ONE OF THE BEST JS550 BUILDS/ 750 CONVERSION

[kwakhead]

TO START, this ski was a 550 with every mod possible, i blew the 550 engine up 3 times over the summer, so i decided to throw in a modded 750 motor. of course, had cavitation issues with the 550 pump, then lost spark to the engine.so i threw it in the garage for a winter build. right now, i cut the bottom out of a 650sx and fiberglassed it into my 550 so i can use the 650sx pump, (btw the 650 pump is so much wider and bigger and the nozzle was 81mm compared to the 60 something mm 550 nozzle, huge diff.), bought a high compression head for the completely rebuilt 1mm over 750 sxi motor, i cut the 550 hull about 6 inches shorter in the back and used a 750 driveshaft to move the pump cavity up 2 more inches so i could shorten the hull that much, and i rockered the nose. still doing the top nose peice out of fiberglass (the handle pole is mounting at the very top like a rickter), gonna re inforce the side walls with 2 layers of fiberglass mat. then body filling and paint, then ill build the motor. heres a list of parts i still need to buy for my ski, if you have any, just give me a call, i can pay through paypal. or do a trade for some of my old 550/440 aftermarket parts, if you want to know all the parts i got, go on my website www.gearheadsforum.com , heres my number 586 256 2689
heres the parts i still need...
750 big pin boyeson power reeds
750 big pin dual carb intake manifold (i screwed the threads on my last one lol)
650 sx stator
650 sx ebox
650 sx ride plate
650 sx PJS or WESTCOAST aftermarket pipe
650 sx ocean pro nozzle possibly
js550 westcoast fuel tank, just sold my old one, and now i dcided i really need it lol.


ill get some pics up soon!!

 

[kwakhead]

whats done to the ski already---
650 pump cavity glassed in 2in further up towards the engine (used a 750sx driveshaft, it was shorter than a 550sx driveshaft)
rear of 550 hull cut 6 inches shorter
rockered the nose, did some body filling and applied a final layer of fiberglass cloth to it
did some tray reshaping to give it a more modern look.
footholds
routed a rear exhaust (this was a js that originally had a front exhaust and all the fumes got in ur face lol)

as soon as i get the camera working good ill take some pics of my progress, at the end of the build, ill post a huge modification list and everything that is done to the ski.

 

[kwakhead]

these pictures look terrible because of the light, and the way there colored. but my nose has green blotches everywhere because i used fiberglass resin jelly body filler and it was green, then some pinkish red body filler and the orange ish colored fiberglass lol, so it looks like a mess but its coming along good, im getting one final layer of red bondo boddy filler over the cloth and its a done deal on the nose. ill get pics of the tray eventually
this is not the final product, i still have to make the nose peice for the top, and still lots of body filling and sanding to do. im having my uncle paint it, its going to be painted sometime in january, ill take pics of it in the process, going with metallic blue for the paint. pics of the tray will be up as soon as i finish the nose filling and sanding. after that, top nose peice and some hood work.

 

[kwakhead]

FIRST TIME FIBERGLASSING WOOT this is hard work...

 

[kwakhead]

UPDATE-- THANKS TO bkriders1, i know i havent been using the best fiberglassing resin, and in fac, the resin im using doesnt stick to the smc the 550 hull is made out of very well because it is polyester resin, SO i got to order epoxy resin and some cab o sil powder before i can get back to glassing. AND for everybody, i filled in the nose with bondo today, what a releif! it doesnt look like sh**T anymore! lol now its one solid color PINKish red lol

 

[stagesrt4]

looks like a lot of fun/work ha

 

[kwakhead]

Shouldve Bought A bob Or Eme Lol. But Ill Have My Own Ski The Way I Want It Lol. thx

looks like a lot of fun/work ha

 

[fastgtfairlane]

please dont use bondo filler on your ski either.. it will absorb water and fall off.. you must use a smc approved, waterproof filler.. can be found at a carquest store with the body shop supplies.. and also use epoxy resin.. make sure to sand off the gelcoat so the epoxy will stick properly too..

