Picked up a cheap 252

[MrDawson]

Well, I was making a post on a captains call install on my 252 and was referred to this site by Thunder550. I wish I would have found this one first. Either way here I am so i'll get started. I I found a 1990 Cobalt 252 on Craigslist for $8500. Needed cleaned up real bad and almost no pics. I drove out to the marina and gave it a look over. The boat was a complete mess, no cover on, some interior panels taken off and no telling what all it was really missing. They took the boat in for some carb issues and had the marina was working on it. The carburetor had been worked on and still wasn't completely put back together. Needless to say the boat wasn't going to run. The owner said that the carb had needed some work and wasn't running right. The owner said he had been waiting for months on the marina to get it running so he could list it and sell but they apparently didn't have this job as a priority. The owner did however have $8500 in receipts for a completely rebuilt 454 installed by the marina 2 years prior. It seemed like a pretty big gamble seeing how it didn't run and appeared to have been picked at. I offered $4,000. The owner wasn't interested at first but got back within a couple hours and told me if I wanted it to go get it and he would pay off the marina and square up with me the next week when I got in town. Here is my project Cobalt.

[MrDawson]

After putting everything back together with the carburetor and running a little fresh fuel I had it running in about 2 hours. The issue was gunk built up in the filter on the carb. The engine runs like a top now. I had gone through the interior and put the side panels back together and gave it a real good cleaning. The interior actually cleaned up pretty well for its age considering it had been outside for quite some time with no cover. I can't seem to find the pics so i'll add them when I get a chance.

[MrDawson]

Next the heavily oxidized gelcoat need polished. At appeared that at some point in time they may have tried to clear coat over the gel to prevent it from oxidizing. Most of the clear had flaked off but there was a small section that held up. You can see a small line in the center of the boat where the clear meets up. I wet sanded 600,800,1000,1200,1500, 2000 and then a 3 step 3M polishing kit. After it was buffed out, I put a couple coats of fleet wax on to help protect the finish. Everything turned out pretty well considering where it started. I had also replace the Cobalt emblems with some aftermarket emblems I ordered from Ebay. They are not the heavy chrome letters that came on the boat originally but the thinner emblems you see on the newer Cobalts. They still look pretty nice and most would not notice unless I pointed it out.

[AsLan7]

Hey, that's a great Cobalt project, MrDawson. She's cleaning up beautifully. Nice job on the engine too. Sounds like you got a real bargain.
With T550 on your side, this thing will be done tomorrow.

In any event, so glad you found us! Thank you for some awesome pics too!!!

Keep 'em coming my friend.

....And, welcome aboard mate!
.

[Big Block Power]

Welcome from Wisconsin. Yea that clear coat is a pain to sand off. Your going to go at that for awhile. I would get rid of all of it. Good luck. Glad your cleaning it up. I've seen those emblems on eBay for years. I just like the factory ones. It's a cobalt thing to me. Say hi to the t555000 for us.

[Bfun220]

Welcome from wisconsin also.
Sounds like she's been through some rough times.
Nice to see you bringing her back to life. And yes, more pictures please.

[thunder550]

Welcome MrDawson, glad you made it over here! Looking forward to seeing you fix that boat up. Mine started a little rough too (although not as much as yours), and it's been a lot of fun getting it back to looking nice and running well. Can't wait to see more pics! Have you had her out on the water yet?

I started over on THT as well, seems to be mostly saltwater guys with little interest in either I/O or "lake boats". Definitely a lot of knowledge, but their bias towards our style boat being inferior is pretty evident IMO.

Anyway, welcome, this is a great group of people here, happy to have you join up

[Ytmsn]

Welcome from Oklahoma! Glad to see another Cobalt coming back to life!

[Driller]

Welcome MrDawson, great job on that boat!!

[MrDawson]

Hey all, Thanks for all of the inspiration. I'm not sure if I am going to be going to the extent that t550 did on his but definitely going to get it cleaned up just a little bit more. I did get it out on the water last year and surprisingly it ran like a top! The old Lowrance depth finder wasn't working properly and the fuel sender unit seemed a little wonky when i get down to a 1/4 tank. I plan on heading out to the lake where I keep my boat and doing a little more clean up as well as the fuel sender. I'll take some more pics and get them posted when I get back. Have any of you guys had to deal with clear over the gelcoat? I was told the previous owner had probably had someone spray a clear over the gel to keep it from oxidizing. less maintenance I guess.

[Big Block Power]

It's a lot of wet sanding that's all I have to say. Keep using fresh paper. Prob stay with 600 grit. You will go through allot of paper. Depends how thick the clear is too. I used a palm sander and pretty much burned a cheap one up.