but I can hear the motor trying to run so I think we can fix that!

Depth finder w/ alarm, am/fm cassette woot woot, cooler and trash can built-in (hah) and seating for eight!

I've been boarding for +-10 years, all behind a lovely 1976 Glastron 17' 135hp I/O. Friends have a 20' SeaRay 230hp I/O. We even use a 700lb LaunchPad but the wakes are washy and I have decided it's time to make the most important move of my favorite hobby.

Please help me look over these engine pics! Comments are what I need! Yes, I'm excited! More pics to come.

(please allow me a few mins to post these pics - 3-22 1pm central)

(Message edited by wakemikey on March 22, 2008)

Pics...

Now what I see here of note is that the intake on the carb is a bit blackened but the owner says it doesn't leak oil or burn oil at all. She started right up after a couple cranks and sounded incredible!

I'm really not a mechanic, but the Holley carb seems like a debatable issue. If I were to change that carb out for something that might conserve more gas, would that help me? I don't think I'll be lacking in power. Why is the Holley such a popular carb?

Note the engine is winterized and has many hoses/belts removed in these pics.

(Message edited by wakemikey on March 22, 2008)

Pics2

Better view is the Holley.

There is a little visable grease/dirt in this picture but no rust anywhere on the engine. Well ok, there's one little spot I see in a pic, but I don't think it'll hurt anything. I'll point it out when I post that pic.

(Message edited by wakemikey on March 22, 2008)

Pics3

In this pic you can see the shaft (heh) in the lower portion. You can also see the glassed floor-bottom and two of the engine mounts.

Pics4

This pic is a great closeup of the starter. It seemed to work just fine (something I can actually change!) but it's all pitted and viasbly worse-for-wear. It does have newer electronic ignition and I believe the distributer/plug-wires look pretty new too.

Also to the right of the starter is the visable rust I mentioned in a previous post.

Pics5

Alright now we're gettin to the good stuff.

But here you can see the seats and vinyl colors. Storage behind the spotters seat, cooler under the playpen middle cushion. That little white circle/access hole is the built-in garbage. It's a lil shoot that opens up beneath the playpen for a large garbage bag. Nice.

Seating for eight - and eight cupholders! How thoughtful!

And a built-in boardrack. Well OK, ski rack. But until we get the tower, etc, it will serve. Thinking a Monster Tower I or II, or Titan, or maybe the Supra OEM brand Rad-a-Cage.

(Message edited by wakemikey on March 22, 2008)

This boat has more than 90' of 1/2" teak throughout!

(Message edited by wakemikey on March 22, 2008)

For eighties colors, this is one of the better looking SunSports I've seen. Look at that big ol' deep V. This is a much bigger boat than I'm used to! Yikes! Sometimes depth can be an issue on the Mississip...

I had to erase registration and sale info.

Ok, that's all I'm posting for now! Please comment away!!!!

(Message edited by wakemikey on March 22, 2008)

(Message edited by wakemikey on March 22, 2008)

Looks great and in very good shape for a 21 year old ride.

I think either the pulleys are pitted or mis aligned as there seems to be a lot of belt debris on the engine (and most likely what the black stuff is on the spark arrester). A cheap and easy fix so don't sweat it.

Nice boat for the bux! You'll have fun with it this summer. It will throw an awesome wake with a couple of sacks and some people in there.

That was the alternator, btw;)

well i wouldnt swap out the carb. i think a rebuild kit for the carb is about 50 bucks(if that) and you can have a mechanic rebuild it for another 50 and it will be just fine if youre concerned about it. if youre not gonna use the pylon be sure to pull it out. it may not seem like it but the boat will feel much more roomy inside with out it. was this boat used in salt water? there seems to be a bit of rust on the engine. what i think you are referring to as the starter is actually the alternator and it looks to be in bad shape. you also may have to replace some of those pulleys. they look rusty and will eat up belts pretty quickly.

i dont know that i would have purchased this boat but congrats on the new addition and BE SURE TO DO A LAKE TEST BEFORE YOU PAY ANY MORE MONEY. trust me that are many issues a boat can have that only become apparent on the the water. }

Super clean boat! The black powder could be that the belt is just old and not misaligned. Those guide poles need to be moved to the back of the trailer. It does not help with them mounted in front of the fenders.

i see the belt dust to. you need to remove the pulleys sand blast and paint them the rust on them acts like sand paper and will shorten your belt life for sure. you need to clean the flame arrestor its full of belt rubber. also i see signs of leaking on the risers gaskets you need to replace these (cheap and easy) before they get worse and start leaking internally and when this happens it will not be cheap or easy to repair.

