1980 HydroStream Vamp resto-mod

I picked up some clear plexi today, unfortunately it was not long enough by about 1 inch. So I took it back and got some more, going to mark it out tonight and hopefully get it cut tomorrow.

 

All traced out onto the plexi. I feel like I will be best to cut one side, then flip it over to the other side and trace it again to make sure both sides are the same. I know it wont really matter as you will never notice if one side is slightly different than the other, but it will make me feel better.

Going to use a jigsaw to make the cuts, I want to put a few more layers of tape down though to make sure I dont get any scratches from the saw on the finish. But the cut side will actually be the part that goes into the mounting channel, so not super concerned with it being perfectly straight.

 

Decided to order my bimini top today. I got the 8 foot long one, but I had to slightly undersize it. I needed 67 inches wide for mounting, but the 67 inch wide one is a range 67-72 inches. So that means that the top part is 72 inches wide, and you can bend the mounting bars in to get it to 67 inches. But if I got that one, when stowed it would stick out like 2 inches on each side over the back sides of the boat. Terrible look and will cause the top to hit things.
So I ordered the 61-66 inch version, this one will be 66 inches wide at the top and can be bent in down to 61 inches at the mounts. Im going to try to bend it out half an inch on each side to get that 67 inch mounting width, and it will then fit perfectly behind the rear seat without any overhang on the sides.

 

Windshield is all cut, now I just need to bend it. I did some practice bends on the left over plexi, takes a long time of heating it up to get it to start bending. Since its a rather large radius bend I will have to be extra careful where I heat and make sure its all good.

 

We have success on one side, and failure on the other side

I didnt keep the heat on the plexi while I was fitting it into the slot, so as it cooled the pressure caused it to snap.

 

Better pictures after I cleaned the glass up, rounded the corners and trimmed off the extra in the back

 

Liked for the success side.

Do you use a regular heat gun or something special?

 

Just a regular 30 year old "paint stripper" heat gun. I really wanted to put the windshield in the oven to preheat them up to like 200 degrees to make it a little easier to use the heat gun, but they are just a bit too long.

 

Would a quartz heater paint curing heater work?

I'd loan you mine but we are about 1000 miles apart.

 

It probably would, though I would want to make a box to put something like that in to keep the heat localized to the area I need to bend.

Pretty much just need something that can heat up the plexi to around 300-350 degrees.

 

Drivers side is pretty much all done now, I installed the support brace and then using my propane torch I cleaned the edges so they are nice and clear.

 

Looks really good! Nice work.

 

Looks amazing, I never would think a torch would be involved.

 

Thanks!

Yep, if you hit the edges of plexi with a torch it slightly melts it and gives it a nice smooth finish.
I had to buy a new torch to do it though as my old torch got chewed up by the squirrels with a death wish. My old one was a mapp gas torch, so I just grabbed a cheap torch head to fit my little 1lb propane bottles. The mapp gas would of been way too hot any ways.

 

Just picked up another sheet of plexi, going to try for the passenger side again. I got some new hardware and some rubber washers for mounting the support bars to the windshield, they are nice chrome acorn nuts to give it a more finished look.

Also I picked up some more marine carpet, 2 more 2x4s and 6 more bunk mounts. The trailer is super unsafe as it sits and a pain to load the boat onto. So I am putting another set of bunks right down the center to keep the boat in the middle of the trailer while loading. This will also spread the weight out a little more so its not all on just the 2 bunks.

 

Passenger side is done, just letting the silicone cure before I put the support arm in. Pretty happy with the results too, I might order some tinted acrylic and do another set.

 

Extra bunks have been carpeted and are ready to go on to the swivel brackets. Unfortunately I forgot to pick up more lag bolts to mount them
So I will have to wait till tomorrow to get out to the hardware store and pick up some.

But the plan is to bolt the bunks to the brackets, then using the bottle jack from my truck I will jack it up into the bottom of the hull. From there I can crank down the new extra beefy u bolts to hold it up. I do need to replace the janky u bolts that I used for the old bunk brackets, they are less u bolts and more just 2 straight bolts and some 1x1 box tubing with holes drilled in it. So the old ones would twist and move. Once I have the new bunks put in, it will be easy to replace the other ones and adjust the location of the outer bunks.

While I am in there, I also plan to remove the 3 keel rollers, figure out which ones are even needed with the new bunk design, and then put in brand new ones with new hardware.

I do need to do some welding on the trailer, one of the cross bars has some cracked welds that need to be fixed, and I need to fix the right rear platform that got mangled when the axle broke loose last year.

Once I get those things all fixed up, I can go ahead and paint the trailer black and finally put the registration stickers on it (if I can find them)

 

Couldnt find any vinyl that matched the seats locally, so I just threw some matching carpet onto the rear panels. They fit very nice back there and is much better than bare fiberglass for the kids.

 

That looks great. Nice work!

 

New bunks have been put in, I also was able to replace the front most "u bolts" on the old bunks. But I need to hang the back of the boat for safety before I tackle the middle and rear u bolts. Just need something to keep the boat from dropping down and crushing my hands while I am in there. While it should be perfectly fine the way it is, I just want to be safe on this one.

The rollers in the center feel pretty good, but the bolts and mounting points are a bit bent, loose, and rusted. So I will pull the center rollers so I can bend the metal back into shape and replace the bolts with some giant thick washers and galvanized hardware.