*** WHY PEOPLE SHY AWAY FROM BOATS WITH OUT MERC POWER !!!

[satellitemike]

OK Steve I'll take the evenrude powered toon off your hands at a non merc powered 50%v discount!

 

[2FORCEFULL]

OK Steve I'll take the evenrude powered toon off your hands at a non merc powered 50%v discount!

sorry, not for sale... I like that toon,... just don't like the J seating...I've been trying to get some seats from godfrey... I don't know if it's transferable but... I got a 10 warranty from godfrey when I bought it new..

 

[2FORCEFULL]

Always blows me away at how few hours are expected out of these motors. I get that they're high rpm, high compression, yada, yada and all that but still.......100 hrs during summer boating could realistically be reached in a few weekends.
Imagine if your car engine only went 100-200hrs, 90% of SoCal is overhauling every couple weeks

at the same time, you have to imagine your car being able to run a 6 secound quarter mile....... pulling a trailer up hill... boat motors take a beating....

 

[2FORCEFULL]

I thought you were talking about Evinrude outboards with the title. People that buy boats on a payment, need reliability. People that pay cash want the glitz and have the money to repair...usually. The market is higher priced and many buyers are using the loan option so the demand for reliable power is creating more demand.

With that said, I'm in the market for a good deal.

when I bought,... the evinrude needed no service for 500 hrs, can with a 10 yr warranty, and was 30k cheeper..not so any more,...

 

[2FORCEFULL]

I'm a Ford guy. Never had a trans make it to 200k. I had 3 f150s and 2 supedutys.

most are lucky to make it 100k, mine has 210k on the motor, and about 60k on the new trans.. we get delivery vans in our shop... they are mostly freeway miles. most have over 500k mile .they get new trans at 200k need it or not...

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

Long story short I bought a 21 Commander jet with a 454 just rebuilt to 496 but really didn't want to because of this fresh 496 but I did anyways. The crank broke after 5 hours on the water. Repowered with a 502 assembled by Commander and ran great. Sold the boat a few years ago.
Now I have a boat with a 454 I thought was stock minus an IMCO exhaust, Holley carb, and MSD ignition. I find out it has one of those MSD timing adjusting knobs and may have a cam but have no info on the cam. I would like to remove the timing knob and install a cam I know the specs on.
I prefer stock power. Easy to diagnose and doesn't have "budget" parts that could be problematic.

Buying any boat with a "just rebuilt" engine is a red flag. For every 1 story that ends well, there are 50 blown "just rebuilt" engines with single digit hours on them.

 

[petie6464]

The problem is the known hi performance engine boat guys are dinosaurs. Living in the 80's trying to build reliable big power doesn't work obviously.

For years and still today these "engine builders" are merely engine assemblers, bolting together parts from here and there. They have either very limited or no equipment and machinery to build anything.

There are lots of great engine builders but none are interested in the marine market and for good reason, it's an ever shrinking market with a big player owning that market.

 

[Jonas Grumby]

I know what was in my blue EFI 500. I know what is in my Teague motor. I know who put the parts together in my Teague motor. I’ll take my Teague. Maybe somebody doesn’t want to buy it, that’s ok, I’ll keep it.

 

[2FORCEFULL]

I know what was in my blue EFI 500. I know what is in my Teague motor. I know who put the parts together in my Teague motor. I’ll take my Teague. Maybe somebody doesn’t want to buy it, that’s ok, I’ll keep it.

thats different,... what If i said i have a teague motor in my boat... then you don't know what you aare buying...

 

[2FORCEFULL]

thats where the problem starts, sellers name drop what they read in others adds.. here's a good one,... balanced and blue printed.... gets said all the time..., ask them what does that mean.... they don't know blue print from a blueberry,... or a teague from a tamale ... they just say cool stuff to sell their junk..

 

[C_J_J_C]

To answer the question....
Simple, I don't buy the motor or even the boat. I buy the experiences.
If you factor the cost of the boat and maintenance I spend at least 1k every trip on the boat alone. Add lodgings, fuel, ect....... that boat needs to run flawlessly every time. I'm not willing to risk it.

