Thinkin of a re-power next winter. I have a 89 formula 24ft with bravo1/bbc. How much will this drive take for power? Any one know what it runs to do the arneson conversion, i know the boat isn't worth much but i like it!

How much does that Formula weigh and what size prop are you running and what are you going to? The B1 will handle some pretty good power if it is setup correctly and with the right parts and then driven with respect.
I had a guy bring me his new B1 after a short period of run time.. It was on an old Nova. I think it was 540" BBC.. He broke the tower out of it.. I quized him and he finally told me that when he pulled skiers he had to get into a bit to get them pulled up on the water. I put a steel tower in his damaged case and he called after his three week vacation, said all was good, and have not heard from him since.

So tell us how much and how u drive the boat, that will help..

My 22' Citation ran the stock 1989 bravo up till about two years ago when an anchor rope killed it. Ran a few years with 560 hp and a few with 700+

thanks for the replies guys, the boat weighs about 5000lbs. right now just have the 330hp running a 21p mirage prop, tops at about 50mph. I am thinking of going to a 502 or 540ci/550-650hp in the future, i would like to see mid to upper 60s for speeds. I run a lot, 100-150hrs/season for the past two summers since i got it. It gets rough on the st croix/mississippi rivers and lake superior where i run and occasionally i air it out, but have the sense to back out of the throttle when i do.

I think your safe below 600 hp if you behave.

A correctly set up, XR style drive with the "right stuff" inside should be fine in a naturally aspirated, 24', 650HP application.

However, there is a definate "learning curve" with driving. We have numerous 1,000+ HP Bravos still running around. (Some for 5+ years) Most of them are twin applications. But with that said, those same drivers have broken their fair share of drives along the way... (10-30K is an expensive way to learn)
Respect is the best "modification" that you can add to your Bravo. We would love to help out with the rest...
Thanks, Curtis @ Billet Marine.

I'm the guy with the Nova that Mr Gadgets was talking about. I now have only 50 hrs on the drive that he set up for my boat, so it is still early but I have changed the drive oil 3 times and am getting very little metal on the drain plug magnet. It seems that the build that he does really will hold up. My boat is a 26' Nova, about 6000# hull, 625 hp n/a 540 c.i. bb, my new rule when getting on plane is NEVER go beyond 3000 rpm, (skier or not!). By the way, Mr Gadgets is very professional, his shop is immaculate. Honestly when I first saw the shop floor, I waited for him to go into the shop first to see if he was going to take his shoes off first- it really is that clean.I bring it up not because that means he must know how to build bravos, but because it shows how meticulous he is, including when he is building YOUR drive.
I would heartily recommend him for any bravo related repair! He's not like some shops, when he says he will have it done by a certain date, surprise, it is. He didn't mention that My drive was dropped off 2 weeks before my vacation, and he got the repair done exactly when he said it would be done.
By the way, my Nova had a 330 hp 454 when I bought it, it would do just about 50mph with that engine(single engine), when I put the 540 in, it now runs 68 gps lightly loaded. Not a race boat by any means, but it handles rough water great and is fast enough for me.

I had 700 hp and bravo one single engine on a Donzi 28zx put 150 hrs on it before I sold it and it is still doing fine. Follow nova26 advice and you will be fine. Keep it in the water and out of the air. You may want to go with hydralic steering with bigger hp if you don't have it already.

THANKS FOR THE INPUT GUYS. Now I just need to get the cash saved up for the engine and steering and drive upgrades......

A local lake guy runs a Bravo behind a 632ci BBC in a light 23' Velocity. I don't think he's broken it yet.