piratelife
Frandsen works
- Location
- In the hood wood
Looks good! At least you don't have to worry about it breaking!
Super Jet Rdrttoy's 2008 Super Jet Build
- Thread starter High Speed Industries
- Start date
- Location
- Lodi
Watch a video of Gomez ride. You dont need to be big to throw around a ski. He absolutely kills it!
brandirad
Be Rad, Stay Rad
- Location
- Henderson, NV
He needs to update this build thread!
Here's a pic of the ski with the graphics.
Here's a pic of the ski with the graphics.
- Location
- Charlotte, NC
what color blue is that??
High Speed Industries
Your one stop shop for quality parts @highspeedind
- Location
- Lake Havasu City, AZ
I don't know the exact name but I call it "Subaru blue" it's the color for a Subaru wrx.
- Location
- Charlotte, NC
i love that blue, looks very good
High Speed Industries
Your one stop shop for quality parts @highspeedind
- Location
- Lake Havasu City, AZ
Thanks. Here's another teaser pic.
I really need to get on my computer and update it.
I really need to get on my computer and update it.
High Speed Industries
Your one stop shop for quality parts @highspeedind
- Location
- Lake Havasu City, AZ
Alright more updates. It's slow at work so I guess I should get this done. So my next task was to remove all of the green glue in the hull. For the removal I used a die grinder with a 3" 32 grit sanding disc and another die grinder with a carbide burr. I had to be careful when removing the glue because the glass was much softer than the glue and it could of been real easy to grind thru the hull. I found that the best way to get the glue off of the hull inserts was to simply remove them. I just took a long bolt and threaded it in at the bottom of the ski. Next I heated up the insert glue and hit the bolt with a hammer. The insert and the glue popped right out of the hull.
High Speed Industries
Your one stop shop for quality parts @highspeedind
- Location
- Lake Havasu City, AZ
Here is what the insert looks like without all of the green glue.
At this point I have the tray as bare as it gets. Nothing is in it and its all cleaned up.
You can also see that I cut the tray back a little bit farther than j originally did. At first I was worries about going thru the bond line so I decided to leave it a little bit longer.
Now to install the inserts I sanded and cleaned everything. I put the inserts back where they belong and I held them in place with a bolt and a stack of washers on the bottom side. This simulated the ride plate being installed and it made sure the insert was held all the way down and it was in the exact location that it needed to be in.
It's also quite a task to remove all of the exhaust silicone. They really pile that stuff on at the factory.
High Speed Industries
Your one stop shop for quality parts @highspeedind
- Location
- Lake Havasu City, AZ
To reinstall the inserts I used a few layers of 7781 fiberglass along with some epoxy resin. For cutting the glass I had a special trick up my sleeve. Instead of using scissors I bought a ROTARY KNIFE this thing is amazing.
it cuts right thru glass and doesn't leave any frayed ends. You just need a semi soft surface to back it with. I used the proper plastic cutting sheet but you could also use cardboard or something. Both the rotary knife and cutting sheet can be found at your local quilting store. While you are there make sure to get some extra blades.
After I laid up the glass I used some perky ply to help remove the extra resin. Peel ply is some pretty impressive stuff. If you don't know what it is I suggest googling it.
While I was glassing in the inserts I also closed up the hole for the exhaust tube. I have to relocate the exhaust a bit because of some other modifications that will happen later.
once the patch job on the inside dried I filled the outside of the hole in with some thickened resin and I added some chopped strand for extra strength.
With that out of the way I started sanding the hull with 60 grit so I could get ready for some reinforcement.
My dog also helped me with this build.
After I got it all prepped I laid up a few layers of 7781 on each side of the hull and I used peel ply to remove the extra resin.
And now the second side gets some love.
After I laid up the glass I used some perky ply to help remove the extra resin. Peel ply is some pretty impressive stuff. If you don't know what it is I suggest googling it.
While I was glassing in the inserts I also closed up the hole for the exhaust tube. I have to relocate the exhaust a bit because of some other modifications that will happen later.
With that out of the way I started sanding the hull with 60 grit so I could get ready for some reinforcement.
My dog also helped me with this build.
After I got it all prepped I laid up a few layers of 7781 on each side of the hull and I used peel ply to remove the extra resin.
And now the second side gets some love.
