I'm looking at getting an 86 ranger to restore. What do I need to do to check the transom and see if its solid. I don't want to jump into it if the transom is bad. Also, is there anything else specifically I need to check for? For you guys that have done restorations what can I expect to spend if I do it and do it right?
Thanks in advance guys
one of the easiest ways is to tilt motor up some and lift and push on the foot of the motor look for any flex in transom while doing this. To me if the transom is bad it is a no go. but others have done great transom redos
Beware also of the trailer. The axle is a 1 piece unit. If a spinal is bad on one side you have to replace the hole axle. I'm going through that right now. It costs about 1200 to have it replaced.
Hope this helps
Why do people fish, some say people fish to get fish, this is obviously false
+1 with sunsekr. I have restored several Rangers. I ran from any that had a bad transom. And I agree with his method of checking it. As far as price goes, it depends on the condition of the boat (gel coat, seats, carpet, etc.) and the trailer. You can price all of those things prior to starting and get a pretty close estimate as to how much it is going to cost you. The only other expense is time. If you're approaching it as a project or hobby, then that isn't a factor either. Good luck. Show us some pics if you decide to jump in!
GO STEELERS!!!
Be careful the flex trick with the motor isn't always the case that if it doesn't flex then the transom is good. I have seen a few that passed the "flex" test and were gone. The first tell tell sign is that if the motor or the jack plate is dugg into the glass and it usually starts at the bottom of the jack plate, same thing goes for the inside plates. I also look to see how many screw holes are in the transom area, this is usually caused by changing out electronics and not sealed back off properly.
Good luck
Thanks for all the info and help guys. Tsuprum I will definitely check into the trailer axle you were talking about. What's the best way to check for that? Sorry for all the questions, this would be my very first time dealing with a restore so all the help you guys are giving is priceless. Totalbeverage thanks for your input I have followed your projects on here and they are amazing,in fact looking at your basscat project is what first got me thinking about doing this. Thanks for all the advice guys. Keep it coming
From a cost perspective, if you're gonna replace seats, carpet, pumps, batteries but not glassing and gel coat, [and assuming the motor checks out] probably $1500 - 2200 [includes cleaning agent, buffer etc.] With gel coat / paint + any glassing, it depends on how much you are comfortable doing and the tag can quickly go to $5k - $6k.....and then the trailer......always buyer beware! On the plus side, you can easily put in 50 - 250 hours.......
[i]LAND OF THE SLEEPING GIANT
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