 

[2FORCEFULL]

Oh and when you do paint them in a corner, they say ah... I don't know... it's what the guy I got it from said... but he moved to florida

 

[oldschool]

thats different,... what If i said i have a teague motor in my boat... then you don't know what you aare buying...

I would want more info. If it’s a Teague motor, do you have paperwork to back it up, build sheet, what parts, time on the engine., shit like that. You could do a leak down, check valve springs, etc.

 

[Dalton]

You know most of this story, there's a bad ass boat for sell, but it's not selling... why you ask ??,... it's because of the power..... people shy away from custom built high power motors... you would think it would be the other way around....but, custom motors are plagued with problems... too much power for out drives... constant oil leakers, high fuel consumption. and won't run on pump gas...

Merc has done extensive testing for trouble free longevity and match power to out drives... they have to give a real warranty,.. they make power at lower RPMs. and what that does is lower the crank case pressure, there for reducing oil leaks,.. I've owned multiple merc big block, no oil leaks,... you could drive them on pin all the way to china and they stay together VS custom motorrs that blow up...

the engine I had built in my boat, I had the HP increased to the 500-550 range, but now I get a little oil out of the breathers, is that normal? because increased crank case pressure?

 

[SJP]

I had a boat with Ilmor power. It was awesome, but I get why as time goes on people are shying away from them.

 

[2FORCEFULL]

the engine I had built in my boat, I had the HP increased to the 500-550 range, but now I get a little oil out of the breathers, is that normal? because increased crank case pressure?

put a quart of marvel in and that should clear it up,... also, take the breather cap off while it's runing and see how much blow by in the crank case,, make sure you have plenty of breathers in the valve covers

good rings take longer to seat,... thats where the marvel comes in,... I use it on every motor I own,,..I have a titan that was smoking when i got it,... ran mavel and iit went away... marvel will reseat the rings and free them up

 

[Singleton]

thats different,... what If i said i have a teague motor in my boat... then you don't know what you aare buying...

with a few data points and a call, you can find out what should be in that motor.
Teague keeps a record of all builds.

 

[2FORCEFULL]

the engine I had built in my boat, I had the HP increased to the 500-550 range, but now I get a little oil out of the breathers, is that normal? because increased crank case pressure?

what air cleaner do you have,... the better set up is air hose going to the air cleaner... that way any oil in the hose goes back to the motor

 

[2FORCEFULL]

with a few data points and a call, you can find out what should be in that motor.
Teague keeps a record of all builds.

yeah, you usually find out after it blows what you really had...

 

[Jonas Grumby]

thats different,... what If i said i have a teague motor in my boat... then you don't know what you aare buying...

Each is serialized, you can check with Teague on the build. Then you say,”what if someone rebuilt it”. But that is the same for a merc motor.
Face it, it really doesn’t matter what’s under the hatch, you really don’t know what’s inside.

 

[mash on it]

Long story short I bought a 21 Commander jet with a 454 just rebuilt to 496 but really didn't want to because of this fresh 496 but I did anyways. The crank broke after 5 hours on the water. Repowered with a 502 assembled by Commander and ran great. Sold the boat a few years ago.
Now I have a boat with a 454 I thought was stock minus an IMCO exhaust, Holley carb, and MSD ignition. I find out it has one of those MSD timing adjusting knobs and may have a cam but have no info on the cam. I would like to remove the timing knob and install a cam I know the specs on.
I prefer stock power. Easy to diagnose and doesn't have "budget" parts that could be problematic.

Just measuring the lobe lift or valve lift on the cam might get you close to an off the shelf cam. Degree it, and you'll know exactly what it is.

Dan'l

 

[was thatguy]

Hmmm
It ain’t no baller ride like you guys have, but I’ve flogged my mostly not stock BBC for years since the last rebuild. A well known builder went through it for me, and dynoed it at 625 as I recall at 5800 or so?
When I got it back from him it had a valvetrain problem that I corrected at my shop myself, with input from Foxwell and Straub. (Thanks Scott and Chris!)
Anyway, I pulled the valve covers once or twice in maybe 8 years just out of guilt.
It’s a Chevy mark IV block, and that’s where the bow tie ends. It’s all the usual suspects after that. Eagle, Scat, SRP, comp, crane, Brodix, an old polished ported TR from a famous intake guy and the Holleys I built myself from scratch.
I had 10K into the engine from scratch sitting on the stand with 660’s before I built the carbs and went to morrell lifters and different springs.
It leaks a little from the valve covers a bit.
No pan leaks or anywhere else. It gets beat to shit every time I drive it. Like wrung the fuck out and daring it to explode. Here’s the thing...I went overkill on every single component.
There isnt a single hard piece in that engine that isn’t rated for 1200 HP. Double what it makes.
When you run a Merc racing engine it is capable of sustaining far more HP than it makes. That’s the secret. It isn’t supernatural.