High Speed Industries
Your one stop shop for quality parts @highspeedind
- Location
- Lake Havasu City, AZ
Yes.
High Speed Industries
Your one stop shop for quality parts @highspeedind
- Location
- Lake Havasu City, AZ
Since I'm doing ping pong balls in the tray I need to build it somewhat differently. Since I won't have a flat surface to lay glass on I made the tray piece separately. I went down to lowes and bought a sheet of plexiglass so I have a nice surface to lay up on.
for prep I cleaned the sheet with acetone and then I applied three coats of mirror glaze mold wax which was followed by a layer of pva mold release compound. I also put some pva on the table around the sheet so nothing would stick to my table. Once everything was prepped I laid up my glass. I used 10 layers of 7781. If I were to do it again I would of used 4 layers of 1708. For the layup I used a fiberglass roller. I highly recommend this tool. It makes life much easier because you can get all of the air bubbles out. I also laid up peel ply over everything so I could get all of the excess resin removed. The peel ply ruins the finish of the glass and carbon but it make for a good surface to adhere to.
I used a router and a die grinder with a 3" cut off wheel to remove all of the extra material.
You can see that the glass sheet is still pretty thin because my table is 3/16" thick. I'll be reinforcing the glass sheet before it goes in the ski.
This is the cutting mat I was talking about for the rotary knife. It works amazing.
Next I cut the glass pieces to fit my hull. You can see the the front piece has no carbon, but some of the rear pieces have carbon. I built the tray out of three separate pieces.
On the back side of the sheets I glassed in some aluminum angle for some extra strength. It keeps my tray nice and rigid. I marked out where the angle would go.
I used 3/4" angle that was 1/8" thick for the reinforcement and I covered it with a few layers of 7781.
I used a router and a die grinder with a 3" cut off wheel to remove all of the extra material.
You can see that the glass sheet is still pretty thin because my table is 3/16" thick. I'll be reinforcing the glass sheet before it goes in the ski.
This is the cutting mat I was talking about for the rotary knife. It works amazing.
Next I cut the glass pieces to fit my hull. You can see the the front piece has no carbon, but some of the rear pieces have carbon. I built the tray out of three separate pieces.
On the back side of the sheets I glassed in some aluminum angle for some extra strength. It keeps my tray nice and rigid. I marked out where the angle would go.
I used 3/4" angle that was 1/8" thick for the reinforcement and I covered it with a few layers of 7781.
High Speed Industries
Your one stop shop for quality parts @highspeedind
- Location
- Lake Havasu City, AZ
So now that the tray pieces are all dialed in and test fit I started taking care of everything under the tray. Step one was to lower the exhaust tube and replace the damaged part (previous owner smashed in the tube so the footholds would fit) I wanted to keep both factory ends of the tube so everything would look somewhat stock and so the exhaust hose would for nicely over the factory end. After I cut the middle of the tube out I rented a tail pipe expander from autozone and opened up the ends of the tube.
Then I slipped everything together and did a test fit.
Welded it up.
When I reinstalled the exhaust tube I actually raised it a bit in the rear. That was so I could make room for some drain plugs. You can see where it used to be.
If you are going to lower the exhaust tube in your ski I HIGHLY RECOMMEND USING THE RAD DUDES SUPERJET EXHAUST TUBE. They happen to come with that exhaust tube about two weeks after I finished my tray. If you request it they will weld the tube at any angle so you can do anywhere from stock to lowered. Trust me that would of made this part much easier and it would of looked a bunch cleaner.
Here is a pic with the exhaust tube being test fit and the drain plug in place. I used wood screws to hold the exhaust in for the moment but for the final install I used stainless rivets.
Then I installed everything and started to seal it up. I also installed a 2nd cooling line while I had it all apart.
You can see how much lower the exhaust tune sits in the engine bay. Even with the lowered tube I don't have any clearance issues. You can also see the engine bay is all done. That will be another post. And for some reason my new Tapatalk app won't let me post more that 6 pictures. So I'll continue this in another post.
Then I slipped everything together and did a test fit.
Welded it up.
When I reinstalled the exhaust tube I actually raised it a bit in the rear. That was so I could make room for some drain plugs. You can see where it used to be.
If you are going to lower the exhaust tube in your ski I HIGHLY RECOMMEND USING THE RAD DUDES SUPERJET EXHAUST TUBE. They happen to come with that exhaust tube about two weeks after I finished my tray. If you request it they will weld the tube at any angle so you can do anywhere from stock to lowered. Trust me that would of made this part much easier and it would of looked a bunch cleaner.
