1981 375V Ranger Restoration...

[arjone01]

Here she is to start.



Took everything off in prep for wet sanding. Removed TM all railings, seats and deck lids. Going to strip more off later in the week. I'm even going to remove the motor. Got the gauges in today. They're gonna look sweet. Can't wait!











She's dirty but will look great when I get her sanded and cleaned.






Modified by arjone01 at 8:28 PM 5/26/2008


Modified by arjone01 at 8:29 PM 5/26/2008


Modified by arjone01 at 8:30 PM 5/26/2008

[arjone01]

Got some more done to her......

Here's the work zone. Bmas13's gargage.


Here are some examples of wet sanding and buffing.


Before:

After: It's hard to tell but it's night and day in the two pics. the shine is amazing. I need to get actual camera shots of it before I do all of the cap.

Before:

After: I used Eagle One etching cleaner to get these cleaned up. It worked great.

Here's a shot of the teleflex gauges to go in the brushed aluminum dash. Just have to find the material now.

Couldn't help but see where it was going. All that's missing is me sitting behind the steering wheel making motor noises.

Here's a before of the back compartment. Soon to have a new look, I cleaned and painted the back area with a grey epoxy sealer paint. Going to clean the wires up as well with it.


By the end of the week I'm going to have all of the glass work finished and doing prep for carpet. I ordered it today from BCB.


Modified by arjone01 at 9:51 AM 10/31/2008


Modified by arjone01 at 9:51 AM 10/31/2008

[arjone01]

Got all the Carpet up. Most of the glue up.









AND, if you do this and want to see the information on your boat as far as color name and code and who did it there is a certificate glassed in. I know you can also call Ranger and get that info.




Unfortunately I destroyed mine.

THEN, came a small heartbreak. I found a small soft spot under the drivers feet. SO, I had to cut it out. Going to replace it and the piece between the drivers rod locker and floor space.



Getting the foam out sucks.







I over did the area to make sure I got all of the rot out.







Tonight I'm going to get the glue up from the floor area and then I'm going to buff the top cap. The back compartment is coming along as well. It's clean now and I've got one coat of epoxy paint on it.

I've got to find someone around who welds aluminum as the mounts on the drivers tank where cracked off. Easy fix I've just got to find someone who know what they're doing. I'm also going to add extra security to the tanks for added piece of mind.

[unklenew]

Looks great Aaron - the soft spot didn't look too bad. Looks like you did a good job getting it cleaned up. Thanks for the pics, they help everyone out. Keep up the good work on her

[ProcraftMike]

Keep at it . You will have a better appreciation for your boat when you are done with it. Keep us posted. I love seeing other people's work.

[racefan]

Arron,
She will be pretty when she is all cleaned up like new again. Keep up the good work

[jseasor]

hey man...lovin the results ...i can tell ur doin it right, i probably wouldnt of replaced that rotten piece, it didn't look all that bad...

[FishMoore]

Looks like your doing a great job. Man that brings back memories from mine last year. Lucky for me i had no flooring issues. I used the same gauges they will look great, really updates the look from the old black gauges. Keep up the good work, and keep sending the pics, it'll all be worth it when you finish.

[Shooter1]

Aaron, what's your thoughts on the Aqua-buff? Did you get 1000 or 2000? This is what I'm planning on using after I get the clearcoat on mine after sanding. I used some naptha on the glue and it worked pretty good. What you've done looks great. I'm glad you're taking care of the floor situation while your there. A lot of people wouldn't but, if you don't have time to do it right the first time when are you gonna find time to do it again.

Rande

[arjone01]

Thanks guys. I appreciate it. It really does give a closeness to her having put more than $$$ in her. God knows I've put a little of that into her as well. That's what I thought Shooter. Figured I'd do it right now. I've got to say i did think about letting it go.

Well, the prep work is pretty much done. Got all of the glue up. I only used a little acetone on two tough spots. It actually came up pretty easy. I didn't get the Aqua-buff. I've heard great things and may try it later but right now some 3M high performance Compound and 3M fiberglass restorer w/ wax. I'm going to give it a big once over and then another with a couple of coats of some high quality wax.

Here you can see the glue gone and the difference in that areas that have been sanded and buffed and haven't.



Here you can see the extent of the removal of wood. I was scraping the rod locker and punched through it with the chisel so out came the sawz-all and out it came.










Here are some more shots of the clean floor.






And finally the first piece to go back on the boat. I got tired of the bow of the boat wobbling up and down so I ran out and got a new winch. That fixed that.




More to come tomorrow. Should have the top cap all shined up and the back compartment complete.

[southernoutcast]

Looks awesome.. I love this kidna of stuff.... I would be afraid to tackle it myself, but I like to watch the progress..

[jason]

I've really enjoyed seeing the progress! Keep us posted!

[GClark519]

When I buffed out my Ranger I used that blue tape on the rub rails as well. With some hard work you can make it look as good as new. I did it to my 97 461 this summr and it turned out great! Then I sold it to my friend and bought a 519! Keep us posted on the rebuilding of a classic! Greg

[jseasor]

damn aaron....ur flying!! take some time and drink more of those beers sitting in bmas's fridge!!! looks great man.

[mercury_pro]

ok i did the same thing as you did on my 1985 373 ranger....my fuel tanks were plastic..as for the name plate on side of hul...aka bia tag.....when you get a new one...it will be rated for a 175hp...and belive me..a 175 will make it run lower 70 ona choppy day...i know for a fact..mine has one...i made my dashes out of starboard..but i did a complete paint on it..make shure you put some gussets inside if the transome more than what ranger did if you dont you will find cracks apearing in the corners of the battery/fuel tank hatch....good luck...i be watching...i know the boat inside and out

[luvdmymerc]

Lookin' good so far Aaron. Patience is the key!!!!

[javelin90]

Looks good. Do you have a picture of the battery compartment where you painted with gray epoxy paint/sealer? What kind of prep wprk is required to use the epoxy paint/sealer?
Thanks, G.

[arjone01]

Thanks guys. I've been home so no work. I'll post some pics after the weekend as I have carpet now. As far as my plate it says it's registered for up to a 175.

As far as the prep work all I did was use a hefty amount of grease lightning degreaser and scrubbed and then all I did was rough it up a bit with some low grit paper as this stuff that I got worked on a lot of surfaces including concrete. It said as long as the surface was course that it would stick. I'll let you know. It worked pretty good! It looks awesome as it smoothed itself out.

[Alan S]

Great job!

Keep the pics coming!

[bmas13]

Right on dude! Glad to see you're running up my electric bill while I'm out of town! Can't wait to see it when I get back!