Kevin - Thank you! Can you tell me more about the riser gaskets please? Where are they located, what is their proper name (so I can find replacement please).

Alan - I was assured the two previous owners knew each other and it was only used on rivers/lakes in Wisconson. I thought that bit of rust looked pretty innocent...can you tell me more please? All-in-all I thought I was getting a pretty good deal with very minor, fixable issues. Can you tell me why you feel I shoudl've kept looking? And BTW I will be keeping the Holley for a while for sure, and will keep the pylon untill I have am able to put in the tower. You're right, it would be GREAT to be able to remove that.

THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR COMMENTS! I really appreciate them all and would be happy to chat more with anyone! So far I only have a deposit, so we'll see how she runs. If the power is there, if we feel no vibes or sounds at high speeds or while accelerating, I think we should be fine.

The alt (doh can't believe I made a newb comment already) isn't expensive, the pullies I can fix.

THe interior is sweet! My only question is, what is that open hose sticking straight up?

That's the way to go! More money for gas and that will have a great wake. Get rid of those goofy racks on the floor for sacs and you're all set. Start saving for perfect pass and a tower, but as is will rock your lake this summer. I started out in a 17' glastron for 2 years, went to a mastercraft prostar for 7 years and this will be our 5th summer with our supra launch SS. I've ridden behind the same hull you're buying and it has a great wake that you can weight the crap out of.

I think it's a pretty good deal for your first wakeboat. I would of jumped on it if I was in the market. I prefer to have some minor fixing to do on any vehicle just so I get to know it inside and out. Just get a tower and PP and get rid of that cassette player and you should have a really damn nice set up.

Looks great. That is a killer hull, and those are really the best open-bow option for the money. Very deep hull that can take a lot of weight, and IMO throws a lot better wake than the Maristars.

That hose sticking up is coming right off the tranny cooler, so the incoming cooling line is disconnected somehow. By the orientation of it, it looks like something has been removed. Make sure that's buttoned up before taking it out.

Looks like the hose coming out of the raw water cooling pump is also cut / disconnected.

Interior looks original and in great shape - a sign it's been stored indoors, and hopefully wood rot has been kept at a minimum.

The separator is off the hose tranny cooler hose. First off, congrats on the boat. looks normal for a boat of that age, actually pretty damn good. That engine is solid and it should make a good wakeboat.

The glass bowl setup right above the tranny is a fuel/water separator. The outlet has been taken off the hose right above the tranny cooler, the 2" cylinder with hose sticking up from it. That hose/separator/tranny cooler are all part of the cooling system and need to be fixed before you get on the water. Or fire it again, personally.

Also, check the thermostat housing, there's a hose that comes off to the right, can't tell if its connected or not from the pics. maybe snap a pic of the front/right corner of the engine.

sweet ride, congrats.

Hey all thanks again! It's nice to get some more validation. Just FYI to all the boat is in a winterized state and has many hoses, belts, plugs/bolts disconnected.

Honestly, I don't even know much about winterizing an inboard - the i/o we just drained oil and put in antifreeze and we were pretty much done.

The owner said he will clean-up inside and out as well as get the engine ready for summer in the next month. He will then walk us through his set-up process before we test-drive. I'll have to make a list of what he does.

So I'm assuming that a lot of things people are seeing are just disconnected - if you are seeing something else that is really missing/wrong, please let me know!!!

don't do anything with the carb until you have to. like alan said, rebuild it for $50. or have someone do it if you're not confident you can get it back together. not difficult BTW.

makes sense on the loose hoses. If he'll wait and show you whats going on, you'll have a leg up on winterizing it.

Can anyone tell me what he's looking at?

<<By KEVIN (kko13) on Saturday, March 22, 2008 - 1:14 pm:

i see signs of leaking on the risers gaskets you need to replace these (cheap and easy) before they get worse and start leaking internally and when this happens it will not be cheap or easy to repair.>>

Please give me some more to go on here - laymens terms!

pic 1/2. the black metal triangular shape things that stick up (highest point) on the engine are exhaust manifolds and manifold risers. there's a white line from a smalle leak where the riser and manifold meet. Honestly, i wouldn't worry about that.

it could also be this:

There's four 5/8" bolts that hold the riser/manifold to the cylinder head. Check to see if they tighten up any. If not, I'd consider replacing the gasket b/w the cylinder head and the riser in the not too distant future. How much damage it will cause if you don't is debatable, but I wouldn't run it for a full season like that.

