"Star 2" Miami Vice Scarab barn find!


Sonny-Crockett

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Yup-

 

Actual TV Show boat "Star 2" has been located and purchased, currently being delivered to it's new home in Wisconsin for complete RESTORATION back to original as it appeared in 1986.  

 

Please visit our Facebook page for pics, and more info.  Exciting news for sure!  

 

This is NOT the currently restored boat "Star 1" that was at the Mecum Auction that boat has been sold and is in South Carolina, this is an untouched-unrestored boat that is a time capsule of TV show history--she will once again be in full operation and 100% in working order. 

 

 

Here is the official news release of the happy new owner:

 

The 15 year search is over.

The season 2 boat known as Star 2 is in route to Wisconsin for a full restoration. 
The gentleman we purchased it from, has been the only owner since it was released from filming duties.
Always wanted to find this particular boat, because it had the same butterfly style opening race hatches as our Miami Vice Special Edition. It's sister ship had a one piece clam style hatch. 
She appeared in the season 2 episodes "Payback", "Back in the World" and "Phil the Shil"
A special thank you to Bruce Allender for passing the torch to me and to Brett M Allender for bringing the boat to our attention and also Bill Erickson from Wellcraft for all the contributing information that sealed the deal for us.

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/Wellcraft-38-KV-Scarab-Miami-Vice-Editions-149728885074292/timeline/

Edited by Sonny-Crockett
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god with how much drama there was with the TR I really hope you have the real thing lol I dont need another repeat, althought this time its stinger whos the expert not me lol

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Well it looks good! I am looking forward to seeing it completed.

As for authenticity it may indeed be the boat but I have seen so many on ebay stating "THIS IS THE TV BOAT" that you have to be a bit leary? Chris Craft only built 12 Stingers, but Wellcraft made literally hundreds of these Scarabs, thus all the mehem on ebay all the time.

They are a very nice boat and the guy I bought my Stinger from was actually buying one of the Scarabs way back when I bought my boat off him. He wanted one real bad too!

I know of two that in my area. Another one I knew of called "Champaign Flight" has disappeared??? It used to be on Lake Ontario at the marina about three miles away from me.

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Only 12 stingers? so that means that out of the selection out there, you have atleast a 10 or a 20 percent chance of having one of the boats used in the show, if you count the pilot stinger sans the Superbird wing on the back.

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Yes Kavinsky ... 12

These are the numbers I was given by a pleasant guy who is an historian from "Murry Chris Craft" Who sent me a very nice package years ago with information and the history of the company etc and lots of stuff regarding my boat which is hull number 120 or in other words the one hundred and twentieth boat built that year of production.

From what I understand they built 201 units that year and had a difficult time in the market. Miami Vice was a feather in their cap but they blew it when the re-runs started in the summer time of 1985. CC Executives were pressing Michael Mann to pay out the lease on the two boats used by MV for season one and Wellcraft stepped in giving FREE boats to the film crew and three of them to the stars including Johnson, Trudy and Switek.

The next few years Chris Craft struggled immensely and by 1992 they were in dire straits. The latter part of the 80's focused more on the smaller boats and the Stinger 260 was the most popular boat and best seller for them, so ergo they built hundreds. The 390X was cut back in production and the end of the 80's they only made a few and the colour combinations did not include what we now know as "The Miami vice Edition"

They built ONE all black boat with gold trim instead of chrome and that was for John Candy the actor. He had the boat for one year and sold it to my buddy Murry in Hamilton Ontario who owned it for more that 20 years as a family boat. I met him at Port Dalhousie one fine july sunny afternoon and he told me the story of his boat. He has since sold it when he encountered some engine trouble and the last I heard from the rumour mill is that it is being restored in Oakville Ontario.

If you go to a boat show today you can see that the smaller craft, 21-26 feet are the most popular and they are incredibly expensive!!! The craftsmanship is incredible though.

I have owned five Chris Crafts in a row over the last twenty years, as well as other brands too, but I love the CC for it's quality craftsmanship.

I love the lines and colours of the Scarab too. I knew a guy locally who had one back in 1989 and it was a very nice boat but I did not like the low windshield and the cabin was a bit cramped but very nice upholstery. The Scarab was incredibly fast ( a bit faster than mine) And I respect it for what it was...a great boat!

