Top Gun/Whipple question
 

Can anybody confirm for me if a 3.3 liter fuel injected Whipple with cupranickel intercooler will fit under the standard hatch of a mid '90's flat bottom Top Gun? Engines are standard deck 509's with offshore mounts and 72c tranny's. Anybody have any first hand experience?

The measurement from the bottom edge of the intake is only 1/4" shorter than my 525SC's to the top of the carburetor, not the flame arrestors. I had sombrero's before but I'm not sure if just the flame arrestors stuck up into the sombrero's or some of the carburetor too.

I was told the Whipple's were only 1" taller than a 500EFI so I just assumed there wouldn't be a problem but now that I measured it I'm not so sure...

Go to Whipples website. Pretty sure they have dimensions there. If you have 525SC motors now, I am very sure it will clear your hatch.

Smitty I have both motors assembled, the 525SC and my new 509's with the Whipple's, so I have real/actual dimensions to go off, I just haven't put them in the boat yet and I have my hatch off so I can't measure that either.

I've talked to Whipple and they think it will fit too, I'm just worried because the measurements are so close...was just wondering if anyone has done this and had first hand experience with it.

Whipples in your Gun may be raising the bar for everbody else!!

Hmmm, mine are 509s also just w the 575 blower on top. I like your thinking!!!

you have a 3a boat. The engines are going to be at different location than a bravo or TRS boat. Work off your engine measurements and remember you pick up a little extra height as you come forward in the engine room.

Right now I"m just hoping they FIT in my Gun :angry-smiley-038:

Thanks Kris. Problem is my hatch is off and I don't have the motor mounts on yet...so I can't get the exact measurement. That's why I was hoping somebody had done this already with the same setup and could say definitively, but apparently not.

What's got me nervous is that I thought the measurement from the top of block/bottom of intake would be much lower on the Whipple and it isn't, only 1/4" lower than the 525SC setup...oh well, might just have to wait until they're in and see what happens :lolhit:

Blower scoops are gonna look GOOOOOOOOOD!!!:lolhit::evilb:

You redid everything else back there, time for a new hatch!

Didn't your mother ever teach you if you don't have anything good to say don't say anything at all??? :angry-smiley-038:

Seriously! I would love the newer style that bumps up in the middle but I don't imagine their easy to come by and if I did find one I can't imagine it would be cheap...and by cheap I mean free because at this point I'm so broke it's not even funny :lolhit:

I agree, new hatch required!

Back in the day I was quoted $10K for the new style hatch

Get the new style Hatch!!

Guys the question wasn't whether or not to get a new hatch :lolhit: :angry-smiley-038:

Believe me, if I had the money I would be getting the new style hatch, I love that look!

As a suggestion...

Does it make sense to mock up the mounts in the boat...take a measurement to your perceived location of the closed hatch....transfer those numbers to the engines on the stand and compare? Is there some point that you can lay a straight edge across the bilge where the hatch will reach it's lowest point?

Seems do-able...but your the one with eyes on it.

John I can do that, sort of. I have the blowers off the motors again to deal with the Whipple fitment issue and won't have them back on til the end of the week at best.

I'll be down at the boat tomorrow and will take a measurement with a straight edge across the engine bay from where I assume the hatch sits and then down to the top bolt hole of the motor mounts. Then when I get the blowers back on I can measure from the top bolt hole in the mounts on the engine to the top of the blower and hope for the best!

Mine were a very tight fit. I took all the measurements from the engine in profile, and made a big cardboard template that went from transmission output flange to blower pulley to oil pan to throttle body. With the hatch off the boat, I used the hatch hinges as a reference point, positioned the template in the boat, and then took it to the hatch on sawhorses.

I went as far as shooting in my new angles mounts before taking delivery of the engines.

Cost: $0, knowing they will fit, priceless...

You are going to need this. I still have it, make me an offer.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...d-blowers.html

Just take your hatch, add this pad and scoops if you want. Brand new Carbon Fiber Vinyl. Fits on straight flat hatch. Was on a Transmission Boat. Let me know. Scoops and just bolt on to exisiting fiberglass hatch, cut openings and ad this top

I added scoops on mine for the blowers, cost was not bad, labor sanding and filling the inside of the scoops was the worst. Scoops were 350, paint, glass, resin, etc, was 125. New mirrorplex was 260. Can be done in a few days.

tcelano what engines are you running? Are you running Whipple's or other blowers?

cigrocket thanks for the offer and I'll keep it in mind. I'm hoping that I won't need to add scoops though...

Jim thanks for the info, I'll keep this in mind too...

I am still hoping, and have been told by a couple reputable sources, that they will fit under the stock hatch. It seems like it will be close but I think it might fit. I hope so because I really don't want to add scoops, I want to keep the OEM look and retain the full sunpad for the girls :evilb:

Jason I'm putting the same motors with stage 2 intercoolers, mine are bravo set ups in my Mystique, i had 500 efis and that whipple set up isnt much taller than that, i should have 1" or 2" of room...

Yeah this is what everyone is saying, only 1" taller than 500 EFI's so should fit. I just got nervous when it was almost the same height as my 525SC's. Granted it was 1/4" shorter and I guess the sombrero's were mainly for the flame arrestors then...I guess I'll find out soon enough :lolhit:

How are you motors coming along? Any pictures yet?

Okay, couple of comments...

First, I can't believe I was asking this question back in July, apparently I thought i was close to installing the engines then :lolhit:

Second, here's the answer :angry-smiley-038:

Nice... going to be a very clean install. Congrats.

Looks good Jason glad your back on it, sorry that you had to cut the hatch, when i talked to Dustin about my set up he said you wont be any higher than the CMi headers, i feel bad hope i didn't steer you in the wrong direction, I made the cardnial sin "assume", and the funny thing is that i just painted my hatch yesterday, never checked to see if I'm going to have clearance.... From the top of my old efi it looks like i have about 4.5" to the bottom of the hatch....Hope I'm good..

Yeah I'm happy. This is why I love working with Phil...he's amazing. Originally he thought I would need scoops but then I pushed that I really didn't want them and he worked his magic. The way they did the cutouts is top notch and strong as can be, no problem walking on it on top of the sunpad!

Ehh, don't worry about it and you didn't steer me at all. It was off by about an inch...so close, but soooo far! :angry-smiley-038:

I hope yours fits too. I was told the same thing by Dustin and by several others...same height as stock 525, should fit with no problem...well they were close, lol. Either way I'm happy, when the hatch is closed you won't notice it and that's the clean look I was going for. As I said earlier, I would have loved to go with the newer style hatch but it just wasn't in the cards right now.

Theoretically the height thing they may all be correct, where the differences probably lie are with how the engines are mounted in the boat, x dim and set up. Some boats have come from the factory with the drive holes an inch or so higher on one side. guess it depends on who was reading the tape measure on each particular boat as it was being built. Glad to see it coming together and any project worth doing right is worth taking the time to do it right.