Your experience sounds alot like mine when buying my 88 ski nautique, my 1st boat. The seller took great care of it, knew everything about it, and offered to help with any of the minor issues. Definitely looks well kept for its age. Have fun

black crud on the intake is most likely from the rusty alternator pulley wearing on the belt and turning that belt to fine dust that gets sucked into the screen, look at the base of teh fuel pump looks like the same residue, very nice looking boat! looks like you will get years of use out of it! those pcm 351s go for ever if you take care of them!

i had one with 1900hrs on it with no rebuilding!

Looks good. That isn't much rust at all, not even enough to worry about. The pulleys are also in good shape. The only one I would change is the one on the alt. That is just a little surface rust on the others, and on the other areas of the engine.

denverd: I don't think that white is any residue. If there is water making that stain he has some serious other issues. Water shouldn't be passing anywhere near that area. That looks more like a part of the head mounting surface with a bad reflection. The manifold to head mounting/gasket is actually up from that area. It is not visible in that photo except for a small sliver in the arrowed picture. If water DID make that marking, then save the engine is ok, the entire manifold and riser assly should be changed. If that was water, the engine would be ruined. Water should be contained from the exhaust until it gets through the riser so it cannot be pulled back into the cylinder head.

(Message edited by olSkoolTige on March 24, 2008)

i dont see anything to worry about either. rust happens, especially on 20 yr old boat, mine included. I guess my arrow is bit short of what i was pointing out - looks like rusty manifold peeking out from behind the hose. although, I'm not really sure that's what kevin (kko) was originally talking about... looks like its in good shape to me.

I should take a pic of my intake manifold to show how it COULD look and still run. the NEW one got 8 coats of white paint on the underside this weekend BTW.

Post from a friend:

<<Hi Mike,
I asked a friend (definite motor head) to look at your boat pictures and he said its in nice condition, but these are the things he would
consider:

The air filter (black more then likely indicates that its too small for the motor and is running rich/using more gas) but an air filter isn't terribly expensive and it looks to him like you would have room to put a larger one on it.

The belts aren't there?? Concern if they ran the motor for you with no belt on the water pump or alternator - hopefully they didn't run it long because it would heat up fast without the water pump working and could cause some real damage.

The old school distributor cap will make it a little touchy with moisture. Couldn't tell from the photos but do you know if its got an injection module inside the distributor or if its points (points and old style distributor do make it a motor that will require regular tweaking and annual tune ups) It would be less touchy if it has the injection module inside the distributor.

The white on the alternator just indicates moisture accumulated there.
He asked if it was ever run in salt water.

Said the condition of the wood, upholstery and cosmetics looked great.

Talk to you later>>

My reply: Hey there! Thanks for the comments!

Air filter - It did run a bit rich. When he was starting it, it puffed a little cloud of black smoke. But he said it doesn't burn or leak any oil. Advice to change filter taken!

Belts/hoses - The boat it winterized now. We only ran it for about 10 seconds. There are many belts, hoses, plugs/bolts that are disconnected right now.

Distributor - I don't really know anything specific about distrib caps, but the wires and condition of the distributor I THINk tells me it is somewhat new. It wouldn't be too hard to change out either. I definitly want to have it tuned up for optimal gas consumption!

Carb - I was told the carb looks like it could be rebuild for $50 but otherwise should be fine. The owner said it was fine.

Alt - I don't know why the alt is like that, but I was assured it wasn't run in salt.

Thanks!!
M

Pretty nice looking boat. Looks well cared for. Here is my offering to your post and [potential] new boat:

-Skidim.com. They will be your saving grace, not only for parts but for info as well. I learned a lot about my boat just by browsing the parts.

-That is a flame arrestor, not an air filter. It will only filter large particles since boats don't see much dust when running. Its mostly to prevent a backfire from igniting fumes in the bilge.

-You can see the riser leaks best in the second pic. Look at 1 and 6 o'clock from the carb. See those white streaks on the black things that attach to the exhaust? That is water leaking. External is one thing but, if its left untouched and there is an internal leak water can flow back into the cylinders possibly hydro-locking the motor.

-The white thing with clear plastic cup is the raw water strainer (not water/fuel). It just filters large particles before the water is circulated through the engine and out the exhaust. Looks like they just disconnected it to winterize. I actually don't see a fuel/water seperator/filter on yours, but they weren't always installed on early boats.

-That boat will have points, unless the prev owner installed electronic ignition (ask).

