X-18 vee drive.....

[X-18]

I finally got the old X-18 vee drive home tonite with all the discussion about being real or not....the orginal Donzi serial number is still their under the paint and what i could read off in the darkness was ...DMR185X78V....I COULDNT SEE IF I WAS MISSING SOMETHINE ELSE THEIR BUT THIS IM SURE CONFIRMS A REAL 1978 X-18 VEE DRIVE.....I WONDER HOW MANY OF THESE WERE MADE....WES

[mphatc]

I think that number is supposed to be: DMR 185 X18 V
Donzi Marine Hull #185 X18 V drive

Mario L.

[mattyboy]

that number seems out of sequence check it again when it is light out i am sure it is hard with paint on top of it . take a few pics of it . yeah i would say not more than 1 or 2 of them were made , by the mid 70's the I/O was the most popular choice

[Lenny]

The format should be this as all the rest are...

DMR1859273X

DMR (Donzi Marine Racing)
18 (size of boat)
59 (hull number of the approxiamately 171 made)
2 (February of 1973)
X (as in X-18)

"V" as in drive style configuration was never listed in a transom embossed hull number.

Your numbers as shown are off...

"V" has never been in the hull number designations on any of the boats DONZI made as far as I know from '64 to date unless part of newer SUPER LONG numbers that we have now in the new century.

Where did you find this number located?

To be a '78 the hull number would look "something" like DMR181693X

Early X's were denoted as CX18- ..

Check out this thread from 4 years ago. :)

http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=37703&highlight=X%27s

[Bob]

""V" as in drive style configuration was never listed in a hull number."

Not so fast my friend- my 1971 V Drive Hornet hull number is C19 HV59 on the foil tag.

A V Drive X wow!!

What V Drive is in it, Casale or Crusader?

[mattyboy]

yes the foil tag had much info on it serial numbers of the drive and motor in some cases.
what was being reference was that no V would be in the HIN on the transom .
again the HIN is different from the info on the foil tag and a 71 would not have a HIN but a 78 would

the pre 84 HIN

would be

3 letters for the MIC given to the company by the USCG DMR Donzi Marine Racing

2 digits for the model 18

3 digits for the hull number 200

2 digits for the month production month 01

2 digits for the year production year 76

these are a mandatory layout after that the mfgr could put anything they needed or wanted
in the case of the X-18 it would be -X

so has an example this is fictional DMR182000176-X

would be the 200 th X-18 made in jan of 76

[Lenny]

what was being reference was that no V would be in the HIN on the transom .
again the HIN is different from the info on the foil tag and a 71 would not have a HIN but a 78 would



Thanx Matty :)

[Lenny]

so has an example this is fictional DMR182000176-X

would be the 200 th X-18 made in jan of 76

Can you imagine what a mess finding the "200th" X-18 in 1976 would create Matty ;)

[Kirbyvv]

My '78 HIN # is in the format Matty described
DMR181630678X
Donzi Marine Racing
size-18'
boat # -163
manufacture Date- June (06)
year -1978
Model- X

[mattyboy]

Can you imagine what a mess finding the "200th" X-18 in 1976 would create Matty ;)


not as much of a mess as finding the 16 that ozzy osbourne was rumored to own

it was hull 666 built in june of 66
it was

dmr166660666

:tongue: ;)




Kirby yes that is what a HIN from an x-18 in 78 should look like

[Kirbyvv]

Isn't that like a satanic number or something:wink:

[Lenny]

not as much of a mess as finding the 16 that ozzy osbourne was rumored to own

it was hull 666 built in june of 66
it was

dmr166660666

:tongue: ;)




Kirby yes that is what a HIN from an x-18 in 78 should look like

Nice try Matty, if that was the case, and a '66 sixteen, it would be "C16-666"
:D :D :D

[X-18]

Im going to get some pictures in the day sat and try to bring up the serial number so far it looks clear on the DMR185__78X......Im going to try to get the other numbers....its setting on the orginal rocket trailer that was made for the v drive boat...you can tell by the way they made it for the shaft....can anyone tell about the orginality of this boat and how many were made....any help or any way to get documentation would be great...all of the orginal v drive stuff is still their untouched and the orginal engine mounts and trans still its orginal places.....the boat has been setting since at least 82-83 if not longer...the cat that painted it never finished it..he had a body shop in the late 70s early 80s,suposed to be second owner..maybe..had a chev bigblock when i saw it setting in a bikers yard in elkridge M.D...in 1986-87...i dont think the boat has 100 hours in its life....just ugly paint and outside abuse...under covers most of the time..any help would be great fellows....Wes

[Lenny]

so far it looks clear on the DMR185__78X......Im going to try to get the other numbers

That sequence is better BUT, it would indicate a hull number of 5 or 50-ish or five hundred ish. I suspect a number between 150 and 170 and then the one to two digit month digits and then the ending you have (78X)


Are you SURE there is no "1" in front of the five ?

...we're getting there ;)

[X-18]

Im going out this weekend in the lite and try to get all of the info to help us out here.....i need to solve this mystery donzi....thanks

[X-18]

Hello back with more inf on boat...i can definitely read the number so far as follows...DMR185_ _78V.....this is for sure these numbers and letters....im trying my best to reveal the others if i sand anymore im going to loose them all...it looke like the orginal color was all white with a ugly pea green stripe...the piece on the transom the rutter goes into is stamped DM 104....The piece under the boat that the shaft goes through reads Donzi stamped in it...the trans that the motor bolts to says OSCO....I will try to read the v drive unit tomorrow...what could the other 2 numbers be in the HIN....THANKS..WES

[Lenny]

Hello back with more inf on boat...i can definitely read the number so far as follows...DMR185_ _78V.....this is for sure these numbers and letters....im trying my best to reveal the others if i sand anymore im going to loose them all...it looke like the orginal color was all white with a ugly pea green stripe...the piece on the transom the rutter goes into is stamped DM 104....The piece under the boat that the shaft goes through reads Donzi stamped in it...the trans that the motor bolts to says OSCO....I will try to read the v drive unit tomorrow...what could the other 2 numbers be in the HIN....THANKS..WES

Ending in a "V" is whacko... Yours would be the first.

