Magnum Starfire Resto

[MDonziM]

Yes, it's another mag 27 resto story and it's not even Parnell's....

I wanted to restore this 78' starfire which I bought this past spring. It was in pretty amazing orig condition but the paint was a little tired. The whole boat is actually white gel and the red and black stripes are just painted on top. At first I thought I could just repaint the stripes but after deliberation decided to repaint the topsides and deck white and then add the stripes again using a basecoat/clearcoat paint. Below the chines the bottom will remain gelcoat.

There was some water intrusion in the deck around the gas fills and vents etc. You can see in the cutout detail an interesting thin layer of foam they used between the gelcoat and the glass to prevent the glass texture from coming through.

Also removing the old TRS drives because they were attached to merc transmissions which prove to be a weakpoint, so converting to Bravo's. The transom and stringers all check out solid except by one trim tab.

Few pics to start, more to follow.

Marshall

[vrod02]

Merc trans 2 are the weak point! That is a false rumor I've heard for yrs......

[MDonziM]

Well I have 3 for sale if you want them. One was working fine, one has a bad fluid leak, and not sure of the exact condition of the 3rd. When I tried to find replacements or someone to rebuild it was difficult. KC Marine in WA said they have a better cooling element for them and thats their only weakness. I wanted to raise my drive height and had most of the bravo equip so decided to go that rout.

[vrod02]

What do you want for these worthless trannys and outdrive? that can handle more Hp than your beloved bravo/ volvo?

[scippy]

Marshall,

It's always interesting to watch the process begin of "making better" one of the truly iconic hulls...........I agree, losing the bulk and weight of the TRS in exchange for the bravo's is certainly a performance inhancement throw in the adddition to the raised X and it's a no brainer.
It's interesting (in the engine bay) to see the xtra low line stringers beside the main keel stringers.........my 27 sport doesn't have them. I guess the Starfire was built accordingly for bigger power which is obvious in the beefier engine bay. The foam beneath the gelcoat is something I never saw before, I thought a few layers of mat first is what would keep the print through from appearing. Also, The triangular deck insert appears to have a ply core.....mine ('76 sport) was balsa cored right up to the gelcoat deck.........can't wait to see the progress unfold.......somebody has to steal Parnell's thunder right??

[MDonziM]

Scippy,

Yes the insert area in the deck layup is thin 1/4" plywood. the rest of the deck coring is thicker balsa. I'll post a pic of the transom cutout, its 1/2" pure glass, 2"of plywood and 1/4"inside glass skin. I didn't realize the sports did not have those middle stringers, if you look in the post of the starfire farmertx saw, that one had additional strips diagonally glassed on to the bottom. I was wondering if that was orig. Anyway, its a little disheartening now seeing her ripped up but hopefully she will look like new and really fly when I'm done.

[Sweet Cheekz]

I say the more the merrier. Every 27 that gets ahead of me just motivates me!
Marshall Looking good so far.
I like your chances of beating Scippy and I back on the water. The other thing I am jealous about is that you got to take yours out and run it before tearing it apart. Extra motivation for you as you work away knowing how fun they are. I now have three 27 hulls and I have never ridden in one.

Good luck and keep us updated and subsequently motivated.

Parnell

[MDonziM]

SC,

Get going, its an unbelievable ride. My last time out ran about 55-60mph in following 3-4' seas, so much fun.

Marshall

[Conquistador_del_mar]

You guys are making me want to get back on my Magnum project - . I just have so many other projects hanging right now. Yep, Marshall, I checked and saw that my 27 sport does not have those smaller secondary stringers outside of the center keel stringer. I had planned to make more support in that area like the 28SS Cigarette, however. Bill

[dammmagnum]

Scippy,

Yes the insert area in the deck layup is thin 1/4" plywood. the rest of the deck coring is thicker balsa. I'll post a pic of the transom cutout, its 1/2" pure glass, 2"of plywood and 1/4"inside glass skin. I didn't realize the sports did not have those middle stringers, if you look in the post of the starfire farmertx saw, that one had additional strips diagonally glassed on to the bottom. I was wondering if that was orig. Anyway, its a little disheartening now seeing her ripped up but hopefully she will look like new and really fly when I'm done.

Marshall

Do you know what ever happened with the Starfire that farmertx had found?
is it still sitting out there , what were the storage fees?

Please keep us updated on your progress. I am sure it will look better then new when you get done with it.

Thank you
Jim

[dammmagnum]

You guys are making me want to get back on my Magnum project - . I just have so many other projects hanging right now. Yep, Marshall, I checked and saw that my 27 sport does not have those smaller secondary stringers outside of the center keel stringer. I had planned to make more support in that area like the 28SS Cigarette, however. Bill

Bill,

My old 27 sport did not have any extra stringers either. Parnell is rebuilding the hull now afer he picked it up in NJ
I would think that the StarFires were getting the extra stringers as they were getting the BBC/Merc engines or the BPM engines

Thank you
Jim

[MDonziM]

Marshall

Do you know what ever happened with the Starfire that farmertx had found?
is it still sitting out there , what were the storage fees?

Please keep us updated on your progress. I am sure it will look better then new when you get done with it.

Thank you
Jim

Jim,

I never heard what if anything happened to that other starfire.

Started recoring some of the deck last night, post more pics tomorrow.

MM

[MDonziM]

You guys are making me want to get back on my Magnum project - . I just have so many other projects hanging right now. Yep, Marshall, I checked and saw that my 27 sport does not have those smaller secondary stringers outside of the center keel stringer. I had planned to make more support in that area like the 28SS Cigarette, however. Bill

Bill,

What I thought was interesting was in that starfire that FarmerTX posted pics of you can see diagonal strips of reinforcement on the bottom of the eng comp. That hull had smallblocks from the factory.

Marshall

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Bill,

What I thought was interesting was in that starfire that FarmerTX posted pics of you can see diagonal strips of reinforcement on the bottom of the eng comp. That hull had smallblocks from the factory.

Marshall

That is pretty much what my plans are. I can't find a picture of the Ciagarette 28, but that is what I plan to copy. I once had one and was impressed by the engine compartment strength - especially if I install the 800HP engine I bought for the Magnum. Bill

[scippy]

Bill,

What I thought was interesting was in that starfire that FarmerTX posted pics of you can see diagonal strips of reinforcement on the bottom of the eng comp. That hull had smallblocks from the factory.

Marshall

Marshall, Bill,

I found this picture of a '77 sport with the beefed up "X" reinforcement in the bottom of the engine bay www.kennedyautomarine.com