So, I bought a 1989 Z-33 in October of 2002. I actually wasn't looking for one, for I loved my Z-25 so very much and had spent 4 years re-building her. But, the Z-25 was sold to a great new owner, Dennis Bosch, of Vermont. When I brought the Z-33 home, I took the engines out and completely rebuilt them, with new starters, carbs, exhaust manifolds, oil pans, water pumps, risers, altenators, and electric fuel pumps. I cut through the engine room floor and installed thru-hull fittings for a water source of 1 inch, compared to the much smaller source through the outdrive. I also designed an easy flushing arrangement, whereby I can sit in the back seat and flush the engines. The outdrive oil reservoirs, trim pumps, outdrive pumps and batteries were re-located on the firewall for ease of inspection. I installed new Livorsi gauges and spent over 100 hours, re-wiring, heat shrinking, and installing buss & junction bars. A radio/cd player with hidden antenna was installed. I cut out the fuel tank, in pieces, with a saws-all, and had built & reinstalled the new 140 gallon tank, in the place of the 200 gallon tank. Now, it was time to rebuild to the outside upholstery, an 8 month project, first cutting and replacing every piece of plywood with starboard, then taking it to Premier upholstery in Sarasota, (Donzi uses them too), a 5 month wait, then the reinstall. I then turned to the inside and cut the entire inside out in a day, with a sawsall right down to the fiberglass, and started the whole process over again. I measured and cut every new styrene panel for the inside. The seats were the most challenging, for every piece was a different angle. That process alone, took, several weeks. I purchased 175 feet of 5 ft wide foam backed naugherhide from Premier and began the long process of re-installing the inside side upholstery and headliner. I took the two seats, again, to Premier for their first class workmanship. When I went to pick the seats up, after 4 months, I had requested 158 buttons, that they had forgotten to produce. So, they sat me down on the button machine for a hour or so, to make my own buttons. I rebuilt a step at the entrance to the inside, along with new hatches in the front, where the bed was. Except for a new windsheild, yet to come, this vessel has had every inch touched and re-built by myself. It's been my pleasure to make this 30 month journey. It's not a bragging thing. But, I am often asked about how it has all turned out; so, with your permission, I will share "Big-D" with you.
"She's as close to a mistress as I will ever have. She takes lots of my money, all my time, is very pretty, is nice to be seen in public with and is forever damned expensive to maintain."
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That's pretty neat Richard!
Originally Posted by DeepSouthF33
