Super Jet RN Complete Rebuild on LI

[Dirtyace14]

I have always wanted a nice RN and midway through this season was my chance. I could not afford a turn key boat at the time and I snagged this complete ski for $700, motor was locked up and I knew it was going to need a rebuild, but I think I still got a decent deal. My plans for my build are a mild 701 with all the bolt on goodies, some handling mods, and a nice clean hull setup the way I like (footholds, turf, nice paint/vinyls) . I ride mostly recreational, but that includes jumping boat wakes and hopefully next season some decent surf riding. I have had my GPR and my old FX in the surf but never a standup, I have only owned kawi 550s so I never trusted them or myself for that matter enough. This SJ is going to be the perfect ski for me to learn to ride in the surf.

The build plan is as follows:

Engine-
61x Cylinder and 62t Cases
NEW Hod Rods trued and welded crank
NEW Pro-x Pistons 81.5mm (.5 over bore)
Keep the stock 38s but with the blackjack mod
ADA Girdled head with 35cc domes
B-Pipe
MSD Enhancer
Stock water box drilled out

Hull-
Stock hull with footholds
Blowsion Tubbies
UMI Steering
Ride plate
Intake Grate
0 Degree bars/ finger throttle
Hydroturf tray and rails
Matching Vinyls to my GPR in another color combo (Red/ Black)

Pump-
SS Impeller
Stock pump with plans for a mag in the near future
Freestyle nose cone

Now onto the pics and beginnings of my build.......

I picked the ski up in the beginning of May from the original owner for $700. In 07 he broke the motor mounts off and let the ski sit since, he had no clue how to store it and everything needed attention. The motor was locked from corrosion, the carbs were just rotted closed, the stock turf was peeling and nasty, and the hull was FILTHY. I don't have any really good before pictures because I was in such a hurry to tear it down.

After a bath with the simple green and spray nine it looked like this-

The hull actually cleaned up better than I though it would, I really regret not taking any before pictures.

I pulled it all out and cleaned up the inside as well, you can see how corroded everything was from the few things left behind-

All stripped-

The hull is in decent shape too-

Here you can see the Scoop grate and Riva Plate it came with, both are going to need sanding and paint at the least-

 

[Dirtyace14]

Then began the motor tear down, now as I said in the beginning of this thread I was on a budget so I was hoping the motor only needed a top end and I could ride. Needless to say I was not so lucky, but I am going to end up with a basically new motor so its not all bad.

You can see the cylinder scored a little as well at the rust line where the rings were froze to the cylinder-

Look at all of the salt and corrosion inside the crank-

After seeing this I pulled the whole motor apart and cleaned the cases in my parts wash. I tossed the pistons and saved the crank in case I needed a core. Then I started to gather parts.

Pro-x Pistons and whole gasket kit-

Hot Rods Crank (comes in a sweet box too)

I decided I was going to clean the cases up myself with a sand blaster that I had, it worked ok but I was not too happy with the result. Still lots of corrosion and pitting in it.

Since I had to have it bored .5 over anyway I decided to bring it all to the shop I used to work at (SK Speed) and they are going to clean all of the cases inside and out as well as bore and hone it for a killer deal.
I dropped the motor off this Monday and now I am waiting on them, I am going to paint the cases red and I am going to have the polished ADA head, I think it will look sharp.

 

[mrluckyot]

looks like lots of work

 

[Dirtyace14]

I decided to see how nice the Gel coat on this hull would clean up and the would dictate if I was going to paint it or just do some vinyls to complement the white hull. I just did a small area on the nose with some M105 compound and it came out great, once I am done with the glass work I will do the entire hull. It is going to stay white for now.

This Wednesday my footholds from Toby came in. I have ridden these in a few of my friends skis and liked them, the price is right and his shipping was fast. I would defiantly recommend them to anyone.

I cleaned the tray up and got it ready to be cut up. The PO used all of this nasty black silicon to re glue all of the stock mats on as the would fall off. Again this was a F-ing mess. I used a drill and a wire wheel to pull it all off. The factory glue came off with a razor and some time.

Sanded and ready to be cut into-

 

[Dirtyace14]

Cut up and de-foamed, again used a drill and wire brush for the foam removal and it worked awesome. I cut the hull and footholds down with a regular Dremel.

Now before you judge my fiberglass job please understand I have NEVER EVER glassed anything before and only one time previous helped rivet in foot holds, this whole job took me maybe 3-4 hours. All in all I think it looks ok.


Here the are self tapped in the hull, just a test fit before the rivets-

All riveted in ( I know I used a lot)

Now for the glass-

I decided to do one whole sheet across the tray for added reinforcing and also so the turf can go on smooth and easier. It has now dried and I am going to sand it and take a few more photos. Now I am waiting on turf and the machine work before I can continue with my build.

 

[MCrider]

looks killer i love this year sj they look sweet with stock graphics and orange turf!

 

[JT_Freeride]

Subscribed

 

[Dirtyace14]

Here are some pics of how shot everything in the ski was. Look at all of the corrosion on the intake and the crank-

 

[Dirtyace14]

Got the motor back today from the machine shop, all ready for paint. It is not perfect but it looks a hell of a lot better than it did. There is some pitting here and there but once I paint it I think it will look great. The cylinders look great and ready to rock-

New Hod Rods crank looking good and ready to drop in-

 

[slamb33]

nice work man I would say $700 is a legit deal even with the bad motor.

 

[Dirtyace14]

nice work man I would say $700 is a legit deal even with the bad motor.

Yeah, I mean some people pay that for a bare hull, so I figure I got a nice hull and it needed a motor. At the end of the day I could have put a $800 sbt motor in it and had a stock RN in great shape for $1500. When I am done I will be in the 3-4k range but still it will be a NICE SJ with all of the goodies and a solid reliable motor that makes decent power.

 

[Dirtyace14]

I started painting the motor. I think it looks pretty good, I am going all red with a polished head and black motor mounts and intake manifold/ carbs. I think it will look pretty sweet when its done.

Shot it with zinc primer-

Here is a shot of the cylinders all done

 

[Sanoman]

Better to have rebuilt the motor yourself.l'm not a fan of the mentioned builder.

And nice ski.l think you did good.

 

[Dirtyace14]

Better to have rebuilt the motor yourself.l'm not a fan of the mentioned builder.

And nice ski.l think you did good.

Yeah I have heard so so things myself. That's why I went with a NEW crank and Pro-x Pistons, I figured better to get nice quality parts and do it once.....thanks for the kind words.

 

[ChrisFiore15]

WOW... 700 is a SCORE. Id pay that in a heartbeat.. throw in an SBT 1 year warranty motor and have a complete RN SJ for around a grand!
NICE score!!!!!!!

 

[Dirtyace14]

Motor is all painted now I am just waiting on my ADA head and I can put it together, I can't wait until it is all bolted together. Here is some finished shots...

 

[jdmforlife]

Nice build keep up the good work brapp

 

[ematta]

What kind of paint did you use for the red? And is it can or gun? Looks great

 

[Dirtyace14]

What kind of paint did you use for the red? And is it can or gun? Looks great

VHT engine enamel. Strait out of the can, I did an LS motor I built last year with it and it worked great than. Only this time I used zinc primer as opposed to regular primer. Here is the LS I did in the same color....

 

[sixfifty]

Looking good man! That engines going to look killer.