As an example, Scott Shafiroff warranties most of his drag motors for 2 years last time I looked.
Maybe not anymore, but he used to when I was shopping crate motors.
The recipe? Big inches, low rod ratios, low rpm, Herculean torque numbers.
As a completely ignorant person when it comes to big boat baller engines, what is the typical high RPM of say a Teague 1200 or Merc racing 1100 in a big cat?
I rode in a cat recently with twin blown mercs and it was going over 100 MPH at under 5K rpm.

 

[Shlbyntro]

Each is serialized, you can check with Teague on the build. Then you say,”what if someone rebuilt it”. But that is the same for a merc motor.
Face it, it really doesn’t matter what’s under the hatch, you really don’t know what’s inside.

Blue motors are wire tied shut with a serialized tag. They're pretty easy to tell if somebody's been in them or not

 

[rush1]

at the same time, you have to imagine your car being able to run a 6 secound quarter mile....... pulling a trailer up hill... boat motors take a beating....

Boy is that an understatement!

 

[WhatExit?]

*** WHY PEOPLE SHY AWAY FROM BOATS WITH OUT MERC POWER !!!​

 

[WTR&PWR]

I love going fast in boats. That’s why I go fast in my friends boats.

 

[was thatguy]

I love going fast in boats. That’s why I go fast in my friends boats.

Lol right?

In my boat 80 MPH is a white knuckle come to Jesus experience that makes most people scream or cry.
In my friends boats that’s barely on plane...lol

 

[was thatguy]

at the same time, you have to imagine your car being able to run a 6 secound quarter mile....... pulling a trailer up hill... boat motors take a beating....

Boat engines are basically on dyno pulls at all times.

 

[rivermobster]

The problem is the known hi performance engine boat guys are dinosaurs. Living in the 80's trying to build reliable big power doesn't work obviously.

For years and still today these "engine builders" are merely engine assemblers, bolting together parts from here and there. They have either very limited or no equipment and machinery to build anything.

There are lots of great engine builders but none are interested in the marine market and for good reason, it's an ever shrinking market with a big player owning that market.

I'm wondering where you gathered this info from?

I worked at JMS Racing for a number of years. We did a ton of boat engines. Now that it's over, I feel comfortable saying, we did all of Hallett's rebuilds for years.

JMS has a complete machine shop, engine Dyno and flow bench for doing heads. Mike's dad ran the Parker Enduro for years, with engines he built himself.

Mike also built the engine for Priceless, and drove it himself. He did way better than most in the GN classes, the years Priceless ran with him driving.

Heath also does quite well building engines for him and his daughter. They finished first and second year before last at Long Beach. Advanced Racing Engines also has a full machine shop and Dyno. They do a whole lot of marine work for others as well.

Then you have guys like Berry. He may not have his own Dyno or machine shop, but he has forgotten more about engine building than most people will ever know. And, has the reputation to back it.

There are a whole lot of others out there running full machine shops and dynos as well. The aftermarket world is running at full tilt. Most shops can barely keep up!

Do we even have to mention GT Performance? Boost Power? Teague? Brummit? And so on an do forth?

How about our guys over at Road Kill, trying to make the LS conversions work?

Mercury may have the OEM market cornered, but there are Tons of other options out there for having marine engines built.

With the rising costs of new boats, keeping the old ones in play is well worth it.

 

[2FORCEFULL]

I'm wondering where you gathered this info from?

I worked at JMS Racing for a number of years. We did a ton of boat engines. Now that it's over, I feel comfortable saying, we did all of Hallett's rebuilds for years.

