dtfastbear

Very, very nice!! Thanks for sharing all the pics.

FormulaZR

iTrader: (7)

Thanks a bunch - hopefully video coming on Monday.


If not, at least some fresh pics...

kainedogg

iTrader: (23)

Awesome project friend. Once I finish the swap in my '68 Le Mans, this may be next. Maybe a 5.3 with a decent turbo. Beautiful boat by the way. How stable is it at 70+?

FormulaZR

iTrader: (7)

I ran the boat 15 minutes straight at 68-70 with 4 people plus cooler coming up a river last Sunday - it was as easy as driving a car.

S10xGN

iTrader: (11)

What do you reckon the fuel mileage is on an LS-x boat? Just curious, we rented a small pontoon boat in FL last month that had a 50HP 4-stroke motor and cruised all day on just 4 gals of gas...

FormulaZR

iTrader: (7)

A solid 8 hour day of a mix of hard running and "slow" cruising usually costs me 15-22 gallons.


If I kept it under 40, I could probably cruise all day on 8-10 gallons.

S10xGN

iTrader: (11)

Nice! All my childhood memories are of 2-strokes and wallets full of cash...

G-Body

iTrader: (4)

For jets, a lot of it depends on how you drive them. If you cruise at 25-30mph they are more efficient than a prop boat with the same motor. On the other hand once you hit ~45mph they lose efficiency fast. Once you open the secondaries on a carb`ed jet you might as well toss your wallet in. Last year my 17' jet had a 305 chevy and it could burn 15 gallons in a couple hours if you tossed 4 tubes behind it, and a driver and spotter in it.

Zmg00camaross

iTrader: (11)

Badass in for a video. If you dont mind how much a project like this cost. I know I can get a fiberglass 70s jet boat with a small block cheap so how much for the swap.

FormulaZR

iTrader: (7)

Right - in a way it's hard to say what kind of economy a performance boat gets. It really depends on how hard you lean on the throttle. But again, with mine in the 40-ish mph mark it's the most efficient because it's on plane, but with the secondaries closed. Again, that is with a "full load".



The weather for the first half of the day was horrible, the broke the steering cable the last half - so no vid.

The cost of the marine parts works out to be around $1500. That's the motor plates, headers, PTO adapter, some Metric to SAE thread adapters so your gauges will work, and cooling system (you'll need to pick open or closed cooling). Assuming you are swapping a SBC/BBC boat, you can re-use the bell housing cover, and maybe even the whole rear mount.

Of course you'll need a running engine, but that price depends on your goals.

Zmg00camaross

iTrader: (11)

Right on man thanks for the info.

RacnJsn95

iTrader: (4)

That is a sweet setup! Can't wait to see a video of it on the lake!

conv55

What lake near Abilene has any water left? Great looking boat!

FormulaZR

iTrader: (7)

No idea - I'm near Fort Wayne, IN right now for work...so the boat is up here too.

FormulaZR

iTrader: (7)

Quick vid and speed from Saturday.



Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRyGojKq3SI&feature

Zmg00camaross

iTrader: (11)

badass. Buddy just pick up a 78 sidewinder with a berkley pump and all the goods just no motor its happeing. Think he is wanting to go with a 5.3 to be cheaper but hopefully turbo it this winter. How fast you think it goes?

S10xGN

iTrader: (11)

Excellent! Another "just curious" question. How much are you giving up with a jet drive vs. an outdrive or v-drive? Haven't kept up with HP boating lately, but a couple decades back, they came out with an "Arneson" surface drive that looked to be the nuts for shallow lakes and all...

Kingc8r

iTrader: (21)

Badass. I wonder why people haven't done this sooner

FormulaZR

iTrader: (7)

Hmm...I don't know much about a Sidewinder - but it should be a cool project. There is a guy on performanceboats.com that has a turbo 5.3 in a Sunkisst (I think) jet boat.


Quite a bit, honestly. Not too sure about the v-drive speed; but if it was a traditional Bravo XR style, it'd be in the mid 90's almost for sure. The Arneson is neat - but it's expensive and not ideal for a single engine setup. I am looking at going to a Mercruiser Blackhawk drive - it's a surface drive too; but with counter rotating props so it works well in a single engine application. The Blackhawk *should* push the speeds into the mid 90-mid 100 range.


Fear of the unknown? That's about all I can figure...

hellbents10

iTrader: (10)

That is too cool!