First Seadoo - always loved this model

[s14unimog]

First Seadoo - always loved this model **PICS**

So I've finally got one; a 1997 XP. I can recall a few years back seeing these out on the lake and thinking they were just the coolest PWC ever. Something about that spring seat really gave it a sport bike look and separated it from the typical wave runner. Well a couple weeks ago, I went over to a buddy's of mine to shoot some clays and low and behold there it was, sitting sidways on a expanded metal trailer :drool5:. Of course I had to get the story; where did you get it, why did you get (if you knew my buddy that would be the first question), what's wrong with it, etc... Apparently a buddy of his, up at the fire hall, had owned it and about 3 years ago the motor went out on it. He attempted to rebuild the top end but gave up shortly after getting it back together stating that he felt what he considered to be excessive drag when he rotated the crank; luckily he hadn't tried to start it. Well, for what ever reason, they got on the topic about it and my buddy ended up with it; free.

After a bunch of back and forth, we settled on a price and I took it home that night. :thumbsup:

Safely off that cheese grater trailer

Now that I had the ski under some light it was time to see what I had gotten myself into. I knew the motor had to come out first and foremost. First off I would never trust to just run it and secondly when he "gave up" he just sat it back in the hull loose.

Fortunately, first inspections are looking great. From what I can tell, the pump grate looks almost virgin; the same goes for the prop and wear ring. The hull, outside a few scratches from the trailer and a couple beachings looks great; no repairs, deep cuts, nothing. Inside the boat, everything looks OE. I can't tell where anything has been maliciously modified or repaired, so I'm suspecting this is the first time the engine has gone down or really anything has been done to it. With all that, its a go! I'm going to bring it back to life!

Plans are now....

1. Get a trailer
2. Get a battery
3. Strip all of the graphics
4. Polish the entire hull
5. Repalce the seat cover
6. Add new floor mats
7. Bring every system up on maintenance

Moar pictures to come!!

 

[El Toro 33809]

Good story! Are you going to do anything in regards to checking out the engine before reinstalling? Do you have any suspicions in regards to the crank? Any specifics on the top end rebuild that was done? Make sure the carbs are clean and that the fuel lines have been replaced.

 

[s14unimog]

Good story! Are you going to do anything in regards to checking out the engine before reinstalling? Do you have any suspicions in regards to the crank? Any specifics on the top end rebuild that was done? Make sure the carbs are clean and that the fuel lines have been replaced.

Absolutely. That motor is on its way back to being perfect. The story has actually gotten much further than I've led on. As of right now the motor is back from the machine shop, almost completely cleaned up and ready for re-install. As I've been going through the boat and familiarizing my self with all of the systems I've had to sift through the parts fiches to figure out what I'm missing. Unfortunately none of the motor mounting hardware or shims were present. As of last week I sourced everything, in stainless, from fastenal, and ordered the handful of OE parts from Seadoo. From my research, and correct me if I'm wrong (still learning here), it seems that I won't necessarily need all of the shims; if any possibly. Either the case, I knew i would need the rears, as I can't imagine these aluminum extrusions will sit on the glass, so I just ordered all of them in the manual to save on time. If I need them, great, if not, the $6 isn't worth the wait to me.

After my engine builder got a chance to check things out, it was almost comical of what he found. Fortunately the previous owner did buy new jugs and a head plate (from the looks of the original head, something must have gotten loose in there), so he saved me that bill. Unfortunately, however, that's about the last thing he helped me out on. For what ever reason, he saw it fit to install differently sized pistons, he clocked the rings wrong on the piston (causing the rings to gouge the cylinder wall), didn't install the wrist pin clips correctly, dropped one of the clips in the bottom end and left the plugs out of it when he put it up (found some dirt-dobber nests in the cylinder).

Once he got it cleaned up and mic'd we figured it could all be cleaned up with a 0.75mm over bore. So I got to ordering...

Got my, now 796cc, motor back a couple days later and I've been taking my time cleaning everything up, replacing lines and generally prepping it for the install.

 

[s14unimog]

With all of the motor stuff basically figured out (still learning about how to verify my RAVE valve positioning, prime the oil system, general break-in guideline do's/don'ts, etc...) I've set my attention to the hull appearance and a trailer.