JMS has a complete machine shop, engine Dyno and flow bench for doing heads. Mike's dad ran the Parker Enduro for years, with engines he built himself.

Mike also built the engine for Priceless, and drove it himself. He did way better than most in the GN classes, the years Priceless ran with him driving.

Heath also does quite well building engines for him and his daughter. They finished first and second year before last at Long Beach. Advanced Racing Engines also has a full machine shop and Dyno. They do a whole lot of marine work for others as well.

Then you have guys like Berry. He may not have his own Dyno or machine shop, but he has forgotten more about engine building than most people will ever know. And, has the reputation to back it.

There are a whole lot of others out there running full machine shops and dynos as well. The aftermarket world is running at full tilt. Most shops can barely keep up!

Do we even have to mention GT Performance? Boost Power? Teague? Brummit? And so on an do forth?

How about our guys over at Road Kill, trying to make the LS conversions work?

Mercury may have the OEM market cornered, but there are Tons of other options out there for having marine engines built.

With the rising costs of new boats, keeping the old ones in play is well worth it.

mercury doesn't have the power market cornered... they have the warranty market cornered..... they build their engine to where you can't hurt them on purpose , cause if you do, they know... they will shut down at the begining signs of failure...and they will fix or replace whats wrong.. how many time have you heard some guy strangling a motor to death...the ol. full throttle tune up.. motor has a problem at the dock... they go out and run it on pin till they come back on a rope...that being said,.. custom built motors you always have to deal with the "WHAT DID YOU DO!" ah, I turned the key...I had a 598 motor built at force... started it up... idled away from the dock... went to get on plane and shut it off... the motor was struggling... took it back to force... told brad this motor is like a double jointed lesbian, it was eating it's self so I shut it off... so he calls ronnie over.... he's say's... this guy thinks his motor's gonna blow up... so the argument starts... so I slowly start painting him in the corner... saying.. I don't think you know what you are doing,.. cause if you did, you wouldn't stand there arguing , and you would have that motor out and drop the pan, I could have that motor out and on the stand in 1 hour.... he hollars back, I could have it out in 30 min... brad says , Cool, get it out, come on Steve lets go to breakfast,.. and here's the deal, if the motors bad... we will fix it, or replace it.... if it's good, your paying to pull the motor and put it back in... so we go eat... gone about an hour.... come back, ronnie has the motor out , and stripped down....all the bearings where wiped out.... seems the pan was powder coated in side and it had come loose (name with held) got in the oil and ruined the motor.. they fixed it but... it was a lengthy process..... with merc... they just take that one back and ship you another one.. with small bussiness.... they have to shut down paying jobs to do a warranty, so you get the 2 weeks story...I've been pretty fortunate with engine builders, but I know when they are gonna fail, and bring them back without windows in the block... but still..... it's the time frame that kills you.. spin a bearing might take a year or so to get back on the water..

 

[ToMorrow44]

Everyone clamors over the 525 like it’s the holy grail of Merc motors…but I see it as one of the most problematic. 600/700s share a lot of the same parts. I’d take a Teague motor over 525s all day long….

 

[2FORCEFULL]

Everyone clamors over the 525 like it’s the holy grail of Merc motors…but I see it as one of the most problematic. 600/700s share a lot of the same parts. I’d take a Teague motor over 525s all day long….
View attachment 1057179 View attachment 1057180 View attachment 1057181 View attachment 1057182 View attachment 1057183

good post, might as well add the 500 hp to the list, in fact all the blue motors...

 

[2FORCEFULL]

OK Steve I'll take the evenrude powered toon off your hands at a non merc powered 50%v discount!

if you have cash in hand, here you go..

2019 Godfrey Sweetwater *Tritoon* Pontoon - boats - by owner -...

2019 Godfrey Sweetwater 22’ Tritoon in excellent condition! Yamaha VMAX 150hp SHO (Super High Output) outboard motor. Runs flawlessly! 40mph top speed with light load, but we typically cruise around...

mohave.craigslist.org

 

[MPHSystems]

You must not drive a Dodge/Chrysler product…

But you’re correct, the out drive is the fuse

On my buggy, my five rib weddle 002 is absolutely the fuse.