I hope the guy restoring the new find gets the colours right and makes us all proud as many of the offshore’s of all types are starting to disappear.

A guy down here in my area just crushed a Sutphen and a Scarab last winter because he tried to sell them, but nobody bought them. He was tearing down the barn that they were stored in. I went to see them but they were stripped of many good parts and the hulls, although in good shape, would need work to restore. I was driving by one Saturday last spring and the boats were outside being crushed by an excavator. I almost cried!!!! the barn was next.

Edited by Stinger390X
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jesus, 3 free boats, not even including the filming ones, wow, who wouldnt take a deal like that.

 

so I gotta wonder what was the shooting like then on the water episodes, did they all arrive in their own personal welcrafts with James Brown the Boss in the background lol

 

so hold on you said 12 and your boat is 120, as I'm abit confused, was the stinger like a higher up option for a say base 390?

 

and yeah I dont blame you on the crying one, I wonder if it would be possible to just jurry rig something up like the roadkill guys did with the muscle truck motor awhile back with something like that

 

 

 

 

too little too late I suppose, but it figures that one of the roadkill guys is a boat guy too

Edited by Kavinsky
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Let me clarify your question...

CC was based out of Bradenden FL. The build count for that year was 201 total hulls made in the production year. This included the 210, 230, 245, 260, 312 and the 390. This "X" denoted the high HP driveline option with usually 420-454's (usually with blower setups)and TRS drives. This is what my boat came with originally from the factory.(see pic #1)

The 260 was the most popular and best selling model so obviously they built more of them than any other model. The 390's were excessively opulent and expensive at 127 thousand dollars each. You have to remember that is 1985 dollars! I paid 30 grand for my first house so that was four houses and waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out of my league!

These boats were so expensive that many of them did not sell until one or two and sometimes three years later!

I remember I was at the boat show in 2001 and Formula was trying to sell one of the last 42's they had. Problem was the boat was already six years old, brand new, but no one was biting. I actually sat down at the table and the guy had his calculator out and pen and contract in hand and I almost bought it, until I gave my head a shake and told myself I was not going to buy it because my dream was the CC. I found the Stinger the next year and immediately bought the boat out of CT.

Boat companies have a hard time selling their wares and it's not like the car companies that put a big sale on end of year models. Boat dealers have a much smaller audience and a harder time to sell.
The boat company near me only builds boats to order as they are 1-3.5 million a piece. They are just finishing off a 72' footer bought and paid for in advance.

mv7h-1_zps346eb582.jpg

 

This was the factory setup in my 390X back in 1985. These engines blew up in 1999 and were replaced with these engines out of a 1992 Fountain.

mv7k.jpg

 

These are still in there as of today but I think I might be going a bit more power next summer with a another pair of 420's These are stock 365's naturally exasperated. I think the 420's will give me another twenty to twenty five mph hopefully? I'd like to get back to the power it had when it was new but I don't think I could afford the fuel.

Edited by Stinger390X
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ah so very much pay to order kinda work, and they had the base body but when it came to the fun stuff that's where it all changed, kinda like how a corvette could come with such a varriety of engines.

 

and it sounds very much like the Duesenberg like situation, where the cars were so expensive and such a specialtiy item that they would have the same problem and have them sitting around for a number of years

 

and what about going with a turbo system? as I was just watching this and he talks about some interesting points in its favor

 

 

it could be the best of both worlds, but it needs to be engineered well, and looked after if a sensor goes, as this man found out recently

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHV652tSqTU

 

I saved this from the comments section FYI

 

when the cats went caput, they trashed the turbo causing oil contamination.
that's what made the oil pump shit itself.

 

so he killed his own car by neglecting a sensor on the car, which was probably just as important as the air pressure censor on the main block

 

something I promptly got fixed and replaced after it failed on mine a few months ago, and I'm glad I did after seeing and reading that. plus the car was moving and running on its own power and he tried to limp it in that state, and well he killed it twice.

 

also this is worth noting as well

 

 

as Information scavenging and hoarding does have its advantages.....