Here is a pic with the exhaust tube being test fit and the drain plug in place. I used wood screws to hold the exhaust in for the moment but for the final install I used stainless rivets.
Then I installed everything and started to seal it up. I also installed a 2nd cooling line while I had it all apart.
You can see how much lower the exhaust tune sits in the engine bay. Even with the lowered tube I don't have any clearance issues. You can also see the engine bay is all done. That will be another post. And for some reason my new Tapatalk app won't let me post more that 6 pictures. So I'll continue this in another post.
High Speed Industries
Your one stop shop for quality parts @highspeedind
- Location
- Lake Havasu City, AZ
Everything is all sealed up.
Then I riveted in the exhaust tube. I actually had to notch out the bond rail a bit so the gun would fit in there.
And this is the big gun that I used for the stainless rivets. I went with stainless I stead of aluminum because they are way stronger.
And now some talk about my motor. I got my crank back from Jeff at www.competitivecrankshafts.com he did top notch work like he always does and I got the crank back super fast. I sent it out on a Monday and got it back that Thursday. I was blown away by his turn around time. I highly recommend him for any and all crank work.
I also send my flywheel out to #zero as I had him lighten it and drill out the ring gear. He did a great job on it. It looks so awesome that I thought about getting a clear flywheel cover so people could see it.
- Location
- Sydney Australia
Keep the pics coming great build
High Speed Industries
Your one stop shop for quality parts @highspeedind
- Location
- Lake Havasu City, AZ
Ok. I totally forgot this thread. So now I will try and get it closer to finished. Hopefully I have this thread done by world finals, so when you see the ski you will know how it was built. It seemed to get a lot I attention at surf slam.
Ok so I got some more fiberglass goodies from Tomski. I went with his nose reinforcement piece and front foothold.
for those of you who have never met Tom he is an awesome guy to deal with, and he makes top quality parts. His visual carbon nose pieces look awesome. Since I planned on painting my nose piece to match, I didn't go with the visual carbon.
Alright now that I had the tray mostly done I started on the engine bay. I did it in this order because I wanted to make sure everything lined up correctly once the engine bay was reinforced. I really didn't want to tear apart my tray just because of a silly mistake. As far as prep goes I did the usual sand the whole thing down with 60 grit paper along with removing all of the excess green glue from the bond line.
in addition to sanding I also prepped the ski by leaving all of the hardware in place and taping off where the motor mounts and midshaft go. I did this to keep all of my threads resin free. This made the installation of everything super easy.
To help with the cutting and shaping of the 1708 fiberglass I used a table cloth as a template. I just cut up the cloth and test fitted it in the hull until I was happy with how it fit.
Here you can see the carbon pre cut and ready to go.
I also precut the glass, but since it was so thick all it wanted to do was curl up because it was on a roll. I fixed this by setting a few drawers on top of the cut pieces. This made them all nice and flat.
As far as the layup goes this is what I did.
4 layers of 1708 in the nose
3 layers of 1708 on the sides
2 layers of 1708 on the bottom of the nose
2 layers of carbon over everything
I also mixed up some cabosil and chopped strand to fill in the bond line and any other gaps.
And since the layers overlapped by the pole bracket in certain areas I has glass that was 7 layers thick. I don't think I'll ever have to worry about breaking my pole bracket base.
So just before I started glassing I weighed the hull just to see where I was at.
This was when the hull was totally bare. No reinforcement, no tray, and no paint.
Here is the jig I used to weigh it.
All I used was a hunting scale and some tie downs. So far it has worked really well.
Now time for the layup. I tried to make gravity work with me as best as I could, so I flipped the hull upside down on top of some sawhorses and started laying up the top portion of the nose and the pole bracket area. After that I put the hull on each side so I could lay up the sides nicely.