Take a look at this:
http://www.planetnautique.com/CorrectCraftManuals/2001.htm

Its for CCs but much of it applies to all old boats. Be especially wary of soft stringers. I've seen a Supra stringer job and it makes the CC stringer replacment look like an oil change.

Good luck!

Got some more comments:

<<Mike, Comments seem positive overall. Might need to replace the exhaust/riser gasket, but would need to see if there is any external leakage first. If there is internal leakage the engine would miss because there would be water going into one of the cylinders.

Engine looks good overall. Boat engines stay pretty clean so it is easy to see leakage points.>>

Right on the money!

Also I was emailed: <<Plus, if you have water in the cylanders you are screwed. Over. Engine will sieze like…..stuff that siezes up. >>

Good stuff!

I was thinking that I should post some helpful links I have found. Will do later. Also have a few more pictures I can post.

Ryan: Thanks for the info about flame arrestor and raw water strainer. The boat DOES have electronic ignition installed by previous owner, I was told. I was very paranoid of stringer issues. I like the info about storage history, and I also checked floors and engine mounts. THANK YOU!

(Message edited by wakemikey on March 26, 2008)

(Message edited by wakemikey on March 26, 2008)

Great looking boat...I have an 87' Sunsport as well and love it! My colors are a little different though.

---Sorry To Hijack---
Dennis that boat is F-ing sweet I love it Don't get me wrong I absolutely love my 91 Sunsport but it's nowhere close to being that nice . . . The pics of mine make it look a lot better than it actually is

Thanks for the the kind words Montgomery...the only thing I don't like is all the damn teak that always seems to need oil!haha

Yeah but it sure looks good when it's all oiled up

(Message edited by lovin_the_wake on March 26, 2008)

Wow both of those boats are amazing! I've been searching like heck and haven't seen either before - thanks for posting!!! And don't worry about hijacking, it's for all to enjoy. How about this: please tell us more about your experience w/ the SunSport? Good wake? Surf? Does the deeper V cause any issues like difficulty hauling or launching? Sometimes I think this boat is so BIG!!!

I don't do any surfing I just wakeboard and skate . . . With a good front-middle-rear weight ratio it throws a Great wake I am almost done with my ballast install I've plumbed in front and rear ballast and I have 2 side sacs so I'm gonna have a total of about 1600lbs of ballast not including people (600 under the playpen 400 in the rear locker and 2-300 side sacs) lat year I only ran about 600 total + 4 people and the wake was still pretty good as for hauling and launching I've never had a problem with it besides it being too heavy to haul with my 4runner but that's only because we have so many damn hills around here Overall I absolutely love it I have no complaints at all and it's the same hull as the old Direct Drive Supra Launch

Well, it is a real heavy boat I'll tell you that. I have a 2006 dodge ram 4x4 and I can def. feel it when I'm pulling it. But I've never had any issues with launching or anything like that. As far as the wake...I've never had any ballast in it before, so its not the best with nothing. But its def. not a ski wake. I'm working on getting some ballast in there this summer but I just put a tower on it and bought some speakers so they have to be cheap. As far as the surf wake I have nothing to compare it to but I think its an ok wake.

Dennis, I remember a while back you were talking about going with a monster tower is that what you decided on ?

No, I ended up getting a typhoon by CMC. Its def. not the coolest looking tower but it has two built in racks and I found it on wakeworld for $350! and got 2 6x9 tower speakers for $50 then i'm in the middle of making my own cans for 2 more 6.5" tower speakers. I don't have a picture of the tower yet but I'm very happy with how it turned out considering how much I paid!

yeah you can't beat that especially with built in racks . . . I went with the polished tower from DIYWake.com and it came with a free rack not too bad of a deal I've seen those Typhoon towers before have you tried it out yet ?

No haven't tried it yet, I just put it on last week and its sleeting out right now! So it'll be a few more weeks. It looks and seems to be real solid.

Did you use any backing for the tower legs? The manual for the typhoon said if the glass is 3/8" thick or thicker you don't need any and all mine was 3/8" and some was 1/2" so I didn't use any...however the legs did come with a plate that was like 2.5"x4.5" or so. think I should be ok?

I haven't installed mine yet it's getting installed this weekend . . . Mine came with the backing plates as well but we are gonna go ahead and add a 1/2" thick piece of plywood to each mount just to be safe . . . I think you'll be fine the only reason I'm gonna do it is because I seem to have to worst luck with everything so I figured what the hell What kind of drill bit did you use ?

1/2" DEWALT I bought it brand new costed around $25

was it a special kind for drilling fiberglass ?