Edited by Kavinsky
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Yes Kavinsky great point about the turbos!

 

I actually looked a brand new set of turbos on Offshoreonly.com. They were still in the box and the guy wanted 7 grand for them. they are ten plus if you buy the setup off the shelf.

This was a totally "under-hood" setup so \I did not have to modify my day bed at all as it was claimed to all fit under the hood.

 

The problem with turbos is number one its a lot of heat to get rid of in an engine compartment, and also the "lag" factor. Superchargers on the other hand are very efficient and instantaneous. If the belts and pulleys are setp correctly that engine can wind out at 5500 rpm all day long and produce immense power to the drives. My TRS will take the punishment as they are proven after years of abuse.

Blowers also operate much cooler than Turbos in this aquatic situation.

 

My buddy had a Grand National and I used to own a Super Coup with a five spped. We used to run each other for fun occasionally and  after I did my e-prom I kicked his azz every time. He would do a brake torque at the lights and bring up the rpm because he had to get at least 5lbs or better boost and then peel off. He treid everything as well as dry ice int eh intercooler to make his car faster . We used to call him "ICEMAN"

My car had immediate response. ( I sure miss that Super Coupe!)

That T-bird I had was one of 1668 ever made and after a lifetime of huge muscle cars, it was weird getting into a V-6 and going as fast as any of my Mustangs or Torino's with cubic inch excess. I could not believe how much power a supercharger could make!

 

 

I wanted to grab those turbos, but my best friend Chris talked me out of it. He should know as he has a go-fast with blowers and I trust his input. I have been in his boat many time in "Poker Runs America" events.

 

I know that in the Great McCarthy Sonny gets his mechanic to place turbos on the boat and yes it does make it go faster. It's the other problems you need to worry about.

Edited by Stinger390X
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hmm maybe that could be a plot reason that he switched to the scarab, he blew the engine latter lol! also in looking it up back in the day according to the wikipedia article they did a test of the super thunderbird vs the grand national and had the same result

 

its just that the thunderbird, I dont know I always prefered the earlier model from a looks perspective, a friend of the family had an 87 then switched to a 95 and it just wasnt the same.

 

a black and red one to an all white one

 

 

 

and I dont know with the old thunderbird it was always abit over the place it seemed in each generation, and the thing about the automotive world is that people very much like the car equavalent of comfort food.

 

and GM and Ford seem to have made mistakes in both regards, I mean the whole dropping the estate wagon for an SUV thing, and the thunderbird were probably the dumbest things both companies has ever done

 

hell most of the german production is station wagons, as their the only one making them now, and if their embarrased with the name just call it what I called it, an estate wagon.

 

 

I mean it is one of the reasons why the corvette and porsche are still around, you build a fan base and you stick with it, and then change the bodywork to keep the kids coming in.  and all the kids like the retro look now, even when I think it looks like 4 different people worked on it and didnt work together to make it mesh properly on the stock C7.

 

Oh I love the C7, it looks Gorgeous! What?! I mean I tried to give the thing the benefit of the doubt and actually went out of my way to see it in person, and its HIDIEOUS! and the interior space, its attrocious and how do you stop in an emergency with no hand brake?!

 

plus that killed the thunderbird in 02' never do retro if you can avoid it, it just dates the thing. throwbacks are fine, but dont do the entire car in it or make it look like a frankenstiens monster like the C7 is

 

Front 1953 Corvette: Bad

 

Sides and Hood Ferrari 308: good

 

Rear: A camaro if someone found it in a chop shop and had stapled a firebird logo to it to hide the fact that its a camaro.

 

Interior: a C4 mixed with the daytona replica Mixed with a first gen Miata sized interior with porsche like materials but none of the size or space to go along with it.

 

I mean I dont care if the things a 92 in consumer reports you still have to look at the thing and live with it!

 

ugh! its an Corvette Aztek, not a Corvette Stingray! I mean I was so appauled by the thing that I started calling the C5 the last of the good looking corvettes openly.

 

and I liked the Aztek, its not that bad! and even I'm appauled by this thing lol atleast it doesnt look like frankenstiens monster.  tch porsche aint got nuthing to worry about....

