Sinker saga continued

[JIMBO]

I have been watching this site for about 9 months now as im in the market for a v drive tournament boat and would love a Toyota epic sx. I have seen the one in texas for 30 000 and talked to Bitzko about his current boat for sale for 22 000 I think it was and have even looked his old sinker (HIN TMME0012A101) that was for sale in Surrey B.C. Canada about 6 months ago for 20 000. I did my research and saw a few guys get warned about the sinker but kept the sellers number and thought I would see what I could do about it as it has been claimed to have been rebuilt with awesome compression and has new upholstery and the fact that is sank in 2004 lead me to believe any problems that were going to arise would have already done so. Im a do it yourself guy with enough knowhow to tackle almost anything on a boat and with a tight budget im aware im looking for a boat in need of work.

I contacted the broker who currently has the sunk boat and bartered my way down over several conversations to 13 500. A fair price I figured if the boat checked out mechanically and gave me some wiggle room for several small fixes I figured I would have. I had the boat checked out today in Surrey and talked the tech from the Centurion dealer into letting me get involved with the inspection and this is what we found…

bad stuff

cracked V drive with milky yellowish oil that filled up right to the top with water as we ran the boat confirming the leak
alternator isn’t charging the batteries

one of the engine pulleys is gone and making lots of noise

valve lifters and in bad shape and making lots of bad noise that wasn’t a laque of oil from sitting as we ran the boat for a good amount of time and the noise continued

none of the gauges work

engine warning light is on

bad ground in the trailer as the lights flicker while driving (not the truck or the main connection as I installed a brand new one this morning after a dog chewed the original off)

trailer has been cranked a bit on the rear left and the upright is loose and bent

all 4 tires were flat but held air for the a few hours I was around after filling

whole boat is green with gung inside and out from sitting out in the rainy city of surrey

throttle cable is wrecked and barley works

paint coming off the tower

both rear towing eyes have hair line cracks in fiberglass

looks like the boat has perfect pass but its disconnected

toung jack is a replacement as the original is missing

the good

the hull looks really good with only one tiny chip the size of a dime on the middle left bottom that i could see

upholstery although grungy appears would clean up real nice and has been replaced, the Toyota emblem back middle is in perfect shape

engine oil looks fine

after discovering the problems we called it quits so I could avoide paying for a second hour so a compression test was not conducted though the sellers action report from when he bought the boat out of California last year reports 180psi something across the board as stated by him and someone else on this site previously interested in the boat. The top end was apparently rebuilt but that doesn’t explain the bad lifters/valves ?
I called it quits and opted out of a sea trial (rain storm) so im not sure about leaks
seller claims to have 15 000 into the boat and was prepared to alegadly sell at a loss to me and wasn’t to happy about the bad news (I released the findings to him through the mechanics).
This could be an awesome find for someone who has the space to store/part this thing out or someone with the knowhow to fix it up if the price was low enough. To big of a project for me at this point unfortunately as Im sure there are several unseen problems yet to arise.

What do you guys think ?

[wakejunky]

ill keep it short                    RUN- DONT LOOK BACK

[tenn162000]

Sounds like... It Sank

Same reason you don't buy a car with water/flood damage.  Water just gets in places it shouldn't.   Its a bit ironic being on a boat, but the same holds true. 

[JIMBO]

peter is the broker who has the boat  (778) 829 6582

he has had the boat for over a year now and is aware of the issues. one of you guys must have a use for this boat. they only made 50 sx models and its full of good parts

[ScarabEpic22]

Dont. Unless you (I mean YOU) plan on tearing it down COMPLETELY, rebuilding EVERYTHING, rewiring EVERYTHING, just walk away.

My 87 Wellcraft Scarab was sunk in 89 or 90, until 2 years ago when ALL of the wiring was redone I was still chasing electrical gremlins. Have it sorted out now, but we didnt realize it was as bad as it was.

[ScarabEpic22]

Side note, if it's an E22/X22 with a factory tower Id be interested in driving up from Seattle and buying the tower.

[JIMBO]

its a 2001 sx with white factory tower

[lilfoo2225]

just a fyi. the heads are shim under bucket solid. so not really lifters. just buckets. they are noisy when they are not hydraulic. great for performance but loud and a pita when doing valve lash!

[toyotafreak]

Bottom line, these are great boats and there are enough of them out there - you can do better. Don't get hung up on SX. The S22 has same hull, most have towers, and there's lots of them. Have a little patience and a great one will pop.

BTW, does anyone know what the v-drive boatds in good condition have been going for lately?

Anyone heard from Pete lately?

[ktdust]

Jimbo,

If your looking for an SX, try this one. It's in Utah but I don't think this one's a sinker. $20500 for an SX might be worth the $ to have it shipped.

http://www.boattrader.com/listing/2001-Toyota-Epic-SX22-352172

[toyboat]

I know that you are looking for an SX, but I have an S 22 for sale with 174 hrs in perfect condition. Its posted under Boats.