The layup took me a entire day and I almost ran out of resin in the process. I think it took 2 gallons to layup the engine bay. I started at about 9 am and finished at 7 pm. Luckily my girlfriend was there the whole time to help me. After it was done we were both super exhausted and covered in resin, but I was very happy knowing that the stressful part was done. We celebrated by going to a buffet. Lol
In addition to making my engine bay stronger I made up some hood keepers and glassed them in. I originally got the idea from Stanton High's ski. His superjet was built by Taylor Curtis at T.C. Freeride. So I emailed Taylor to see how he did it. Basically all you do is cut up some glass and pile it on by the hood seal. Once it cures, shape it as needed and your all done. For as easy as this mod was it has worked really well. It will let your hood go crooked a bit, but it won't completely come off. It's already saved my a$$ more than once.
so here is the glass piled on.
and here is the glass all shaped down. I did a total of 4 keepers on my ski, I guess I could of done more or I could of even raised the hood seal area around the entire ski but I didn't think it was worth my time. After everything was all said and done I painted the remaining part of the engine bay so it looked halfway decent. Not really sure why I'm worried about looks but it sounded good at the time.
While I was still in the engine bay I decided to put a drain/access plug in the bulkhead. I know it's too high up to be used as a drain, but it sure came in handy to find leaks.
It turns out that its harder to seal fittings into a bulkhead than you would think.
Ok so I got some more fiberglass goodies from Tomski. I went with his nose reinforcement piece and front foothold.
Alright now that I had the tray mostly done I started on the engine bay. I did it in this order because I wanted to make sure everything lined up correctly once the engine bay was reinforced. I really didn't want to tear apart my tray just because of a silly mistake. As far as prep goes I did the usual sand the whole thing down with 60 grit paper along with removing all of the excess green glue from the bond line.
To help with the cutting and shaping of the 1708 fiberglass I used a table cloth as a template. I just cut up the cloth and test fitted it in the hull until I was happy with how it fit.
Here you can see the carbon pre cut and ready to go.
As far as the layup goes this is what I did.
4 layers of 1708 in the nose
3 layers of 1708 on the sides
2 layers of 1708 on the bottom of the nose
2 layers of carbon over everything
I also mixed up some cabosil and chopped strand to fill in the bond line and any other gaps.
And since the layers overlapped by the pole bracket in certain areas I has glass that was 7 layers thick. I don't think I'll ever have to worry about breaking my pole bracket base.
So just before I started glassing I weighed the hull just to see where I was at.
This was when the hull was totally bare. No reinforcement, no tray, and no paint.
Here is the jig I used to weigh it.
All I used was a hunting scale and some tie downs. So far it has worked really well.
Now time for the layup. I tried to make gravity work with me as best as I could, so I flipped the hull upside down on top of some sawhorses and started laying up the top portion of the nose and the pole bracket area. After that I put the hull on each side so I could lay up the sides nicely.
The layup took me a entire day and I almost ran out of resin in the process. I think it took 2 gallons to layup the engine bay. I started at about 9 am and finished at 7 pm. Luckily my girlfriend was there the whole time to help me. After it was done we were both super exhausted and covered in resin, but I was very happy knowing that the stressful part was done. We celebrated by going to a buffet. Lol
In addition to making my engine bay stronger I made up some hood keepers and glassed them in. I originally got the idea from Stanton High's ski. His superjet was built by Taylor Curtis at T.C. Freeride. So I emailed Taylor to see how he did it. Basically all you do is cut up some glass and pile it on by the hood seal. Once it cures, shape it as needed and your all done. For as easy as this mod was it has worked really well. It will let your hood go crooked a bit, but it won't completely come off. It's already saved my a$$ more than once.
While I was still in the engine bay I decided to put a drain/access plug in the bulkhead. I know it's too high up to be used as a drain, but it sure came in handy to find leaks.
It turns out that its harder to seal fittings into a bulkhead than you would think.
High Speed Industries
Your one stop shop for quality parts @highspeedind
- Location
- Lake Havasu City, AZ
Now that the engine bay was all done I finished up the tray. I did a final test fit of the tray pieces with the angle glassed in the back of them.
Then I test fitted my drain plugs. I installed them with screws for now so they can be removed for paint.
The it was time to add some balls to the ski. It took 665 balls to fill up my tray. Zack bright said I should of added 1 more ball to make it 666. You can also see in the picture that I left some bolts in the pump inserts. You gotta keep the threads clean!
I shook the ski a few times while I was filling it up. That way I knew all of the balls were settled in.
Then a final install of the tray pieces to make sure everything fits nice and level.