 

 

 

 

hmm actually speaking of porsches, i wonder if anyone has made a boat using a turbo powered porsche engine, as i've seen and heard it done with Lamborghini V12's of all things.

 

and i say that as the ones in the 1980's were air cooled, although for a boat of that size it could be an issue. but maybe you need to look around for some junked porsches?

 

 

it could be something that would maybe make a good motor for one of the smaller boats like the roadkill guys used, you know let someone else do all the hard engineering work and just use that as is.

 

hell they used porsche motors on Dune Buggies back in the 70's.

Edited by Kavinsky
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back in the 70's I had lots of dune buggies.

Here in Ontario they salt the roads in the winters so the poor Beetles rotted away by the thousands.

When I was in highschool you could buy a used rotten Bug for 25-75 bucks RUNNING!!!!

 My buddies and I made lots of dune buggies and we drove them all over.

 

I built my third one with a 1600cc bus engine because the outer axels had gear reducers. I took two sets of rims and mig welded them back to back, cutting the centre out of one with a cutting torch, and made a cool set of "duallies" for my climber. That buggie would practically climb trees !!! Had tons of fun with that one down at the gravel pits.

 

I could never afford a Porche engine!

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ah yeah actually I got the porsche idea from a story I read, turns out Steve Mcqueen actually had a dune buggy with a porsche engine in it and drag raced a guy with a daytona spider in it, and the daytona did actually beat it lol

 

like the guy couldnt believe that it was Steve Driving that and thing and the fact that it kept up until he saw the motor, the story was attached to a Ferrari Daytona White Spider with a red stripe FYI on fine cars.cc

 

which is a suprisingly good reference for those cars, hell I've seen one or two of the replicas come through their actually.

 

but yeah where the hell are you going to find a porsche turbo motor just lying around, its been about 15 years since I last saw a really worn one going for 5 grand, a 930 I mean.

 

 I mean shit the only way you could is to buy a wrecked one on ebay, or an insurance claim where the thing got destroyed by a rain storm, like a 996 turbo of some sort, and you'd need probably about 3 to get the power you want.

 

as I remember the 996 from Burn Notice only went for like 10 G, some really well worn and ghettorized one too, some idiot put on these terrible aftermarket rims on it, might have been a non turbo though. although they ARE going back to air cooled though apparently.

Edited by Kavinsky
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  • 3 months later...

Hi guys, I didn't know Randy started a thread here about Star 2.

This is the #2 boat from season two. Was used in the episodes Payback,  Back in the World and Phil the Shill.

It was the only screen used boat to have butterfly style engine hatches, so can easily be identified on screen by the railings between the intakes and piano hinges on the hatches 

FB_IMG_1453563170224.jpg

FB_IMG_1450140925630.jpg

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On 10/11/2015 at 6:32 PM, Stinger390X said:

Well it looks good! I am looking forward to seeing it completed.

As for authenticity it may indeed be the boat but I have seen so many on ebay stating "THIS IS THE TV BOAT" that you have to be a bit leary? Chris Craft only built 12 Stingers, but Wellcraft made literally hundreds of these Scarabs, thus all the mehem on ebay all the time.

I know of two that in my area. Another one I knew of called "Champaign Flight" has disappeared??? It used to be on Lake Ontario at the marina about three miles away from me.

There was actually only a total of 103 38KV Scarabs built. Only 42 with Vice related paint. There were six used in production (two from each model year), three loaners for Don (one from each model year) and 33 special edition versions.

The 100 Vice Editions figure came from a misprint in a Motor Boat Magazine interview with Bill Erickson back in 1986.

I believe Champaign Flight may be the burned out hull in Ontario 

Edited by Scarab KV
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  • 2 weeks later...

I was just talking to a buddy last week in Milton ON, Canada, who told me about a white Scarab he rebuilt last year. Turns out it had the original MV colours underneath the odd white paint job?

He just did the repowering of the boat but does not know if anyone took the time to repaint it original again

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Stinger.....that sounds a lot like a boat we have on our registry "Thunderstruck" I think you can find videos on Youtube, owner is a nice guy and it is still in Canada. 