I can’t imagine financing a toy though. Ultimately, if I have a note on my house, even things I buy cash, I’m financing. But nothing.125% APR changes that math.

 

[satellitemike]

if you have cash in hand, here you go..

2019 Godfrey Sweetwater *Tritoon* Pontoon - boats - by owner -...

2019 Godfrey Sweetwater 22’ Tritoon in excellent condition! Yamaha VMAX 150hp SHO (Super High Output) outboard motor. Runs flawlessly! 40mph top speed with light load, but we typically cruise around...

mohave.craigslist.org

Too much $$$ not enough HP!
I'll wait another year or 2 and pick something up for 50 cents on the current dollar.

 

[boatnam2]

Seen it a few times, i will use magic as an example, a guy buys a 2003 magic with a 525 with 400 hours for 115k, by summers end the motor is at Teague getting top end done, but they opt to do the whole motor to get a warranty and now his 115k over payed unit is 130k or 142k if they do drive, by then they want a blower on it so 154k.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Reliability and peace of mind is paramount when boating, ruining a much needed vacation do to a catastrophic failure is heartbreaking...

This is a lot of it IMO. I know for us it is..Just to get to Havasu with the family is at least a grand R/t whether we fly in or drive in. I expect our boat to start and run reliably. Mercury sells extensions on their warranty...and honestly it wasn't bad for the money so we took ours out for an add 3 or 4 years (idk off top of my head). We've put just over 50 hours on it with having it just over a year. While we haven't had any incidents with it that kept us off the water, it has been in the shop for stuff that honestly shouldn't have failed so early on but shit happens.

I'd like to buy a small jet boat in the next year or 2, I'd be much more open to a "non-merc" build for a boat that I don't necessarily need to be as reliable...

Someone mentioned those with a loan and needing warranty in case of incident and not being able to afford repairs. I've seen this scenario play out...especially in wake boats more than once. High payment that they can barely afford, engine pops and then it sits bc they can't afford to fix it. Either sits a long time, or goes back to the bank.

 

[4Waters]

if you have cash in hand, here you go..

2019 Godfrey Sweetwater *Tritoon* Pontoon - boats - by owner -...

2019 Godfrey Sweetwater 22’ Tritoon in excellent condition! Yamaha VMAX 150hp SHO (Super High Output) outboard motor. Runs flawlessly! 40mph top speed with light load, but we typically cruise around...

mohave.craigslist.org

EHH, it's got a Yamaha, I'd rather it had a single Suzuki, those haul ass

 

[petie6464]

I'm wondering where you gathered this info from?

I worked at JMS Racing for a number of years. We did a ton of boat engines. Now that it's over, I feel comfortable saying, we did all of Hallett's rebuilds for years.

JMS has a complete machine shop, engine Dyno and flow bench for doing heads. Mike's dad ran the Parker Enduro for years, with engines he built himself.

Mike also built the engine for Priceless, and drove it himself. He did way better than most in the GN classes, the years Priceless ran with him driving.

Heath also does quite well building engines for him and his daughter. They finished first and second year before last at Long Beach. Advanced Racing Engines also has a full machine shop and Dyno. They do a whole lot of marine work for others as well.

Then you have guys like Berry. He may not have his own Dyno or machine shop, but he has forgotten more about engine building than most people will ever know. And, has the reputation to back it.

There are a whole lot of others out there running full machine shops and dynos as well. The aftermarket world is running at full tilt. Most shops can barely keep up!

Do we even have to mention GT Performance? Boost Power? Teague? Brummit? And so on an do forth?

How about our guys over at Road Kill, trying to make the LS conversions work?

Mercury may have the OEM market cornered, but there are Tons of other options out there for having marine engines built.

With the rising costs of new boats, keeping the old ones in play is well worth it.

A trip to Fond du lac Wisconsin, would be a real eye opener as to what a real engine manufacturer is.

 

[clarence]

The Outboard Church

www.riverdavesplace.com

 

[rivermobster]

A trip to Fond du lac Wisconsin, would be a real eye opener as to what a real engine manufacturer is.

I might be wrong here, but...

I think there is a bit of a difference between a manufacturer and a rebuilder?

But if you Want to talk new...

