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72 Hustler Tunnel (sanity in question )

redstrat

redstrat

Well-known member
:eyecrazy: OK, here is what I dragged home today. I promised my wife that I wouldn't touch it until I put a second bathroom in our house. So for now it will reside with the 72 MX-16, under cover, behind the barn. I had my eye on it for a couple of years. It's been sitting uncovered next to a trailer not far from where I live. I stopped and left a note on the door and it seems I hit the guy at the right time. It was to be a project for him and his father but his father passed away and he needed some money. I gave him $300. It has a huge jack plate, Merc dual ride guide, a hot foot and the rub rail doesn't even have a ding in it. The trailer is solid. It will be a full restoration. It was originally silver flake. I'm not finding a lot of information on the web about these boats. I know it's not the same company that just bought Checkmate. I know they have some race history but I have no idea how many were built. The layup is light (you can see sunlight through the original gel on the bottom) with no sign of any chopped strand. I think the floor has a 1/4" plywood core. I can tell someone did some work on the transom but I'm not sure if that strut configuration is original or not. If anyone has any experience with these boats or tunnel restoration in general please chime in. I'm going to pull the steering and gauges out tomorrow to store inside. Then I'll build an A frame, park it on black plastic and cover it. I wont be working on it but I'll still have some fun researching it over the winter. :D Oops, it's really a 1973

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Congrats, looks like a worthwhile project when you get the time. It doesn't have the appreaence of a tunnel from the first picture but the rest tell the story.

Jupiter Pulsare has had experiance rebuilding a tunnel. He did a Canadian Edition of the AE-21. Reach out to him for some insite.

What is the framework fastened to the floor in front of the motorwell?
 
The emblem looks like a Hydrostream knockoff.

I'm with SCT in the tie bar. Love it!

Good luck with the build. Can't wait to see the finished product!

HD
 
I spy the Hustler Tunnel with twins. A little different version of 'He Gone'!

How about the Hustler Tunnel with the cowling/fairing in between the driver and engine/s.
 
Jimway said:
I spy the Hustler Tunnel with twins. A little different version of 'He Gone'!

How about the Hustler Tunnel with the cowling/fairing in between the driver and engine/s.
Click to expand...

I noticed that Jim Umbarger was running Chrysler motors in the late sixties. I think this boat was meant to end up in my hands. I wish I had the cowling/fairing, probably impossible to find. I just might tackle making a reproduction. I can't figure out the transom bracing. It looks to be as old as the boat and glass in with similar materials. I'm going to contact the Umbarger family and see if I can get any more insight.
 
Wow look at you go! Now 2 boats on the back burner to get restored. Thought I was bad having a second boat waiting for me. Looks like a really cool boat! Sounds like you better bang out that bathroom so you can dive in on the boat work again.
 
I had a great talk with Jim Umbarger Jr. today. He designed and built the boat i picked up two weeks ago. He is 80 years old and more than willing to talk about the boat I purchased and reminisce about the days he used to race against Checkmates in the 60's and 70's. I learned that my boat is a family model, the difference being that the deck is raised about 4" higher than the race models. I commented on the light structure and he said they were all built light and race models were only intended to last one season. The steel truss on the transom is not original. The treaded rod behind the seat is also not original. He said he would go back in the records when he got a chance to see what other information he could find. He told me that being a tunnel it was very rare. I asked if he had anymore emblems lying around. He said that he kept one in his drawer. "I don't know why I threw all that stuff out years ago." Here is a racing pic of him in 1968. :thumb:

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That's a really cool story. He must of enjoy knowing one of his boats is in good hands and is going to have life pumped back into it. How's the bathroom coming ?
 
Redstrat, that is a really awesome find and will make a very fun project. This is one of those boats that will be hard not to make motorboat noises the whole time you are working on it. The history of some of these rebuilds is part of this hobby that makes it so addictive. I am very anxious to see this one in the 'shop'. Good luck and get that bathroom going;).

For the sanity part of this, as I was looking through another forum last night I did have one thought. There isn't much activity in the Completed Boat Project section and I couldn't help thinking 'Is this because for many of us there is no such thing as a completed boat project?'.
 
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