I did find a pretty sweet deal on a Wesco galvanized trailer on CL the other day which was basically mint. Can't leave that alone though! I figure, while the ski is off of it, I might as well take advantage of this and knock out a few details. The wood runners that were on it were not pressure-treated (although they looked okay aside from some mold) and the carpet wasn't "done" but for the price I decided to swap it all out; plus I wanted it in black. After a trip to Lowes, I grabbed up some black indoor/outdoor carpet, some SS hardware and some pressure treated lumber. Here is how that went.

Before:

After:

Luckily, when I got around to sizing it fro the ski, the winch mount could only move back to this one spot and it looks perfect for the XP. Also, I was running into an issue with the VIN sticker, it was so faded you could hardly make out what the numbers were. So I thought I'd try contacting Wesco for a replacement; b/c ya never know right? Within minutes, the guy had found my VIN in the system and promised to mail out a replacement VIN (in their newer decal) the same day; FO FREE! So now with that on, my trailer IS mint; lol!

 

[s14unimog]

With all of that done I got to pulling all of the graphics, removing the OE foot grips, removing the factory seat and polishing the hull. After about 3.5hrs of power buffing, here is where I stand. I am beat. Still another coat of polish to go....

As for what's next... I should get all of my OE seadoo parts (shims, filters, bilge plug, etc...) tomorrow. So I'll drop the motor in then. Regarding aesthetics, I've got some Black Tip black wishbone pattern floor mats, and an Mline seat cover coming. I found these guys while sifting through some Google images. Looks killer and for $100 bucks, seems like a deal to me.

I've got to come up with a cool font for the hull ID but I still think I need something towards the back where it used to say "XP"

 

[El Toro 33809]

Great documentation of your project. Looks very good so far. As far as the graphics go, Dr. Honda, a member here with incredible knowledge, does vinyl graphics and registration numbers. Look him up for ideas on what you need for the final touches.

 

[s14unimog]

---

Great documentation of your project. Looks very good so far. As far as the graphics go, Dr. Honda, a member here with incredible knowledge, does vinyl graphics and registration numbers. Look him up for ideas on what you need for the final touches.

I've seen him post on numerous subjects here, seems like a smart dude. I'll see what he's got going on but I also might give my mother a shot. She is a graphics designer and might enjoy this project. Thanks for the props, I love a good build thread and I figure it can't be any different for the PWC forums. If you've got some time, check out the build thread in my signature.

 

[El Toro 33809]

Where in Georgia are you located? We are driving through on I-75 next Wednesday.

 

[s14unimog]

I'm up on the eastern end by Athens

 

[El Toro 33809]

The hotbed of music! Weren't the B-52's and REM from that area?

 

[s14unimog]

Yup! The one and only.

 

[RutlandRacing]

This has to be one of the best project threads ive seen, very impressed with your work. How much did you steal that bad boy for?

 

[s14unimog]

This has to be one of the best project threads ive seen, very impressed with your work. How much did you steal that bad boy for?

Thanks bud, pictures tell a thousand words in my book. Besides, no one wants to hear about what you're doing; we all want to see it! A mesly $500 bucks.

 

[Chips]

That is killer man. Nice job. I think I want to buy a PWC now that needs some love and do what you did. My wife will probably kill me since I have two Speedsters sitting in my driveway already. =) Nice though, congrats!

 

[s14unimog]

That is killer man. Nice job. I think I want to buy a PWC now that needs some love and do what you did. My wife will probably kill me since I have two Speedsters sitting in my driveway already. =) Nice though, congrats!

Do it! these things are so simple. All in all this guy will be going from grave to wake in almost 3 weeks. It takes me so much longer to do a sport bike. I'm pumped though, I've never owned one of these before and I'm about to start on something that's a bit more than a cruiser. Plus it'll look like something Seadoo should have produced; lol.

Tonight went pretty smooth I guess. I was able to source some 1/8" clear fuel hose locally, strangely enough, and got the oil lines swapped out. I also swapped in both factory replacement fuel and oil filters, installed the missing motor shims, replace my missing RAVE valve clip, threw on the missing airbox clips, replace the missing bilge plug, drained all of the bad gas and a new strap for the fire extinguisher. The devil is in the details!