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We (Wayne and I --Randy)  started the Facebook page and registry to STOP all the stupid false claims about Miami Vice Boats, and specifically Scarab 38KV's.  Also the desire to get them into the right hands so they all can be restored---back in the last 10-15 years many have been sold to the wrong people who go in over there heads and the boats just sat and rotted away!  

 

The Miami Boat show as really sparked a lot of interest in the the Vice Editions 38KV Scarabs. 

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On ‎2‎/‎12‎/‎2016 at 9:29 PM, Stinger390X said:

I was just talking to a buddy last week in Milton ON, Canada, who told me about a white Scarab he rebuilt last year. Turns out it had the original MV colours underneath the odd white paint job?

He just did the repowering of the boat but does not know if anyone took the time to repaint it original again

Stinger, you might remember my other KV. Was ordered new as a Vice Edition by Bill Taylor. Later was repainted White for Snap-On and ran in the poker run series in the mid to late 90s

12226957_999421803414662_27778959532786047_n.jpg

Miami Vice-WI (16).jpg

Miami Vice-WI (10).jpg

Miami Vice-WI (2a).jpg

Miami Vice-WI (1).jpg

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20 minutes ago, Sonny-Crockett said:

Stinger.....that sounds a lot like a boat we have on our registry "Thunderstruck" I think you can find videos on Youtube, owner is a nice guy and it is still in Canada.

Great Pic! Next time I am over at my buddys place I will ask him if this is the boat he repowered.

Great idea about your registry. I am also so sick of hearing about "ORIGINAL MV BOAT FOR SALE" claims on ebay as there is one a week!

I got numbers from a Chris Craft historian regarding my boat and I know that there were only 12 built in my configuration and mine is hull 120 or in other words the 120th boat build of only 201 units that year. My boat was bought a year and a half after completion just before CC was under chapter 11 shortly after that. Sadly they stopped Stingers all together in 1992.

Cudos for Wellcraft for they boats they produced. They are a sharp looking boat. I  loved the colours but the only complaint I have is the front seats. I wish Wellcraft would have made "Drop-down Bolsters" that were a bit higher like in my boat. When your in rough water the extra high seats that wrap around your body sure make you fell safer! Don't get me wrong, the upholstery is excellent, just that the seats should have been taller.

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3 minutes ago, Tony D. said:

I don't have a boat, but I really enjoy looking at these great pictures.....especially since they are like Crockett's, Scarab.

One of them is Crockett's :)

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Awesome pics of the Snap-On boat there Scarab-KV!!!

The Snap-On boat up here in Canada is privately owned by a couple and the woman drives the boat and the husband navigates. Very nice boat too...it's a Donzi and very sleek!

I see them often at the different Poker Runs such as the Poker Runs America at Thousand Islands and also saw them at the Bay of Quinte Poker Run last year.

Reggie Fountain gave his old yellow 42 to a guy in Toronto and he runs in all the Poker Runs America runs all over the place. It is still all painted and stickered up with PRA stuff._IGP5448_zpssnxvnwrj.jpg

This is My buddy Chris's boat which is a 40'Profile. I am navigating for him.

Chris%20Norm%20amp%20I_zpsqvw3gbmk.jpg

This is our group...group 5. There were four others that set off before us. There were a total of 127 boats that showed up for this Poker Runs of America run at the Thousand Islands. There were three helicopters filming us and we were on TSN Sports Channel.

_IGP8453_zpsnfayfkmd.jpg

Can't find the Snap-On boat pics. Might be on my other puter

Edited by Stinger390X
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On Tuesday, February 02, 2016 at 0:41 AM, Scarab KV said:

I believe Champaign Flight may be the burned out hull in Ontario

I always wondered what happened to that boat?!?!?!?

He used to tear up the lake nightly in the summer years ago. My buddy Mike worked at the local speed shop in town and the owner of that boat spent a fortune on roller rockers and cams etc to make the boat go even faster than stock. After a couple of summers the boat disappeared. I thought it was because all of his gas stations in town went out of business as they were all sold and torn down for urban renewal. They guy definitely had deep pockets and the boat was uber cool!

Sorry to hear about any boat that burns.......................

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