Allison XST18 Restoration Complete

[freeebird]

1977 model with original SMP trailer fitted with the original Allison made, fiberglass fenders. Everything on the trailer is new, including Cragar S/S wheels and tires that go on Monday morning. Still have to refinish the fenders and add some striping, then she'll be ready to go.

Picked it up yesterday from Kevin Bryant at Smokey Mountain Boat Repair who did a full composite restoration along with new carpet and lots of other upgrades. The original gel came back nicely. Left there and took it to its birthplace for new decals, and I ordered some new seats which should be ready in about four weeks. This one belonged to my late brother, and I restored it in his memory. Motor is a 1989 and hasn't been run since the last time we went fishing a few months before he died on 02/04/2013. Looking forward to firing it up (or at least trying to) later today. Planning to sell the JohnRude and dropping a black motor on it soon.

[Ted Stryker]

cool boat and cooler story.. You're gonna enjoy it, they're quite light for a basser and deceivingly fast with a little power

[freeebird]

cool boat and cooler story.. You're gonna enjoy it, they're quite light for a basser and deceivingly fast with a little powerThanks! I've only driven it a handful of times when we fished out of it together, but those boats were WAY ahead of their time. That hull design was the first to break 100 back in the day.

It's definitely never been set up for speed, and I honestly don't remember what it would run. I'm guessing 70 shouldn't be too hard to get with that 140 with the right setup.

[Ted Stryker]

sounds about right.. my dad had an 81' xst with a 79' merc 150.. It would run into the 70's with a 26p chopper.. His interior was carpetless, just vinyl textured.. boat was black/blue with black gel coated compartment lids and impressively hot to the knee come summertime

[Ted Stryker]

And at the time in 1986 it had probably the biggest livewell I'd seen in a bassboat

[freeebird]

sounds about right.. my dad had an 81' xst with a 79' merc 150.. It would run into the 70's with a 26p chopper.. His interior was carpetless, just vinyl textured.. boat was black/blue with black gel coated compartment lids and impressively hot to the knee come summertimeNone of the old Allison's had carpeted decks or lids. They were hot and slicker than dammitt, especially when wet. We went with carpet which ended up costing about the same vs the labor to bring back those textured areas. The weight penalty is negligible, but its WAY more comfortable.

[Hot Shot Merc]

Thats awesome man. Looks great!

[TackleJoe]

Pm sent 07-14-21