Project...F206LS

[FormulaMatt]

Here is my 1986 Formula 206. I bought it in September of 2007 from a marina in Connecticut. It had no trailer and I was told it needed head gaskets. The guy that owned it got behind on his storage fees and they put a lien on it. He in turn just mailed them the title. I sent them my offer and they took it. I bought a trailer and headed from Columbus Ohio to Connecticut to pick it up. I got it back here and took it straight to have the gaskets replaced and have it looked through. Come to find out, the head gaskets were not bad, but the block was cracked making the oil and water mix. At this point we decided to build up a proper stroker for it.

That's where it all started. I was just going to do the engine and leave it be, but ended up restoring the whole boat from the interior, electronics, engine, outdrive, to the trailer. All of it is new, except the trailer, which was basically rebuilt.

Ill start my pics from the time I picked it up in Connecticut all the way through the restoration to the first splash this past Febuary. It now does have the Formula birds and Formula letters for the stock locations, I just have not got them put on yet.

[FormulaMatt]

A few of the old engine...Believe it or not - this thing actually ran pretty well for having 2 broken push rods!

[FormulaMatt]

The new engine. It now also has new manifold and risers. The pipes were not high enough and I was worried about water coming back into the engine.

[FormulaMatt]

Stripping her down....

[FormulaMatt]

[FormulaMatt]

[Airpacker]

Get a taller garage door



























Nice job. Looks good.

[FormulaMatt]

Get a taller garage door

Nice job. Looks good.

HAHA...thanks. I wish it would fit in there. I can get it backed in and about half of it fits in there. I'm able to make it work for doing any engine work but that's about it.

[C_Spray]

Wow! I didn't think that the graphics looked stock, but I didn't realize that you'd already done a complete restoration/makeover of the boat. Nicely done; I love the silver/black combination. How's the second-generation bilge work coming along?

[FormulaMatt]

Wow! I didn't think that the graphics looked stock, but I didn't realize that you'd already done a complete restoration/makeover of the boat. Nicely done; I love the silver/black combination. How's the second-generation bilge work coming along?

I can tell you are a silver owner also. Most people call mine black and grey and it annoys the hell out of me. Small thing to get annoyed over, but still....

I have the engine out. I'm planning on cleaning it and prepping it this weekend.

[old377guy]

good job; sure brings back memories of my brothers 202? Formula that we completely re-did. that hull was a great ride.

[Perlmudder]

nice job! looks killer! how fast was it before the engine died?

[C_Spray]

C'mon Matt - We need those empty bilge/stripped engine photos...

[FormulaMatt]

Have not been able to work on the bilge yet, but here is a few shots of the stripped engine. The assembled pic is from when it was together. It is all apart now getting all freshened up. I'm also going to go with a forged bottom end this time and lower my compression. I want to eventually add a little boost.

Any suggestions on pistons? The block was as fresh as it gets and is a standard bore right now. I will probably go 30 over this time, if needed.

[FormulaMatt]

On a side note, does anyone know the difference between becoming a supporter and a contributor? The description of the membership is the same but the price is different.

[C_Spray]

Time for more updates.....

[Ted]

Absolutely time for more updates. Looks like you have done some great work so far. You might want to put your piston question into the tech section so some of our tech guys can help out. The different payment levels are there for people that asked to contribute more, we are looking into changing the structure soon but no one will lose any privileges, in fact most will gain some
Keep posting your progress, that's a great boat.

[FormulaMatt]

Sorry everyone for the lack of updates, for some reason it did not tell me there was any replies. hmmm.

Anyway, being in Ohio it has now become too cold to do anything else for the time being.

The engine bay is cleaned and prepped for paint, although, I'm sure I will need to prep again in the spring. I did manage to get some wiring mess cleaned up and my trailer completed. It now has fresh paint, lights, boards, etc. I will get busy in the spring. I will have the engine ready to drop in before its nice enough to go out though. No more missed boating for me!


Here are a few (crappy) pics to show the trailers progress.

[FormulaMatt]

I finally got some time (and cooperative weather) to work on the Formula. I am getting the bilge ready for paint. Today I got it all washed down and did a general assessment of how its going to go. Basically, it's going to be a ***** to do. But, it needs it so I will suck it up.

First to be worked on was the hatch. I got the hatch off and separated it from the sun pad. I got it all stripped of the hardware and sanded it down just enough to rough it up some. The product I am using is call Bilgekote by Interlux. This stuff is pretty easy to work with. I picked it because it is known for being VERY easy to work with, extremely durable, and can be applied virtually by any means you can think of. I rolled it on. I had read it lays down extremely well and boy did it. It looks like it was sprayed on. It covered great. I will probably go back and do one more coat, but I could easily get by with just one.

After that I started working on the bilge itself and did not get too far before dark came. More to come on this later.

Here are some pics. I know, not very exciting. But hey, it's progress.

The hatch on the boat. Obviously an old picture as that engine is long gone.

[old377guy]

I'm very impressed, that trailer really makes the package pop. I think that you should go with black bottom paint separated from the hull paint with dual platinum stripes - 3/4 inch lower with a 1/2 (APPROX.) separation then the 1/4 inch stripe above. You can always easily retouch bottom paint with a brush; I used to do it occasionally on my old 377 with black bottom paint as I would regularly beach the boat in gravelly sand. You've picked a great color scheme - black and platinum - as any color you may accent with will work beautifully. The old 202 that my brother and I redid was red with black bottom paint and looked good but not as good as your 206. Keep us posted. - Jeff