[Bob]

the piece on the transom the rutter goes into is stamped DM 104....The piece under the boat that the shaft goes through reads Donzi stamped in it...

The rudder housing stamped DM 104 (that the rudder goes in) and the strut (the piece under the boat that the shaft goes through) seals it for me.

The shaft log (where the shaft goes through the hull) is probably Glenwood. (Look in the bilge). What color is the V Drive? If it is a Crusader, the brass tag is on the starboard (right side) on top. They are usually painted blue or black. There is a place that rebuilds them in Ohio.

Good Luck!!!

[X-18]

The rudder housing stamped DM 104 (that the rudder goes in) and the strut (the piece under the boat that the shaft goes through) seals it for me.
The shaft log (where the shaft goes through the hull) is probably Glenwood. (Look in the bilge). What color is the V Drive? If it is a Crusader, the brass tag is on the port (right side) on top. They are usually painted blue or black. There is a place that rebuilds them in Ohio.
Good Luck!!!
The housing is all alumminum and very large unit..has all the orginal plumbing and drive shaft hooked up

[Lenny]

Any pics of the boat ??? or did I miss them?

The last letter (assuming yours' is an X-18 ) has to be an "X" , not a "V"

Is it a "V" that could be an "X" (V on top ? inverted V below?

[X-18]

After looking closer to the v drive..it looks like it was blue at one time,painted over the alumminum housing...the tag is missing...its definitely a V at the end of the serial number..looks like someone went way out of their way to hide the serial numbers...looks like they rmoved the tag on the v drive and the orginal rocket trailer has no serial plate....i think someone mite of stolen this rig in the late 70s or early 80s....can anyone find out if any 18 VEE drive boats were sold in Maryland ....how would one find out any info...thanks...number on v drive...94025

[Bob]

Blue- most likely Crusader. Photos would help us.

[Lenny]

Where did we end up on this ???

Was it original or a rebuild/re-rig or a clone ?

[X-18]

Yes its orginal..i had a man stop by thats had many Donzis and here verified that its definitly a DMR185___78V...SERIAL NUMBER...Im going down to my local DNR after the first of the year and they are going to try to pull up some info off this partial serial number...

[Lenny]

Yes its orginal..i had a man stop by thats had many Donzis and here verified that its definitly a DMR185___78V...SERIAL NUMBER...Im going down to my local DNR after the first of the year and they are going to try to pull up some info off this partial serial number...

Interesting (still ) The "definate "5" means 5 or fifty something. '78 was the last year and the numbers would be 150-171(3) -ish

50 something would put it back into 73-74

5 would put it into the end of '72, beginning of 73'.

???

[Mr X]

No matter how you fill in the blanks.......the numbers dont add up.
And why no pictures?? :confused:

[X-18]

The orginal color looks like white...with a pee green stripe.....im going to get some pics this weekend..

[Just Say N20]

Pictures, please.

[Lenny]

Weekend is almost over :D

[gcarter]

Weekend is almost over :D
OK Lenny and everyone else.....
Is this a real X, or a splash?

[Lenny]

"looks" real... All the parts and swoops and seat pedestals and dash layout looks fine... ???

What is with the number then ???

Poodle ??? What should this hull number be ?

Does the inner transom show any signs of modification from an I/O to the V drive ? or untouched?

This pic shows where the number should be under the rubrail at least... http://www.donzi.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=41548&d=1230519111

[mattyboy]

The Inca Gold stripe would confirm it as a factory boat... Probably the only V drive X in existence..


inca gold can appear as a funky green especially after age and /or if it has been prepped for painting.
that would make sense that it is a 73 as inca gold was an "IN" color at the time yup I would say it is not something you would see every day

[mattyboy]

for those who have not seen what inca gold is

the stripe on the chicken boat and the built rite interior are inca gold all original from the factory and this boat is still pristine

http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=29555&highlight=original

[gcarter]

for those who have not seen what inca gold is

the stripe on the chicken boat and the built rite interior are inca gold all original from the factory and this boat is still pristine

http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=29555&highlight=original

I was just over at Minicraft picking up some "A putty" and some GP resin....While I was there, I asked Paul if, since "Ince Gold" is no longer on the "Donzi" list they supply gellcoat for, if he had any other resources. He informed me that he still had some charts dating from the '70's, and that he would call me if he was successful.
I know this color has been missing for a number of years.

[mattyboy]

seems the only thing wrong with the chicken boat was the rear seat bottom was gone so Pearson called built rite .

Bob at built rite found a roll of inca gold vinyl for a replacement rear seat bottom cushion, he found it in a warehouse in California !! and after 40 years the 2 colors matched flawlessly amazing

[X-18]

Thats looks like it...white with a inca gold stripe.....the only x 18 vee drive....whats its worth...i wonder who orginally ordered this boat..

[gcarter]

A couple of more pictures;

[BigGrizzly]

BTW Forreswt's 16 is inca gold.

[mattyboy]

inca gold with a grumble green stripe i love that 16