No it wasn't for fiberglass.... I think it said it was an "industrial" drill bit. It was really the only opition for 1/2" that wasn't for concrete. I got it Farm and Fleet not sure if you have those down there tho.

Nice boat, I have one. Good cheap way 2 get into the sport.

how do you down size pictures?

Home Depot/Lowes. I would drill a pilot hole first (1/4-5/16) so the drill bitt does not walk on you.

Tony, if you have adobe software you should be able to right click on the image file and got to edit and resize that way or if you want you can e-mail em to me and I'll put em on here or ya

You have to run it in reverse at a slow speed too don't you ?

standard drill bits in forward rotation will work for bolt holes.
holes saw needs to run in reverse for the first few seconds until you get a nice groove, then you can go forward. mask off any hole saw spots to keep from splintering the glass.

When I cut all the holes for my ballast like for the intake and vents I used the ole hole saw and didn't screw anything up so hopefully I wont screw this up I'm gonna stay sober for all the measuring and planning and then I'll have to have a beer or 12 to drill the holes

Haha...I like your style!

if anything it will make for an interesting day

Tony - Here is a web-based image resizer. http://resizr.lord-lance.com/ Pick the side of your picture that is longer/taller and set the size to 1025. So if it's a tall pic, set height to 1025. Hope that helps! Or else, in any pipc editing software, choose "resize image", then set the pixel width/height to 1025.

Hey all! Any more SunSport pics out there? Wake? Riding? lets see 'em...

BTW some have commented that these boats are heavy...not the case! My older SunSport is lighter than the newer models, but mine only weighs 2225lbs. Many older SN2001 or MC S&S are around 2400. This is in the ~20' range. Also, my model only drafts something like 22". Newer (larger and heavier) models draft around 24" - 26" which is the same as any other brand.

Tony's Pics

Dude that's a sweet boat You and Dennis have the good looking blue color scheme . . . I Likey

Great pics Tony! Any pics out there of wakes and there ballast break down?

I'm looking to add some ballast and I'm not sure how much I'm going to need to make a differance.

awesome boats!!!

Thank's Mont,
I'm also looking to put a auto ballast system in this summer, Still have 3 feet of snow on the ground. Can't wait to get the boat out. I picked up this boat at the end of summer last year, put on the tower, and put in some fat sac's. Only got to use it for about a month.
Very nice boat's for old school!

seeing if this works, thank's WakeMikey

how did your tower install go Tony? how did you get to the back 2 legs? did you use any backing plates?

I will be completely done with my ballast this weekend everything is done minus one thru-hull and then the cleanup . . . I'll be posting pics on Sunday

Best boat for the $ man..Great buy!

Over all the install was not that bad, 2 of use did the install, take your time and make sure it's centered.
I cut holes in the side panel under the vinyl and teak sides panels to get to the back legs. I just used the backing plates that came with the tower. It's holding up just fine no cracking in the gel coat.
What I like most about the sun sport is the room it has for an older boat, the play pen is awesome.
Don't know if you can fine a better boat for size and wake for the price tag!!!

I'm with you Tony huge inside!!! Love the play pen!!! I already installed my tower and I was going to cut a hole like but instead I took out the two closest speakers duct taped all the hardware to a soccet wrench and reached one arm through and then lined it up from the drilled hole....It worked ok, the first one took 3 hours to get and the second one only took 5min. I didn't put any backing besides what was with the tower either cause the glass was atleast 3/8" thick....makes me feel much better about it knowing that you did the same thing with no problems....any wake pics?

also what speed and length are you guys riding at?

I ride at 75'/24 mph

I did some work on the boat today, got it started....and installed two tower speaker cans that I made myself out of pvc..there not the greatest but i'm happy with them.

Sorry the 2 middle speakers where the ones I made.

Hell yeah dude that looks bad ass

Dennis, Great lookin boat. Got the same tower.

i'd like to buff out my old boat at some point, but this is what I did today:

sorry for the crappy pic. I'll put more up later in the 351 thread.

Very Nice

Thanks guys, I ended up getting the tower and the 2 6x9 speakers for $400! It was a deal I couldn't pass up then the middle speakers were diy so they didnt cost much at all. and got the boat for around $8000 with 700 hours budget wakeboarding!!!

(Message edited by DenWbaseball on March 30, 2008)

(Message edited by DenWbaseball on March 30, 2008)

dang nacho...what you got cooken?

ported heads, dual-plane intake manifold, custom (more trq) camshaft.