New to me 272
 

Hey all, I just purchased a new to me 1986 272 SR1 with twin SBC's. Im sure I will have some questions and need some advice on this in the near future. There are already changes and upgrades going through my head :drink:........Brad

Welcome to OSO Brad...and the "Brotherhood of Thunderbird".

What ever you need to know...you will find it here.

I had that same boat...same year...

[IMG]http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...es335Large.jpg[/IMG]

How about some pics of that 272...it's always been one of my favorites...in fact I may be about to buy another one if I can get the seller in line with my offer.:evilb:

Good luck with it and we are here to help with any of your questions.

Thanks sprink, Im pretty excited about it...biggest rig I've owned yet. My background is I am an ex drag boat racer now slowing down a bit to just enjoy the lake....lol. Anything I need to look out for or should know on the 272? Also what size fuel tank does it have as well as water tank for the sink? Overall the boat is in really good shape just needs a little clean up TLC. Im going to buff and wax it this weekend. The carpet in the cuddy is a little worn and dirty (not water stained) so I was thinking on tearing it out and replacing with some of that new synthetic teak decking material, easier to keep clean.....thanks in advance for all help and advice...Brad.

Sprink I am amazed that boat did not sit on the stern it is so far back on the trailer! :D

Brad if you go onto Formula's web page they have old brocures that should give you the fuel and water capacity. I would keep the carpet. I don't think it is hard to keep clean at all. Just rent a carpet cleaner and you will be good to go. Mine was nasty when I got my boat. My wife spent a weekend in the cabin and it looks new now! Even three years later it still looks great. :D

I had a 86 for about 7 yrs but mine had the round windsheild, Great boat. it held 100-110 gals, 350 sbc 350 hp, ran 65 ish

Sprink I am amazed that boat did not sit on the stern it is so far back on the trailer!


Yea...I know...that was a temp trailer I used that day just before I put it on a new Float On.....I cringe every time I look at that pic.

Thanks for the help guys. Well I looked up the brocures on the Formula website and my boat that year is supposed to hold 5 gals of water and 135 gals of fuel. Pretty cool the way you can look at the original brocures. The main reason Im wanting to replace the carpet in the cuddy is we have a small white dog my wife and I bring out with us all the time and really got tired of vaccuming up white hair all the time in our old boat....lol. Ok got another question, this boat came with the oringinal cleavers on it (which are in perfect shape). What would be the best props for this boat? The motors are stock......Brad.

The cleavers are of a design that was "state of the art" 25 years ago. They perform well at high speeds with a light load. They don't provide much bite at lower speeds and with a load you will struggle to stay on plane at low speeds have a hell of a time getting out of the hole.

Prop selection on any boat is a compromise based on what the expected use is. Based on my experience with my 255 Liberator (which is very close to the 272 in size and weight) with twin 260's...I like the 21" Mirage+. With 260's in "good" condition with 1.5 geared Alphas...you will top out at 60~65 depending on load and conditions. You will have very good throttle response through out the range of the boat and have the ability to get on plane with ease. If you have "very fresh" 260's or something stronger you might consider a pair of 23" Mirage+. This prop will push your boat into the upper 60's and beyond with the right power.
At the high end...if you end up with some strong (400+) horse small blocks...look at a pair of 25" Mirage+ but at that point you are on the ragged edge of reliability with the Alpha drives.

Hope this helps you with your thinking.

Hey sprink, thank you that helps alot. I will start looking for a pair of 21 Mirage plus's. As stated earlier Im not really looking for top end as Im slowing down from my drag boat days....lol. I would much rather have better throttle response and loose a couple mph on top. I will throw the cleavers up for sale in the mean time. What would be a fair asking price for them? They are in perfect condition.....thanks, Brad.

You might want to try a pair of 23 standard mirages not the pluses. My old 272 (87) i did a prop test back to back to back

Cleavers

21 Mirage

23 Mirage

The 23's gave the best performance all the way around cruise top end and out of the hole. I had stock 260's.

Funny i ran that thing up and down the river four times and never could get it to break 60. 59.9 was all it had BUT it cruised @ 38-40 @ 3300 that was GREAT for me.:drink:

I run the 23 Mirage and they work great.

Help me understand what I don't know....having not run a Mirage vs Mirage+. I have been told that a Mirage+ will equal the performance of the standard Mirage plus the equivalent of 1" of pitch...(i.e. 21" Mirage+ is equal to a 22"...a 23" Mirage+ would equal 24") is this about right?

Just wondering because there are deals to be had on standard Mirage props that are pre-Mirage+.

Your close:drink: The way i understood it a 21+ is equal to a standard 23. The plus has more bend in the leading edge which makes it a little harder to turn RPM.

Thats why a standard 23 was alitte better for me as i had alittle more pitch to move the boat and could still turn it 5000

where did you get it from? Was it the one up in IL at water works by chance, noticed it was not on their site anymore.

