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Hello All, the questions are at the bottom and made bold. just wanted to give some preface Im in the process of picking up a project square windsheild 'bu. it will be my first true inboard boat (yes, im really excited for it). the hull looks to be in great shape, only one hit on the keel towards the bow of the boat. the floors are solid, i removed the board behind the engine and the plywood looked like new. the seats are rough and wherever there are rips the wood frame has rotted through. the strut, driveshaft and rudder seem to replaced in recent times, all solid with little to no play. i love the retro look of it, reminds me of the era of pop up head lamps and synth pop. So far, im aware that: -ill likely have to replace the stringers in the future (although when i went to see the boat in person, i poked around the engine mounts and the wood seemed solid). -replace/remodel interior (its a shame since its the original and its not too far gone. ill try to maintain the retro feel of this interior) -make new swim platform and brackets out of teak and alu-minimum Upgrades im hoping to install: -tower and bimini (ordered an origin catapult w/ collapsible bimini; was debating whether i should get a top mount roswell area 53, but ended going with a side mount due to concerns over the structural integrity of the deck. often im towing around 200lb dudes who can cut real hard) -ballast system (bags for now, but when the new interior is going in, ill probably make hard tanks under rear seats and in the ski locker, with level sender and a microchip w/ screen to control it) -perfect pass (just not sure whether gps or paddle wheel; any advise here will go a long way) -nav system/fish finder (yea itll be used for some light fishing... go figure) -heater core and fan (here in canada, our lakes hardly go above 18 degrees celsius, this one is must and will probably go in with the new interior) -surfpipe on the exhaust -maybe trim/surf tabs (would like to see how far the stock hull with the addition of a wedge will get us. from what i understand, these sytems are mostly used to clean up the wake if the boat is imbalanced. i could be entirely wrong on that) question time! What engine is usually found in these boats? looks like a chevy 350 to me but id want to confirm that before ordering all new consumable parts (carburetor, starter, distributor, alternator, water pump, thermostat, fuel pump and so on) What performance modifications have people been sucessful with? im thinking carb, intake manifold, camshafts. the exhaust systems on these boats im not familliar with and not sure how to gain performance there. What are the benefits of a gps cruise control vs paddlewheel? apart from the obvious of more consistency. can you really justify the extra money if you are not a tournament rider? Do I absolutely need a tandem axle trailer? The boat is being sold with a 2005 single axle correct craft trailer. at only 3000lbs can i justify upgrading the trailer? Any other details I should pay antention to when I go water test the boat? basically is there anything that i should look at and possibly step away from the deal if its not operating as it should. thanks for the help everyone. ive looked through the forums many times over, but its hard to find much information on these older boats.