Myself
manic mechanic
- Location
- Twin Lakes AR
I've got a brand new blue silicone seal sitting here doing nothing. PM me your addy.
Thunderstruck ! Counter to the Blunderjet thread
- Thread starter WFO Speedracer
- Start date
WFO Speedracer
A lifetime ban is like a lifetime warranty !
- Location
- Alabama
I am not sure why I had a brain fart and thought I didn't need a pump shoe , for sure I don't need the stock style shoe but I do need something to redirect the water flow at the bottom of the pump , no biggie I made one up out of expanded PVC , I do have to add a piece in at the top so it goes around the intake grate like a stock shoe does ,so far it was just roughed in with a grinder and a flap disc, I will go retrieve the drum sander and die grinder and finish it up with those.
Then I can glass it up , glue it in and it will get gelcoated when I do the bottom of the ski , it's just composite work , no big deal really .
Then I can glass it up , glue it in and it will get gelcoated when I do the bottom of the ski , it's just composite work , no big deal really .
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Myself
manic mechanic
- Location
- Twin Lakes AR
I've got a whole herd of Polaris machines here with the Fuji triples I need to fix. All have a holed piston. Thing is the looks of them. They just look "dated" and don't bring much money. But these Fuji machines are VERY reliable and pretty fast after the carb updates.
WFO Speedracer
A lifetime ban is like a lifetime warranty !
- Location
- Alabama
I can't give a Polaris away here , it's Yamaha and Seadoo country , the Kawasaki - Polaris dealer which is the same dealership I worked at three different times just flat out sucks , no better way to put it really, they sell very few skis, it's been that way for years. I am assuming you meant to post this in the flipping skis thread ?
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WFO Speedracer
A lifetime ban is like a lifetime warranty !
- Location
- Alabama
I have been thinking about this for a minute , so what if they just reused the Hydroski bottom molds for the Thunderjets , then came up with a new top for it, it kinda makes sense from a manufacturing standpoint and it would explain why the tow halves of these hulls don't fit together properly , The Hydroski looked very similar to the Thunderjet if you will look at them closely.
The pic below was of a 93 model that was found stored at a defunct dealership in California , the 93 models had the upgraded bulkheads, the graphics were different , the hoods no longer had the plastic door for the fire extinguisher and the bottom hulls were purple instead of white , of the two I prefer the looks of the 92 models but the 93 hulls were of superior quality.
My intention is to copy the stock 92 graphics with a twist, everything that is green on the ski becomes purple , everything that is purple becomes green. The rub rail if I can find one that I can make work will be black , if I can't find a rub rail it will be turfed with green Hydroturf .
The pic below was of a 93 model that was found stored at a defunct dealership in California , the 93 models had the upgraded bulkheads, the graphics were different , the hoods no longer had the plastic door for the fire extinguisher and the bottom hulls were purple instead of white , of the two I prefer the looks of the 92 models but the 93 hulls were of superior quality.
My intention is to copy the stock 92 graphics with a twist, everything that is green on the ski becomes purple , everything that is purple becomes green. The rub rail if I can find one that I can make work will be black , if I can't find a rub rail it will be turfed with green Hydroturf .
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Myself
manic mechanic
- Location
- Twin Lakes AR
Wasn't the Hydro-Ski the one that Greg Nichols had something to do with? I used to have a Nichols "Trident" picklefork ski YEARS ago. It was all carbon fiber.
WFO Speedracer
A lifetime ban is like a lifetime warranty !
- Location
- Alabama
According to this thread yes , Apparently there was also a Ferrari ski in between the Hydrojet and the Thunderjet , I am still looking for pics on that one ,difficult because all of those skis were pre-internet, the Ferrari ski is probably the bottom mold for the Thunderjet, my understanding is the Hydroski had some weird channels under that let air under the hull to increase the top speed. Also follow that link it lists all of Albert Markidans patents .
patents.justia.com
Albert Mardikian Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications - Justia Patents Search
USPTO patent applications submitted by and patents granted to Albert Mardikian
patents.justia.com
Other - American Hydro Ski
I was doing some patent searching for one of my classes, and I came across a Patent on a Stand up Hull design and the assignee was American Hydro Ski. So I googled it to see what it was and found nothing other than this guy and his photo album of him and his ski. So I thought I would share. Does...
www.x-h2o.com
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WFO Speedracer
A lifetime ban is like a lifetime warranty !
- Location
- Alabama
I have always wondered exactly where these hulls fit into the spectrum size wise , obviously it is wider than a JS hull and maybe a tad longer,, here are the measurements off what I have here right now .
The Thunderjet hull has a step in it at the top like an SN Superjet hull does, the ID dimension is measured there at the widest point.
I will come back and plug in the JS 550 and 650 dimensions later , I don't have either here to measure right now.
I am waiting on that driveshaft to get here , there is not much that can happen till I get it in my hands so I can get everything lined up properly , at least within a range I can correct with shims , I have already determined that the pump wasn't set straight in the hull, an easy fix but my biggest concern is the height it is set in the hull at , that is not easily fixed if incorrect .
Thunderjet : 85" length , 22 1/2 width at the widest point , remember I did stretch this hull width out just a bit. to make it fit the cap.
SN Superjet : 87" length , 23" width at the widest point , this one has the Carter Brackett rockered nose installed so it will be shorter than stock.
300SX : 78 1 /2" length , 22" width at the widest point
So size wise I am going to have to say it is closest to a Superjet in width and a bit shorter in length.
The Thunderjet hull has a step in it at the top like an SN Superjet hull does, the ID dimension is measured there at the widest point.
I will come back and plug in the JS 550 and 650 dimensions later , I don't have either here to measure right now.
I am waiting on that driveshaft to get here , there is not much that can happen till I get it in my hands so I can get everything lined up properly , at least within a range I can correct with shims , I have already determined that the pump wasn't set straight in the hull, an easy fix but my biggest concern is the height it is set in the hull at , that is not easily fixed if incorrect .
Thunderjet : 85" length , 22 1/2 width at the widest point , remember I did stretch this hull width out just a bit. to make it fit the cap.
SN Superjet : 87" length , 23" width at the widest point , this one has the Carter Brackett rockered nose installed so it will be shorter than stock.
300SX : 78 1 /2" length , 22" width at the widest point
So size wise I am going to have to say it is closest to a Superjet in width and a bit shorter in length.
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WFO Speedracer
A lifetime ban is like a lifetime warranty !
- Location
- Alabama
The driveshaft made it here yesterday and it looks really good , the new pump seal Myself sent me made it in today , and finally I have some good news to report on this build , finally.
It seems the pump to shaft alignment both in both X and Y axis is good , Kawasaki drivelines have some play built in them so you can install everything then bolt in the bearing housing to get it close, I am there already and it should be well within range of being able to shim it to make it perfect.
Also I got it really close when fitting it all up so no more cutting to make the engine cradle fit , we good. You can see in that first pic where the cradle and bulkhead were separated and how far apart they are now to make it work correctly , that one cut saved a lot of headaches..
It seems the pump to shaft alignment both in both X and Y axis is good , Kawasaki drivelines have some play built in them so you can install everything then bolt in the bearing housing to get it close, I am there already and it should be well within range of being able to shim it to make it perfect.
Also I got it really close when fitting it all up so no more cutting to make the engine cradle fit , we good. You can see in that first pic where the cradle and bulkhead were separated and how far apart they are now to make it work correctly , that one cut saved a lot of headaches..