Then I precut my glass. When I cut the glass I made sure it overlapped to the sides and over the pump tunnel this way it would stay strong and hold up to everything I was going to throw at it. I ended up going with 5 layers of 1708 on the tray. Having the fiberglass roller helped a ton with this part of the ski. Everything laid out flat just like I wanted it to. I also did a layer of peelply over the top so I could remove all of the excess resin.
Then I started thinking about how I was going to install my fancy new footholds. As far as I know I have the only superjet in the USA with these holds. I had to order these directly from Nick Barton at krash industries. If I were to get them now I would just go thru Zack Bright.
I was totally stoked when I found out that this foothold kit was available. I love the fact that they are completely adjustable and they are enclosed. They are designed a bit different than normal footholds. What I was told is that you are supposed to slip into the holds rather than kick into them. Once you get used to that they are totally awesome. For install it was pretty much the same as installing bob footholds. I watched their YouTube install video to get some ideas.
Then I test fitted my drain plugs. I installed them with screws for now so they can be removed for paint.
The it was time to add some balls to the ski. It took 665 balls to fill up my tray. Zack bright said I should of added 1 more ball to make it 666. You can also see in the picture that I left some bolts in the pump inserts. You gotta keep the threads clean!
I shook the ski a few times while I was filling it up. That way I knew all of the balls were settled in.
Then a final install of the tray pieces to make sure everything fits nice and level.
Then I precut my glass. When I cut the glass I made sure it overlapped to the sides and over the pump tunnel this way it would stay strong and hold up to everything I was going to throw at it. I ended up going with 5 layers of 1708 on the tray. Having the fiberglass roller helped a ton with this part of the ski. Everything laid out flat just like I wanted it to. I also did a layer of peelply over the top so I could remove all of the excess resin.
Then I started thinking about how I was going to install my fancy new footholds. As far as I know I have the only superjet in the USA with these holds. I had to order these directly from Nick Barton at krash industries. If I were to get them now I would just go thru Zack Bright.
I was totally stoked when I found out that this foothold kit was available. I love the fact that they are completely adjustable and they are enclosed. They are designed a bit different than normal footholds. What I was told is that you are supposed to slip into the holds rather than kick into them. Once you get used to that they are totally awesome. For install it was pretty much the same as installing bob footholds. I watched their YouTube install video to get some ideas.
High Speed Industries
Your one stop shop for quality parts @highspeedind
- Location
- Lake Havasu City, AZ
Next setup was to mock up the footholds to see how they would fit in the tray.
I decided that the best way to fit the holds was to install them all the way back and all the way to the outside of the ski. I figured that would ensure that both holds would be installed in the same spot.
While installing the holds I also needed to give some attention to the rear of my ski. There was a gap left over because the new tray sits a bit lower than the old one. I decided to make my tray level with the pump tunnel so I could replace the pump inserts in the future if needed to.
You can also see how the glass was overlapped on the pump tunnel. I figured that would make the tray extra strong and I wouldn't have to worry about it breaking if I land hard.
Next up I installed the holds. All I basically did for the first step was put thickened resin on the backs of the holds and put them in place. I used a piece of wood, various clamps, and even a few bricks to hold them in place while the resin cured.
After they were all setup I cut them down to size.
After the holds were trimmed to size I precut some 1708 and mixed up some resin for the install. I also taped off the track that is in the foothold. I didn't want to get any resin in there.
While I was at it I filled the gap in the rear of the tray with thickened resin and some chopped strand.
I decided that the best way to fit the holds was to install them all the way back and all the way to the outside of the ski. I figured that would ensure that both holds would be installed in the same spot.
While installing the holds I also needed to give some attention to the rear of my ski. There was a gap left over because the new tray sits a bit lower than the old one. I decided to make my tray level with the pump tunnel so I could replace the pump inserts in the future if needed to.
You can also see how the glass was overlapped on the pump tunnel. I figured that would make the tray extra strong and I wouldn't have to worry about it breaking if I land hard.
Next up I installed the holds. All I basically did for the first step was put thickened resin on the backs of the holds and put them in place. I used a piece of wood, various clamps, and even a few bricks to hold them in place while the resin cured.
After they were all setup I cut them down to size.
After the holds were trimmed to size I precut some 1708 and mixed up some resin for the install. I also taped off the track that is in the foothold. I didn't want to get any resin in there.
While I was at it I filled the gap in the rear of the tray with thickened resin and some chopped strand.
