WhiteTrash
New Member
Me and two friends were lucky enough to get 2 jetboats for free this past week. The owner said they both ran when he last used them 4 summers ago. Not sure why he never used them again but hey a free boat is a free boat.
1997 Challenger 800 & 1998 Challenger 1800.
Both boats have been left in a field uncovered for 3-4 years. We cleaned them both out and have started to get down to the nuts and bolts of them.
The 800 is in better shape mechanically but worse off cosmetically. Seats had trees growing in them and the hull has squirrel damage....they gained access because on of the storage spots did not have a cover, the foam inside has been ravaged. The drain plugs were both pulled for the hull and the freeze plug on the motor was out but the motor had water in it and the carb was rusted closed. The motor will run on engine start spray so we know its not locked up, currently rebuilding the carb and cleaning it up. Hope to have it 'running' this weekend.
The 1800 is in far worse shape mechanically. The drain plugs were clogged and the boat was 1/2 full of water, the hull was full all the way up past the ski compartment. Both motors were covered and are full of water and mud and neither one had the freeze plugs pulled. The starters for both hit hard but motors wont crank and both the pistons on one motor were up. We are gonna work on this boat last.
Our short term goal is to get one water ready and have a little fun before winter hits. But we plan on doing a complete rebuild of all 3 motors this winter along with redoing all the seats. We are hoping the 2 blocks on the 1800 are in good shape.
Here is a few pics of them. I personally am not a mechanic, luckily my friends the other 2 owners both are so my job is to help them and clean the boats and post on here when we hit a roadblock.
Couple of before/after pics.
-WT
1997 Challenger 800 & 1998 Challenger 1800.
Both boats have been left in a field uncovered for 3-4 years. We cleaned them both out and have started to get down to the nuts and bolts of them.
The 800 is in better shape mechanically but worse off cosmetically. Seats had trees growing in them and the hull has squirrel damage....they gained access because on of the storage spots did not have a cover, the foam inside has been ravaged. The drain plugs were both pulled for the hull and the freeze plug on the motor was out but the motor had water in it and the carb was rusted closed. The motor will run on engine start spray so we know its not locked up, currently rebuilding the carb and cleaning it up. Hope to have it 'running' this weekend.
The 1800 is in far worse shape mechanically. The drain plugs were clogged and the boat was 1/2 full of water, the hull was full all the way up past the ski compartment. Both motors were covered and are full of water and mud and neither one had the freeze plugs pulled. The starters for both hit hard but motors wont crank and both the pistons on one motor were up. We are gonna work on this boat last.
Our short term goal is to get one water ready and have a little fun before winter hits. But we plan on doing a complete rebuild of all 3 motors this winter along with redoing all the seats. We are hoping the 2 blocks on the 1800 are in good shape.
Here is a few pics of them. I personally am not a mechanic, luckily my friends the other 2 owners both are so my job is to help them and clean the boats and post on here when we hit a roadblock.
Couple of before/after pics.
-WT