You could always drop a Sonny's build into your boat. You could also have the guys that build all of the 100 percent, all machined from billet top fuel builders throw something together for you.

If you had an unlimited budget for these sort of things.

Lots of options for new as well. But I don't think that's what this thread is about?

 

[Bugginout]

I'm wondering where you gathered this info from?

I worked at JMS Racing for a number of years. We did a ton of boat engines. Now that it's over, I feel comfortable saying, we did all of Hallett's rebuilds for years.

JMS has a complete machine shop, engine Dyno and flow bench for doing heads. Mike's dad ran the Parker Enduro for years, with engines he built himself.

Mike also built the engine for Priceless, and drove it himself. He did way better than most in the GN classes, the years Priceless ran with him driving.

Heath also does quite well building engines for him and his daughter. They finished first and second year before last at Long Beach. Advanced Racing Engines also has a full machine shop and Dyno. They do a whole lot of marine work for others as well.

Then you have guys like Berry. He may not have his own Dyno or machine shop, but he has forgotten more about engine building than most people will ever know. And, has the reputation to back it.

There are a whole lot of others out there running full machine shops and dynos as well. The aftermarket world is running at full tilt. Most shops can barely keep up!

Do we even have to mention GT Performance? Boost Power? Teague? Brummit? And so on an do forth?

How about our guys over at Road Kill, trying to make the LS conversions work?

Mercury may have the OEM market cornered, but there are Tons of other options out there for having marine engines built.

With the rising costs of new boats, keeping the old ones in play is well worth it.

Did you work at Johnson back when it was on Huntington drive in monrovia? Back when Howard was was doing cranks? Or not that long ago? Just wondering. My buddy worked at Johnson machine back then and I worked for Steve Shotroski at his shop in Monrovia. Actual engine builder's and machinists building anything a customer needed. Setting salt flat records.

 

[rivermobster]

mercury doesn't have the power market cornered... they have the warranty market cornered..... they build their engine to where you can't hurt them on purpose , cause if you do, they know... they will shut down at the begining signs of failure...and they will fix or replace whats wrong.. how many time have you heard some guy strangling a motor to death...the ol. full throttle tune up.. motor has a problem at the dock... they go out and run it on pin till they come back on a rope...that being said,.. custom built motors you always have to deal with the "WHAT DID YOU DO!" ah, I turned the key...I had a 598 motor built at force... started it up... idled away from the dock... went to get on plane and shut it off... the motor was struggling... took it back to force... told brad this motor is like a double jointed lesbian, it was eating it's self so I shut it off... so he calls ronnie over.... he's say's... this guy thinks his motor's gonna blow up... so the argument starts... so I slowly start painting him in the corner... saying.. I don't think you know what you are doing,.. cause if you did, you wouldn't stand there arguing , and you would have that motor out and drop the pan, I could have that motor out and on the stand in 1 hour.... he hollars back, I could have it out in 30 min... brad says , Cool, get it out, come on Steve lets go to breakfast,.. and here's the deal, if the motors bad... we will fix it, or replace it.... if it's good, your paying to pull the motor and put it back in... so we go eat... gone about an hour.... come back, ronnie has the motor out , and stripped down....all the bearings where wiped out.... seems the pan was powder coated in side and it had come loose (name with held) got in the oil and ruined the motor.. they fixed it but... it was a lengthy process..... with merc... they just take that one back and ship you another one.. with small bussiness.... they have to shut down paying jobs to do a warranty, so you get the 2 weeks story...I've been pretty fortunate with engine builders, but I know when they are gonna fail, and bring them back without windows in the block... but still..... it's the time frame that kills you.. spin a bearing might take a year or so to get back on the water..

Oh my goodness. Is this story for real???

 

[was thatguy]

I might be wrong here, but...

I think there is a bit of a difference between a manufacturer and a rebuilder?

But if you Want to talk new...

You could always drop a Sonny's build into your boat. You could also have the guys that build all of the 100 percent, all machined from billet top fuel builders throw something together for you.

If you had an unlimited budget for these sort of things.

Lots of options for new as well. But I don't think that's what this thread is about?

Now you’ve got me thinking!!
1450 HP “weekend boating” pleasure engine from Sonny!
1450 at 5900 RPM on pump gas, over 1100 FPT!
Oh wait...$115,000.00.
Never mind! But it sure is Purdy!!

