89Force235

Hi All,

I've spent a lot of time on the forum (mostly in the for sale section looking for parts for my 89 Baja Force 235 project that I've named "Used Parts".

I'm starting a thread because I would like input from knowledgeable members of the forum on where I intend to take the project.

This project is a budget build to the max. I bought the Force 235 on the trailer for 1000 bucks without a motor. I have since then scrounged up a mildly built 454, B&M blower, and a few other goodies to put the project together. My specs on it are below:

Concerning the Engine:

Mark IV 454 2 bolt main
-Bored 0.030
-Cast Crank
-Forged Pistons
-Molly Rings
-8:1 Compression Based on; bore, piston to deck, gasket thickness, and head volume
-Cast 781 heads w 2.19/188 valves and Comp Roller tip 1.71 Rockers
-Crane H-272-2 Hydraulic Flat Tappet Cam, Lift .515/.510, Duration@50 216/228, LSA 112
-Mercruiser 496 HO aluminum Exhaust Manifolds and Risers (turbulator Plates removed) and 4" thru hull
-Holley 850 CFM vacuum secondary 4150 style carb (boost referenced)
-B&M 174 Blower with 2.5 upper pulley (That's the 7.5 lb pulley)
-30 degrees total advance timing
-Crossover cooling no thermostat

Concerning the Boat:

-Bravo Drive
-No trim tabs
-Since this is a lake boat that will never be too far from shore, I've eliminated a bunch of heavy stuff including one battery. Should add up to ~150# weight loss

I ran the boat twice at approximately 7,000 ft of elevation. Same motor, no supercharger, stock thru the prop exhaust, and it sucked. Only ran about 4200 rpm and around 45-47 mph with a 21p prop.

At this point, I haven't had the boat in the water since installing the 496 exhaust, thru hull, cross over cooling, or supercharger. This is my first blower motor so I'm looking for a critique of my set up and I'm contemplating installing a retrofit roller cam and aluminum heads. I hate to spin the motor much over 5000 rpm with the cast crank and 2 bolt main.

As far as heads go, my budget pretty much has me limited to a set of Pro Comps with quality valves and hardware, and decent roller rockers.

Any suggestion on a roller cam for this set up and desired rpm range??

Thanks in advance!

Travis





Don't mind the silly small flame arrestor, it's just to keep dirt out for now

phragle

iTrader: (3)

I suspect 7.5 lbs on a 174 is on the verge of becomming a heat pump. Others definitly know motors better than me so take anything I say with a grain of salt. with a cast crank and 2 bolt block, I would only be using the blower to basically equal sea level on top of a normal mild build.

89Force235

Thanks for the reply! I am concerned about the heat from the 174 turning so fast.

My buddies are telling me that I shouldn't be worried since it's a "lake boat". Basically, what they are saying is that if I run the boat wide open (full speed) I'll already be at the other side of the lake by the time the blower gets hot,.. I'm in New Mexico so not a lot of water here.

I don't have any experience with these so any input is appreciated.

corey331

We actually just did a build on my Dad's 88 Force 235. kind of similar to yours, but we call it 'The FrankenMotor". My dad is the original owner of the boat and put 1200-1300 hours (probably more, burnt through 2 different hour meters over the years) on the stock 330hp 454. So when it finally let go, we put something together for him. Started out as an old 525 SC that had a bad piston and cracked block. So we had everything checked and bought a new piston and put it in a virgin Gen VI 454 block. We refreshed the 088 heads off the 525 and put them on the boat as well. Since this motor was now a roller, we put in a stock 500hp cam. I then tracked down a complete EFI set up off of a 502 mag to put on it. Dad's boat is also running aluminum 496 exhaust with the turbulators removed (sounds killer!!). To complete it, we put on a 2.3L Sidemount whipple. Not sure of the total power since we never dyno'd the motor, but the boat runs damn good!! He hasn't GPS'd it yet, but I know its well into the 70's. He's spinning a 27p Mirage Plus to around 5200. Needless to say, the boat is faster than Baja ever intended it to be, and its one helluva sleeper!!! It hurt a few peoples feelings on Cumberland last summer.

Here is the motor that was built by B.G.R. (Barry Gill Racing out of Berea, KY). The rigging was done by Kunkel's Marine in Ontario, OH.



Here is a video of it running down the lake last fall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH0NyGg9anc

I know Dad's boat is a blast to run!!! Yours should be too when you get it all dialed in. I love sleeper boats!! Keep us updated on your progress.

89Force235

Was there supposed to be a link in your post about the motor? Edit: Never mind I see the pic now.

Any chance you have specs on the 500 hp cam?

Also, any idea how much total ignition timing he's running?

Got a boost gauge on it? I'm curious about the boost/rpm levels.

Thanks a lot for the info!!

89Force235

I'll post pics of my set-up as soon as I figure out how....

airjunky

iTrader: (2)

If your running flat tops and 118 chambers it might be a little on the soft side till the blower goes on , and may easily encounter "artificial" intake boost pressures and temps if you put a rect port intake on round port heads.other than that 4200 with a 21 even at 7kfeet seems a bit low ,might be super rich if your running your 850 carb jetted for boost at that altitude with no blower

92nsx

Open photobucket.com account, upload photo, then copy & past the img here

89Force235

Yep, rectangle port intake on round port heads. They were the good "used parts" I had ya know... Do you think I'll see much benefit from a cheap set of aluminum square ports?

I converted the carb to boost reference after installing the blower. Carb wasn't jetted for a blower when I originally ran the motor without the supercharger. At the time the carb was just a factory 850 vacuum secondary Holley 4150... Probably was pretty rich though.

corey331

I don't know the specs on the cam off the top of my head, but it wouldn't be to hard to find. It's just a stock cam out of a Merc Racing 500hp. As far as timing goes, I'm not really sure, it's been so long since I messed with it. I do know that he is only running 5psi and it has a water to air cooler on it. I'm trying to talk him into putting the 7psi pulley on it to see what it does!!