TOPIC: Newbie

It never ceases to amaze me that there are forums for just about anything your interested in. What a great way to share and learn. I was very happy to find this forum! I have belonged to many car forums in the past but have lost interest in them for the most art do to the bickering etc.

I have just purchased a early seventies Buehler that is all original and unmolested and in really good shape along with the original Tee Nee trailer that it came with.

I am not sure what I will do with it yet. The interior is faded but that is all. Everything else is all there and working. I feel fortunate to have found this boat as I always liked jet boats and this is a classic. The wife might not like the noise so I might have to call on the James Bond girl who ran out of gas in one of these boats in Thunderball! She may not look as good today however so maybe I will just stick with my honey.

Thanks to the guy who started this forum. I already have learned alot about this boat!

Welcome! That is a sharp looking boat. This forum has been great, and 99.9% free of bickering and politics. There is a 70's sub forum here as well. Lets see some more pics of that thing. Have you dunked it yet?

Hey Newbie what happens when your not a newbie no more? Nice boat and welcome aboard. I see a Pa registration on that boat. Where in Pa are you? I'm in Kittanning and there is a good representation in the state here.

The boat is not in PA anymore.....I purchased it there. I have not dunked it yet. It has not been in the water in two years. A barn find to be sure. It has had only three owners which is amazing when you think about the age. Its pretty much spotless in all respects. It's missing one spotlight which I am trying to find. Other than that its all there. I think this was the last year they built this model. Your information on this forum says they quit making this boat in 1971, but the bat title is 1974. It could been left over in dealer stock.
The people I bought from said they went back to the original dealer who sold the boat to purchase an aged hose. ( still in business) and a mechanic recognized the hose. He said " thats off a Buehler!) Thats pretty amazing. He had worked there 34 years as it turns out and the same dealer had been servicing that boat until recently.I have no idea of the worth of this boat these days but they are hard to find. I love the picture of Sean Connery with the chick hanging off the back of this boat....thats some trivia! Everybody liked Thunderball..I am dating myself now however so I better shutup! I will send some more pictures soon.

Johnny Rocket,

WELCOME to the forum. PURTY BOAT!

yours, satx

welcome johnny,its great to meet ya.
you will find all good folks here,all willing to help out.
thats a great boat a nice find,john

Thanks everybody for the welcome. one question. I am going to be looking for the other spot light. I am sure that the manufacture probably made this light for other boats as well. I will post a picture up when I get a chance. I would also like to find a spare jet drive that I could rebuild. I actually found one on antique boats but no reply.
Thanks J

Hello Johnny,

I sent you an email. I bought some parts from this gentleman, and he had offered me a Jet drive that I didn't need. He may still have it.

Did you get any brochures / manuals, or anything else you could post to the Library here?

My 1962 Buehler restoration has started. Photos will be coming soon! I would sure love to see more of yours.

All the best...
Rick

Hello Rcik..thanks for the info although his email did not show up?
Yes I did get ALL the manuals...ALL the original paperwork. Whatever came with the boat when purchased I received. I could post everything. Probably needs to go into a pdf file because its extensive. I will post pictures for sure. I buffed on the boat some and its like a new boat. This truly was a barn find that had been covered for years. Even the dual tire TEE NEE trailer the boat came with is perfect. We pulled it 75 MPH like it was nothing.

Unfortunetly one of the " Buehler Turbocraft" side emblems fell off the boat during the trip. Not sure where I will find those. By 1971 he had gotten cheap with the emblems and they were made out of plastic. Nevertheless its gone. How will I ever find an emblem like that? One of the " Taylor Made" spotlights is missing but everything else is there as the boat was manufactured. Very unmolested boat. Never restored because it never needed it and probably never will as long it is taken care of. I do not think there is many hours on this boat. I would say no more than 200-300 hrs at the best.
What would a boat like this sell for today in this market?

Hello Johnny,

I resent the email address, sorry. He might also have the other parts you're looking for. If not could you please take a closer photo of the spot light & emblem that you do have and post on this thread.

If you need assistance in copying and posting you have my address. I will return everything sent to me. I know how long it takes to scan and post here since I supplied all the stuff for the '62. Now that AT&T doubled my internet speed doing things on this site isn't as time consuming.

