dgoodwin10
Active Member
First, a little background on the ski: I'd always wanted a Seadoo and being fairly handy with a wrench decided I wanted to get a fixer-upper and found a 1997 GTX on CL back in Janurary 2011. The PO had let water sit in the motor and cracked the MAG side jug, but it did run. It came with a trailer and for $800 I figured it was worth a shot. We had a welding shop TIG the jug back together and had a friend help with a top end rebuild. The motor had 170 hours and was original so I should have done the bottom end while I was at it. More on that later. I replaced fuel lines and a few other odds and ends and took the ski out Memorial Day of 2011. This is when the original bottom end came back to bite me and a crankshaft bearing went out. I was taking classes that summer (Freshman in college), so we opted to have a shop rebuild the motor. It took over 2 months to get it back, which didn't sit well, but I was busy and didn't have the time to ride it...or stay on top of the shop rebuilding it. We got it back only to find bolts missing, a rave that had been turned upside down and destroyed a piston, and water shooting out from around the spark plugs. :facepalm: After calling the guy, he agreed to make it right. Or so we thought. After 10 months of dodging phone calls, finding out the guy had the wrong address listed online, my dad managed to track the guy down and ended up getting the ski back...which had been sitting in his back yard the entire time. :cuss:.
Now with the ski back in our possession and many hours spent on these forums researching it's time to bring this ski back to life- the right way. The motor is getting a full rebuild by me, as well as replacing all filters this Winter when I'm home from school. I've always loved the blue Millennium Edition skis, so I'm going to paint the ski since the motor is out of it as well as add the appropriate graphics and seat. I'd like to use this thread to keep the build updated as well as post any questions I have concerning the build. Sorry for the narritive...now on to the questions:
The first: Does anyone know if the seats are the same/similar enough for seat covers to be interchangeable between the pre '99 skis and the post '99? I'd like to buy the vinyl to save money, but only if the colors match. Also, anywhere else besides eBay to get graphics for a reasonable price?
Now with the ski back in our possession and many hours spent on these forums researching it's time to bring this ski back to life- the right way. The motor is getting a full rebuild by me, as well as replacing all filters this Winter when I'm home from school. I've always loved the blue Millennium Edition skis, so I'm going to paint the ski since the motor is out of it as well as add the appropriate graphics and seat. I'd like to use this thread to keep the build updated as well as post any questions I have concerning the build. Sorry for the narritive...now on to the questions:
The first: Does anyone know if the seats are the same/similar enough for seat covers to be interchangeable between the pre '99 skis and the post '99? I'd like to buy the vinyl to save money, but only if the colors match. Also, anywhere else besides eBay to get graphics for a reasonable price?
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