WetJet (Picklefork style) restomod

[Quinc]

"Wetjet International its first manufactured personal watercraft in 1987. They designed their PWC's in the same style as snowmobiles, which came natural for the Minnesota based company.

It featured a butterfly steering wheel with simple controls and electric start. The earliest models were powered by Cuyuna engines and thrust forward using a Brut jet pump.


After a few years in the business, Wetjet International would eventually sell out to Mastercraft Boats.

It weighed in at 273 pounds. It had an overall length of 8 feet and a width of 32 inches. It was powered by a 428 liquid colled marine engine with liquid cooled exhaust. It was fed by a Mikuni carb and used a CDI ignition. The fuel capacity was 5 gallons and of course it was constructed of fiberglass. The engine and pump produced a rated 340 pounds of thrust.
http://www.carbondalejetski.com/WetJet-428.html"



Picked it up and the PO told me it doesn't run, After closer inspection the "fuel in" fitting was barely being held in with some type of glue.. So the plan is to find a cheap 38BN or put on a 38SBN.

Glass work:
I removed the velocity stack things off the hood, sanded her down, and glassed the back of her yesterday.
And need to fix a crack in the pump cover.

Body work:
Seat cover
Windshield
Gromets
Grips that go on steering wheel
Buff and polish

Engine:
New carb
New Tygon fuel lines
New plugs
After some research it looks like these engines like compression, but not porting or any aftermarket exhausts. ( Might still try fitting a 550pipe)

 

[Just4Fun]

Sick!

 

[Quinc]

Finally got around to taking out the engine and it was one of the easier engines I have removed from a ski. Cleaned up the casting marks on the intake manifold and exhaust manifold. Plan is to pressure wash the inside of the ski out, cleanup the engine and toss her back together.


Notice in the picture there is no firewall.

Thick rubber grommets for engine mounts:

 

[Quinc]

Finally got her all cleaned up and put back together. Put on a brand new sbn38 with a primer. Removed some screens out of the flame arrestor. Tried to start her up and the starter shaft broke in half... Sourced a brand new starter and she fired right up. Have almost run a whole tank of fuel through her and then the pin that holds the impeller to the driveshaft snapped off. And that is where she is today.

Broken starter shaft..

First day at the lake!

That tiny aluminum pin is all that holds the impeller to the shaft.

 

[nucleus_coolins]

Man what a trippy design. That motor cleaned up real nice, looks good in that broken starter shaft pic. How do u find parts for that thing? Seems like its gona be tough to find 1 offs like that impeller pin!

 

[theVetteman3]

Sweet. How does this thing handle? Are you going to keep the stock engine in it or swap something else in eventually?

 

[Quinc]

Sweet. How does this thing handle? Are you going to keep the stock engine in it or swap something else in eventually?

I thought about putting in an old race 440 engine I have, then thought about using a 440 a/m pipe on her, but I will probably take her out her a few more times to get her dialed in and sell her. It is fun and everyone wants to check it out, but I rather ride my stand ups and blaster. I would say it is fun in the same way a mini bike is; you have a big smile on your face the whole time.

 

[Quinc]

Man what a trippy design. That motor cleaned up real nice, looks good in that broken starter shaft pic. How do u find parts for that thing? Seems like its gona be tough to find 1 offs like that impeller pin!

I have a contact that has a whole warehouse full of parts at reasonable prices. The impeller pin is an outboard shear pin. Amazon has a lot of 5 of them for 18$ shipped so not too bad. Also learned that you can adjust the impeller clearance with washers and the pump is an in house design the creator of the ski figured out.

 

[SkiDiggity]

Quinc post up a video boss! Want to see you shredding buoys on that bad boy.

 

[Quinc]

Quinc post up a video boss! Want to see you shredding buoys on that bad boy.

Installed a 3/16 1-3/8 stainless dowel pin in her today(1.15$ from local fastenal) re-greased the bearings and splines. Hopefully have her out this week after work

 

[Twinstick]

It's so ugly it's neat. Cool toy and project! I definitely want to try riding one.

 

[Quinc]

Finally got her running to the point I am happy. Hit 35.2mph on the gps with a little bit of chop. Then added a tee at the chamber with no other changes and hit 35.9mph with a huge increase in bottom end power. Back to the drawing board to hit 40...

Drilling out all of the npt fittings seems to have helped tremendously with keeping her cool. The chamber is no longer the same temp as the sun.

Next on the list is to swap out the spark plugs, still running the old ones it came with.

And a better pic of the engine bay. Yup the custom battery holder is zip ties.

 

[Quinc]

Quinc post up a video boss! Want to see you shredding buoys on that bad boy.

 

[Jamo07sj]

If I could like this twice I would. Kid is a baller !

 

[Quinc]

If I could like this twice I would. Kid is a baller !

You kiddo is probably ready to start riding! Have you got him on a couch yet?

 

[Jamo07sj]

Yeah dude he's 2 1/2! They'll be riding together soon lol. Wish I grew up like this

 

[DAWeeksy]

What did you use for a throttle cable to swap to a SBN?

 

[Quinc]

Used the original cable that came with it. Just take the adapter off the original carb.

 

[DAWeeksy]

Do you know what jets your running in the SBN38? And screw settings? I think I'm close but want to make sure before I start adjustment.

Thanks it looked like a different cable end in the one picture.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[Quinc]

I do not remember the jets. I think it was similiar to what someone was running on a 440. dont be afraid to adjust the screws until you find the best setting. Also drill out all of the npt fittings from the pump to the engine, or try and find some larger ID fittings to flow more water. This is huge in keeping it from over heating. Also dry out the exhaust some to pick up a nice boost in power.