 

[rivermobster]

Did you work at Johnson back when it was on Huntington drive in monrovia? Back when Howard was was doing cranks? Or not that long ago? Just wondering. My buddy worked at Johnson machine back then and I worked for Steve Shotroski at his shop in Monrovia. Actual engine builder's and machinists building anything a customer needed. Setting salt flat records.

When JMS was on Huntington, I was working around the corner at Assael. That's when I got to know Mike. Greg was still at the counter.

After his dad sold the building, and Mike moved the shop to El Monte, I talked Mike into making a spot for me.

We put in a twin post and I started pulling engines for him. It kinna progressed from there.

Next thing ya know we were doing complete restorations. With 30 years of dealership experience, doing complete and custom wiring jobs, ac installs, EFI conversions, and all that jazz was somewhat easy for me.

Howard would drop by from time to time, Billy was building the engines with Mike, and Jeff was running the Dyno.

Sal came back and was machining blocks, and of course Pete is Still doing the head work! Lol

Lots of history there in that shop. Lots of boating experience as well.

 

[pixrthis]

Had no problem getting top dollar for my DCB with twin TCM 1250's. Boat would not have sold for any more, or any less , with Merc power of same rating. Actually thinking this through my boat with 75 hours on the motors would probably have sold for less with Merc power. Teague motors are rated good for 200+ hours and Merc only for 100.

Your buyer is also very familiar with Teague engines having 6 or 7 running in boats or race cars at any given time so he knows what he’s getting when he buys them. The fact that your boat was showroom fresh made it a no brainer, truly a beautiful piece that was well taken care of.

 

[pixrthis]

The problem is the known hi performance engine boat guys are dinosaurs. Living in the 80's trying to build reliable big power doesn't work obviously.

For years and still today these "engine builders" are merely engine assemblers, bolting together parts from here and there. They have either very limited or no equipment and machinery to build anything.

There are lots of great engine builders but none are interested in the marine market and for good reason, it's an ever shrinking market with a big player owning that market.

You need to spend an hour with Norm Teague at Teague Custom Marine and then go to the dyno, it will change your mind. The reliability and numbers they’re getting with pump gas is impressive and they’re not the only ones doing it.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

I'm wondering where you gathered this info from?

I worked at JMS Racing for a number of years. We did a ton of boat engines. Now that it's over, I feel comfortable saying, we did all of Hallett's rebuilds for years.

JMS has a complete machine shop, engine Dyno and flow bench for doing heads. Mike's dad ran the Parker Enduro for years, with engines he built himself.

Mike also built the engine for Priceless, and drove it himself. He did way better than most in the GN classes, the years Priceless ran with him driving.

Heath also does quite well building engines for him and his daughter. They finished first and second year before last at Long Beach. Advanced Racing Engines also has a full machine shop and Dyno. They do a whole lot of marine work for others as well.

Then you have guys like Berry. He may not have his own Dyno or machine shop, but he has forgotten more about engine building than most people will ever know. And, has the reputation to back it.

There are a whole lot of others out there running full machine shops and dynos as well. The aftermarket world is running at full tilt. Most shops can barely keep up!

Do we even have to mention GT Performance? Boost Power? Teague? Brummit? And so on an do forth?

How about our guys over at Road Kill, trying to make the LS conversions work?

Mercury may have the OEM market cornered, but there are Tons of other options out there for having marine engines built.

With the rising costs of new boats, keeping the old ones in play is well worth it.

You didn’t know? Petie6464 is always a ray fucking sunshine around these parts

 

[rivermobster]

You didn’t know? Petie6464 is always a ray fucking sunshine.

Well...

I know now, his knowledge on this topic is somewhat limited, that for damm sure!

 

[ToMorrow44]

You need to spend an hour with Norm Teague at Teague Custom Marine and then go to the dyno, it will change your mind. The reliability and numbers they’re getting with pump gas is impressive and they’re not the only ones doing it.

Great point. Reminded me that Bob was telling me about the CARB certification process. It included running those motors on the dyno at WOT for extensive periods of time. His bigger motors they spin to 7k