Good; no?

Shims and motor mounts... I will say, those are a bitch to line up; seriously...

Luckily my lift went high enough with just dropping the tongue down.

I'm done for tonight. It's late, I'm tired and I don't have any two-stroke oil anyways.... She runs tomorrow.

 

[El Toro 33809]

More great photos. Looks like you have a good set up with your shop as well. My lift is my son and my hands.

 

[BMANN06]

Cool thread!! :thumbsup:

And I like your brand of beer too!!!!

 

[s14unimog]

More great photos. Looks like you have a good set up with your shop as well. My lift is my son and my hands.

haha, I know that routine. It's only been the last few years that I've got to work in a shop. Before this, it was my buddy's shops or the apartment complex parking lot. My neighbors used to looooove me; lol.

Cool thread!! :thumbsup:
And I like your brand of beer too!!!!

Thanks! Yeah, that night Corona was on the rotation. I make it a point to get a different beer every time. There is nothing like having a frosty beer while you work.

I have a problem! As I was going over my lines, I noticed that I do not have the two 90* fittings that are screwed into the base of each cylinder jug. As I read it in the manual, all of those fittings have sized orifices and they encourage you to verify their size by noting the casting number in its side. With nothing in hand, I have no clue and they don't specify.

Does anyone know if a free-flow 90* fitting would be innappropriate to use here? I've got some 1/8" x 5/16" 90* fuel fittings left over from a project that screw in perfect but the manual clearly says make sure you use the right fitting. However, they mainly focus on the two located on the exhaust piping. These drain, uninhibited, to the back of the ski; surely they can be free flowing??

a picture for reference...

 

[BMANN06]

If you have some fittings that work I would think you'd be okay, maybe just hit the threads with some teflon tape? I normally like to follow the manual to spec ... but this may be one of those situations where you can just ignore it.

But again I think you'll be alright, there's tons of support for your engine around here. You'll likely get some more info and you can decide.

 

[s14unimog]

^ I'm not so much concerned about installing them, as its just hot water and the threads are correct, but I worry that their inside dimensions are sized for a specific flow rate. Then again, this is just the drain. So, does it matter?

I noticed that they are not the same part number as the ones positioned on the exhaust system; so that's promising.

 

[s14unimog]

f**king, mother f**k.... Anti-seize and all; still locked up. There goes the weekend. The reason why it's not round anymore is due to it meeting my shop wall at 50mph.

Anyone have a band clamp they'd sell me?

 

[s14unimog]

Well, with the v-band clamp preventing me from working on the engine, I've switched my attention back to the body/modifications. I recently got in both the Black Tip mats and the Mline seat cover I mentioned. After another couple of hours buffing, and finally finishing with a wax, here is how she looks.

I punched out most of the rivets from the original mats and went around with some gray RTV sealant to cover the holes. I don't suppose I have to do this, as the new mats will cover the holes and the original rivets surely were not water tight, but I figure it can only help.

Finally I pushed the mats down.

I'm planning to find someone around town who's more qualified to install the seat cover next; it looks too nice for me to mess up. I also hooked up with Minnetonka4me on here about some parts and we settled on what I feel is a great deal for another front bumper (looks like a dog chewed on mine), some small gauge surrounds (since mine are cracking apart), and of course that damn v-band clamp. That stuff should be here on Monday; fingers crossed that it starts up.

 

[Magg0078]

in for pics!

 

[Seadoobuddy]

WOW, Great job so far, you've done a lot in a short time. Are you a mechanic of any sorts?

You mentioned clear fuel lines?????? if so, they are not Coast Guard approved in most if not all states....double check just in case.

 

[s14unimog]

WOW, Great job so far, you've done a lot in a short time. Are you a mechanic of any sorts. You mentioned clear fuel lines?????? if so, they are not Coast Guard approved in most if not all states....double check just in case.

Thanks bud. No, I do product development for a living but enjoy working on anything with a motor. Plus I hate the idea of losing money just for buying something new.

Does that apply to the oil lines? Surely it's acceptable; the OE lines are clear before they're painting. I'm leaving the factory fuel lines, they looked okay.