Looks like a great find ! One or two stage jet ?? 1971 ?

Here's a few pics of the one I restored............

shareaproject.com/projectThumbs.php?p=267

Good luck !

I have seen this before. Great looking boat but worth I am sure. I hope these old boats take on some meaning for people. The car market rules with classics.I will be posting some pictures but the nice thing about this boat it does not need too much in the way of restoration. It was a barn find wit everything nice and solid. I am looking for a couple of parts is all. Even the interior is in good shape with the exception of the carpet which is worn some.
I am looking for a 19 ft boat next. I know I wont be so lucky to get one in this good shape. The title says 1973 but sold in 1974. When did they REALLY stop making these boats? I wonder?

As far as the jet I am not sure what it is..........it says its a 3 stage pump and the drawing/sketch that I have show 3 impellers. I want to have it taken apart and checked out......its been sitting along time. Not sure If I want to take a chance on running it/ruining it because something is siezed etc.

Three is good........Check out the cutlass bearing..It might be dried out and needs to be replaced.........I had a machine shop do mine but you will only know if it is bad once you fire it up in the water..... Might get other opinions but most likely you will need to do some work on it since it has been siting for awhile.

I pulled mine apart and checked it out good before running it.....

All the best........

Help me out with the Cutlass Bearing.....which one is it and how do you check it? I hope to get some numbers to see what I really have.
Trivia: DID John Buehler sell out in 1966? And When did they actually stop building them?
I would like to know if we could get a registery going with hull numbers etc to get a better idea of when these boats were built in the stream of time?

Got to remove it, pull it apart and inspect it...No small task but can be done...Best to do it before, not after...... JM2c's

Nice boat Johnny. It sounds like your boat came with a lot of info, so I may tell you some things you already know……but here’s what I can tell you about it and some answers to your questions.

As the paperwork may indicate, the model is a Caballero. I believe they started making that model in ’68. If the engine is original, it should be a Chrysler 273 or 318 (200 and 225 hp respectively).

Buehler stopped producing boats around ’71-’72. Titles on these boats are often inaccurate because, over the years, they may have been reissued when boats changed hands, states, etc. It’s pretty common to see people listing these boats for sale under the wrong year. Buehler hull tags contained very little info and people subsequently use other things to determine year (registration history, engine date codes, etc.).

To your question/curiosity about the Buehler manufacturing records (hull ID’s, etc.). I’m told that these are/were in the hands of some descendants of John Buehler. I know a couple of people who used to work for both Buehler and Indiana Gear Works and, apparently, some attempts/inquiries were made to obtain these records…..to no avail. By the sounds of it, the records probably wouldn’t divulge much as Buehler’s production process could have been described as “loose”. These boats are a bit like snowflakes……..no two will be identical. This is especially true of the earlier years when they were, essentially, experimenting/developing as they went along. You’ll find some more consistency among the boats of your year……the years of Virgil Exner’s designs (automotive designer that Buehler hired in 67’ish). Even still, the factory would, apparently, accommodate special requests made by buyers.

As far as worth/value, if your boat is as pristine as it sounds, you might find a Buehler nut who'd pay $3,000-4,000’ish. Unfortunately, Buehlers have a couple of strikes against them, value-wise. The first is, of course, the economy…..which has had an impact on all classic boats. The second, and most unfortunate, is that Buehlers are almost too rare and obscure. In other words, most people (including a lot of classic boat enthusiasts) simply aren’t familiar with Buehlers. They don’t have the mainstream name recognition of other classics. Also, while those of us who love these boats love the experience of driving them, a lot people found/find navigating a Buehler to be rather cumbersome and, quite frankly, not-so-enjoyable. Jet boats have their advantages and disadvantages and these boats are the earliest examples of the technology. None of this is meant to be a knock. As a Buehler owner, I’d love to see these boats gain both recognition and value.

Pulling/checking the bearing on your pump isn’t too big of a deal. However, to determine what exactly, is seized, I’d start by disconnecting the drive shaft from both the pump and motor……..then, carefully attempt to turn each independently. If you’re planning to fire that engine out of the water, you don’t want that shaft connected anyway……as you should never dry-spin the pump.

Post back as you work your way through the boat. I’m happy to help where I can.