Should I Save This 40 Year Old Speed Boat?! 1983 Scarab 38 KV

I’ve been on a quest lately to find more old school power and speed boats to bring back to life. Well, I found one! This 1983 Scarab 38 KV has been sitting unattended and abandoned for 10 years. It has been heavily modified over the years and has some major $$$ upgrades. But, many systems and components are worse for wear and as with many old boats, slowly rotting away. Is it even worth fixing up something like this? Can a speed boat turned full race be brought back to its former glory and run 85+ MPH again? I guess I’ll have to find out!

The boat comes with twin 500+ CI big blocks making at least 550 HP a piece. It had super chargers on it at one point but now is naturally aspirated. It has the old school Mercruiser M3 racing sterndrives with custom lower units. I think I’m in love…

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Ben@BoatRestorationByBen.com

Welcome to Boat Restoration by Ben! This is a channel based around all things boat and yacht restoration related. Despite my best judgement, I buy boats that need A LOT of work and fix them up myself. I grew up boating at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, went to school to become an engineer, worked at John Deere for 5 years, and then decided to give it all up to pursue my dream to work in the recreational boat industry. I am now on my 13th boat project! From $100 boats to 60 year old relics, I started small and worked my way up. Now having since moved to the Chesapeake Bay area, my mission is to share with the world my love and passion for mechanics and wrenching through my marine projects all while teaching you how to enjoy boats on a budget. Enjoy!