 

[kwakhead]

i sanded down the gelcoat everywhere that i glassed, and yes i was informed to use epoxy resin, but i cant use it now because it wont stick to the polyester fiberglass resin i originally used, so im stuck with the polyester. sucks. and where can i get smc waterproof filler?

 

[kwakhead]

oh, car shop store, thanks.

 

[kwakhead]

will upload photos next week, its looking good.

 

[kwakhead]

ok, so i just learned that epoxy resin will stick to the polyester fiberglass resin i was using, but the fiberglass resin wont stick to the resin, kinda weird but hey, im gonna order some epoxy resin (low visocity) and cabosil/ aerosil powder from uscomposites when i get the money. next update will have pics, and the ski will look alot better. paint is scheduled for mid February. hoping to get the epoxy and stuff by middle of january at the latest.

 

[fastgtfairlane]

the epoxy resin sticking to the poly resin isnt the problem.. the problem is the poly on the smc.. if you glass over your poly work that is glued to the smc, if the poly comes off, guess what comes off with it.. youre better off sanding your old work down and redoing it with epoxy..

 

[kwakhead]

the poly sticks to the smc with 37 lbs of force in 1 square inch, i made a 1x1 square inch of resin on the hull with a loop in it, and i hug wait off it, and some spare epoxy i had, just enough to make this little peice, ive got like no epoxy, i did the same thing, and the epoxy held 48 lbs on the smc, everything was sanded down properly. so the poly sticks pretty good EVEN though the epoxy is better. the epoxy is more sturdy for building peices which is why im using it now to reinforce everything, and im going to increase the bond radius, and get some cab o sil to fill everything, going over the bondo with fiberglass and epoxy just to be sure it doesnt flake off. theres alot more to glassing then i thought.

 

[kwakhead]

heres the only update i have for now, nose structure is done, not reinforced with eboxy and glass yet. next update will be when i get epoxy. got some pics of the engine too, when i put this back together, ill get a pic of all the parts on it. i got a westcoast tank on the way too. and theres a pic of the tubbies as well in there for ya

 

[kwakhead]

some info on the engine==
fresh top end 1mm over weisco rebuild kit
mariner high compression head runs 180 psi
exhaust ports are ported and polished
dual 40mm keihin carbs with primer and bored throat
oil block off plate
pressure release valve block off plate
js550 coupler tapped to 20mm to be used on the 750
brand new gaskets everywhere and crank seals
dual cooling
iridium spark plugs
westcoast exhaust manifold
running a 650sx CHEATER pipe (stock pipe modified for performance) bored out the manifold, tapped and put a water nipple in the head pipe and in the end, and added 2 inches of length to the pipe,

 

[kwakhead]

PUT IN THE ORDER FROM USCOMPOSITES.COM TODAY, 1/2 gallon of epoxy resin and like 32 oz of medium visocity hardener for the cold weather here in michigan, even though i have heaters they only bring the garage to like 60 degrees. and 5qts of Cab O Sil.

 

[kwakhead]

the epoxy resin sticking to the poly resin isnt the problem.. the problem is the poly on the smc.. if you glass over your poly work that is glued to the smc, if the poly comes off, guess what comes off with it.. youre better off sanding your old work down and redoing it with epoxy..

just too much work, gonna open up the bond radius on the pump cavity which was glassed with polyester, gonna go 6 inches out from where it was originally glassed so the epoxy isnt just sticking to the polyester its on the smc too.

 

[kwakhead]

cant wait to get a pic once everything is done with cab o sil and epoxy, gonna look alot better.

 

[kwakhead]

DECIDED TO PAINT THE PIPE TODAY.... ITS A 650sx cheater pipe, honed the elbow manifold out 2mm, did the water cooling mod to turn it into a dry pipe, and i run a honed out westcoast exhaust manifold on the engine side. so its a good pipe setup, looking better at this point than most aftermarket pipes anyway