1979 Donzi Hornet II

1979 Donzi

Price: Contact seller
Condition: Used
Make: Donzi
Year: 1979
Location: Closter, New Jersey, United States

Description

NO RESERVE!!!!
Up for sale is my 1979 Donzi Hornet II which has been fully restored. I will touch base on all the specs in this posting. Please read the entire add before asking questions that may have been answered.

First and foremost, the only reason I am selling this boat is to help pay down some debt. I DO NOT want to sell this boat. I have invested more than my asking price without what I paid to purchase the boat. This boat has been in the family since the early 1990's and always maintained. If you are family with Donzi's or older boatssuch as Cigarettes and Magnum Marines, you should be well aware of howexpensive it is to restore a boat.
Little History:Boat was originally from Minnesota and used a few times by the first owner. The first owner neglected the boat let it sit in his backyard for years. The builder and previous owner purchased the boat in the late 1980's and stored the boat in an indoor garage until work was performed.

I believe it was 1995, the restoration started. Theentire boat was striped down. Windshield removed, all moldings, every single nut and bolt. Allelectrical wires were removed and the cap of the boat was taken off. All the original stringers were removed and with new ones installed. The entire bottom (interior) of the boat was redone. The builder stated he spend nearly $18,000.00 on materials torestore the bottom half of the boat, which included allfiberglass and epoxy. This boat is much stronger now then it was when it was build from factory. The top half of the boat was restored and repainted. The tophalf received newgauges, new steering wheel, 50 gallon gas tank, lights, windshield and trim. Once the boat was put back together, the exterior of the boat was placed on arotisserie and sprayed with imron paint.
The original engine, transmission, and exhaust system was removed and replaced with a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle 4 bolt block
To keep things easier to follow, lets fast forward to 2013.
I finally purchased the boat and was mine. I decided to redone the engine and "freshen" things up. I removed the 1970's 454 that was in the boat and dropped it off at RPM Engines in Westwood, New Jersey. I advised the builder "Doc" that I wanted a fully built engine with all quality internals. The block was checked for cracks, etc etc. I bought all new forged internals; Crank, Rods and Pistons. I bored the engine .30, the compression is 8.5-1. The heads are edlebrock marine performer rpm heads with all crane internals; push rods, roller rockers and valves. I went with a crane comp roller cam.
The engine has maybe 20 hours on it and was only used in fresh water 5 times. The motor is perfectly healthy, sounds absolutely beautiful and runs absolutely phenomenal. I have all paperwork for the engine build.
I bought brand new Stainless Marine exhaust manifolds and risers mounted to a 3" gil stainless steal tip. The exhaust has a 1970's corvette 750cc carburetor which was rebuilt summer of 2015 by Steves Carburetors in Lyndhurst, New Jersey. The motor mounts for the motor are custom to allow that engine to mount and sit properly in the boat. The TRS drive and transmission were fully rebuilt in the late 2000's and has zero issues. I know the TRS drive is an old and "obsolete" but the drive was removed from a 40' cruiser which was mated to a 454 (boat had twin engines and drives). The drive/transmission was opened up and fully rebuilt with all forged internals. This drive is pretty much bullet proof. I don't think you will ever "destroy" this drive. Specifically since it was designed to push a 40' boat which weights triple of what my boat does. I have never had any issues what so ever with the drive, engages into gear smoothly and works as it should. The drive is mated to a 24inch prop. The boat moves!
The boat has a gil stainless steel water strainer, gil stainless steel exhaust tips, exhaust tip housing, I bought new new oil and power steering pump oil coolers in the spring of 2014. I bought a brand new steering piston, installed new cables for the steering as well.
I am honestly forgetting somethings but I replaced just about every single nut and bolt when I rebuilt the engine. I had the drives removed and has all new seals installed, new gimble housings, new TRS drive pistons (lift the drive up and down) all brand new and replaced. Money was not a factor when I decided to fix all the issues.
The bad:
The boat is a 1979 and even though the boat was redone in the mid 1990's there are some small stress cracks which is common on all fiber glass boats. The stress cracks are on the rear of the boat where the latch is. The interior does show very slight fading but overall is in good shape.
The Tachometer doesn't work perfectly
The engine bay was painted Battleship Gray and some areas need to be slightly touched up.
If you have any questions, please call me I could explain more on the phone then in this listing. I also am incontact with the original builder if you have any questions.
I will guarantee you will not find a more solid boat than what I have for sale. This boat in todays day and age would cost someone over 60-80k toduplicate.I look at the follow as arealistic approach to duplicate what I have
Purchase a Donzi Hornett $12,000.00-$15,000.00Fiberglass work and paint-$20,000.00Interior $6,000.00-$8,000.00Motor and Drive $12,000
Without even getting into more details, just what I mentionedabove would cost someone at least $50,000.00. I WANT a fraction of that.

Trailer:Load Ritegalvanizedaluminum in great condition. I replaced all four wooden bunks and installed new carpet.All bearings were packed and are in good shapeBrakes are in good shape as wellEverything works as it should
201-913-5613
If you areserious about purchasing the boat, please call me and ask specific questions you may have. If you need more or better pictures, let me know.
This is a short video of the builder tuning the carbs last year. I only took the boat out in the water one time last season. Please click thelink!
The boat is filthy in the pictures, I will have the boat professionallydetailed for the new buyer!

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