Reeking Havoc

hey guys looking to do some power upgrading this off season and was wanting some opinions of what you'd do. i currently have a 32 baja with 454 mag efi's and was trying to decide with way to go with it. sell current motors and upgrade to a nice set of used 500's or other power options, or maybe procharge or whipple current motors? also whats the real power/reliablity difference between the 500 efi's vs carbed? and are the 500's better than 525 sc's? would my current motors "charged" make tons more power than a set of 500's? my motors now run great but are getting up there in hrs at around 500 even though no problems and perfect oil pressure, comp readings, ect if any upgrades are going to be done to current motors might as well figure a complete go thru. just trying like everyone else to get the most bang for the buck. thanks in advance.

BajaRunner

how many hours on your current engines?

Reeking Havoc

motors have around 500hrs on them as mentioned in orig post but do run absolutely perfect but i'm sure i'm prob losing a little power just due to the high hrs. my orig thought of whipple's was based on the fact that someone had a pair with 10 hrs complete in the class here for 6k but they've since sold so if i have to buy new gets a little pricey. i realize you don't buy a boat for an investment but really don't want to invest double what the boats worth and tricked out motors in a boat your trying to get rid of sometimes hurts not helps in the value. thats why i'm kinda leaning toward a set of 500's since they're a stock engine. anothing thing i could do i guess is put mine on a shelf and put back in if i sell. how much speed would i be looking at in upgrading to 500's. thanks

liquid asset

Is it a 32 outlaw, I had one with 502's I bought from Brian in Sandusky Ohio, that was my fav boat. I wish I still had it. I was going to build natural carbed 600 hp 502's, a friend from this sight was going to help me with it, however I sold it, damnit

brian41

iTrader: (1)

Reeking Havoc,
Do not worry I will not bring the issues of the other thread over here if you wont. I also have 32 Baja and I went from 65 mph with 454 mags to 78 mph with about 500 HP custom motors I just went through them again hoping for low 600 HP but will not know until they go on dyno. If it were me and I was not building my own motors I would go with the HP500's sell your motors to recover some of your costs as the HP500's will help in the resale of your boat. Next question would be what Bravo drives are you running if they are standard you will want to change to an HP gimble ring and Hydraulic steering should be a must if you do not already have it. Brian

AIR TIME

the sc's are 454blowers I think177s or 250s bm if you rebuild your motors and buy merlin heads $2000 a set and intakes $350 a piece 2 nickerson carbs 800 or 850s not sure say 1000 a piece isky hdy roller cams set up 1000 apiece headers S/M OR C/M 1800 TO 2400 A SET THEN LOWER ENDS BEARINGS,HONE RINGS OILPUMP ECT 2500EACH MOTOR YOU WILL HAVE A NICE 550HP LIKE NEW FOR $18000 OR BUY REBUILT 500HPS AT 7500 OR MORE WITH OUT HEADERS CARBS OR DO THE ABOVE AND BUY SHORT BLOCK 5O2S OR USE YOUR HEADS BUT PUT IN A HDY ROLLER SET UP SAVE A $1000 PER MOTOR IF YOU PUT ON BLOWERS YOU STILL NEED TO FREHEN UP THE MOTORS SO YOUR AT $23000 SORRY FOR THE upper case my pain meds are kicking in

Reeking Havoc

thanks for the input guys some great posts, as for my boat its actually the 322 hull which i heard from a few that its a little faster hull than the 32 outlaw but i give up a little on the ride aspect of it. which i've never been in a 32 outlaw before but i'd guess it does ride better than mine i'm always in the tabs to keep it from porpusing. not sure on the weight side of it mine books at 7000 lbs is an outlaw heavier is that why it rides better? does anyone else have experience with both models? brian are your motors merc blue's or did you build up your mags or go with 502's or something? man 13mph gain is awesome. i bought the boat unrigged and bought two matching 454s from a marina in st louis and didn't know much about them or if they were ever torn into or tweaked at all. but when i was putting boat together i assumed it would be around a 60 mph boat but to my suprise i can run 68 or 69 all day and a best of 73 on fumes with two people on gps. does this sound possible if they were untouched 454 mpi mags with 500 hrs? i just don't think with looking around that it should run that good so i'm wondering if maybe somebody torn into them. as for my outdrives they were upgraded to bravo x's thanks to a floating telephone pole in cumberland over memorial day and hydro steering goes on next mth so all i need is more power and more money sounds like but hell whats new. so if anyone knows of a good deal on some complete 500 take outs ready to drop in drop me a line. thanks again

brian41

iTrader: (1)

Reeking Havoc,
Yes the 322 will be faster as it has a pad on the bottom rather than the straight 24 degree dead rise. This gives it more speed but also takes away from its ruff water ride. My motors are built in house and they were not dynoed so the 500HP estimate might more like 525 as they had more cam than an the blue motors and some port work. They started out as crate 502's and built from there. Do your drives have electric trim indicators if so then you have standard gimbals and I have seen a lot of guy"s get away with them with the addition of hydraulic steering.

Reeking Havoc

yeah my boat currently does have standard gimbals i saw somewhere maybe on ebay someone was selling stainless models which where supposed to be stronger are they direct bolt on? i know they make a hi po hd model gimbal is that a direct replacment? i'm not going with huge power so is this a real concern? but then again i really never gave hydro steering much of a thought with my speeds until my buddy had his steering cable completely break in a 75 hr, yr old baja 342 at 60+ and with all of the things i've read on hear all summer about all the wrecks and ect you just can't be to careful.

brian41

iTrader: (1)

STAY away from the stainless steel gimbals there have been a few people between here and speedwake that have bought them only to find out that it takes a ton of machine work to make them fit (very poor casting tolerances) I think Articfreinds (Smiity) bought 1 and did some extensive machine work to his and was unable to use it. You can buy an HP gimble ring and bellhuosing kit from any Merc dealer but you will have to install mechanical bar graphs as they do not have provisions for the electric senders. If fact Articfreind is running 900HP and 90 MPH in a 272 Baja with a stock gimbal but he does have hydraulic steering.