Brian

Ok, I will start looking for a couple stadard Mirage 23s then.
befu, yes that is the one. Its in pretty good shape just needed a little TLC. This past weekend I buff and waxed it and it really came back to life. Its really got a mirror finish now so I was pretty pleased that my hard work paid off.
I did discover an issue with shifting the port engine in reverse. It isnt dropping the RPMs like its supposed to and dies out everytime you shift in reverse, foreward is fine. Isnt this an ignition switch or something to momentarily stall the engine?? And how do I fix???.......thanks Brad

You could have one of 2: issues...1.) The shift interrupter switch (located on the rear of the engine above the transom plate) is bad. or 2.) The shift cable is out of adjustment.

Both of these are relatively minor issues. You can disconnect the switch temporarily on the port engine until you get it sorted out...simply by disconnecting the wire from the switch to the coil.
All it does is momentarily kill the spark when the shift cable is in a certain position. Since it's working going into forward...I suspect your issue is cable adjustment.

Check a Mercruiser service manual for the adjustment procedure.

Ok I will check that out. Your probably right on the adjustment because it does go in forward just fine....thanks for your help sprink. I have another question. This is my first twin engine boat, should I put a tie bar on it? Does it help alot or is that more for a higher HP set?........Brad

Figures, I so wanted to go grab that one, just timing was off on my life. Watched it sit on Ebay without a hit and damn near hit the buy it now button. Was hoping it would still be there in a month or so. Oh well, something will be out there when I am ready in the next 1 to 6 months.

Figures! Let me know if you need to sell it! :drink:

Gotta look at a 311 and there is a nice looking 272 on here in the classifieds down in TN also. Need to decide if the 27 or 31 would be the best fit for our "NEEDS"!

Brian

A tie bar is a good thing generally and a great thing in rough water or at high speeds. They are of particular significance on long compass heading runs at high speed in that they help keep the boat on track. I 'll have one on mine as soon as I find one for Alpha's at the right price.

Sorry Brian, I too was watching that one for a while. It was on consignment at a place in Morris IL earlier in the summer and then I didnt see it anymore so I figured someone bought it. Then to my surprise saw it at Water Werks so I snatched it up. Not to rub it in but it is in really good shape although it was pretty dirty. Between the buff job and totally cleaning the interier up it really looks like a different boat now. I only live about 20 miles fron the TN boader so if you need any help on the one your looking at let me know.....Brad.

Thanks again sprink! I will keep an eye out for one also. As soon as Im done doing my cleaning and upgrades I will post some pics. Im in the process of redoing the cuddy floor right now. I did notice the water holding tank is gone on it. The hose line is there. Any idea where to find a replacement one or something that would work?.......Brad

My buddy still has a ( I believe ) a 30 or 32. He has been through 3 motors on the right side. ?? I told him it was an allignment problem most likely. We don't have great mechanics up here in ohio. It has to be. He is burning the main bearings all the time and has givin up.. ( money wise )
The same engine all them time and I don't think he "beats" on it that much either. I can get a DEAL on the boat. But I am affraid to touch it. ANY thoughts. Just the engine mains, not the drives.

Oh crap, the water tank is missing!!!! Dump it. Dump it now before the word gets out. Kills the value more than bottom paint, stringer rot and old greeks on board with gold and speedos combined!

I will take it off your hands...... :lolhit:

You could have been nice and lied by telling me it sucks! Thank you for the offer on the TN boat. I will see if it is still available when I am ready to buy.

Brian

I am looking at 272's now and never even looked at the water tank on my '86 model...where is it ? My 255 has a 25 gal aluminum tank right in the nose in a space below the berth deck. If yours is similar ...let me know and I'll measure mine so at least you will have the dims on it to build a custom.

LOL....I know Im more embarassed about the missing water tank than walking through the Mall with nothing more than a thong and baby pacifer.....lol...once again let me know if you need a hand on the TN boat...I looked at it and it looks nice....Brad

It appears to have been in the same place on mine, a small seperate area just in front of the porta potty. Now according to the original specs it was only a 5 gal tank. We have a Campers World store here in town maybe I can find a plastic tank to work with just a fitting change??? I'll let you know what I find out.....Brad.

[QUOTE=sprink58;3519645 I 'll have one on mine as soon as I find one for Alpha's at the right price.[/QUOTE]

I mad my own EASY to make. i wish i still had the pics.

Used 3/8 flat steel and welded three pieces together to make the mount for the drive and had them powdercoated black

5/8 black pipe was the bar my uncle welded nut on the end odf the pipe so we could run the heim joints in and out for adjustment and had a jam nut on it.

Used stainless joints and powder coated th pipe red to match the boat it looked great and i thin i had 250.00 bucks in it:drink:

Sound like oil temp is to hot does he have a oil temp guage?

i don't think aliignment would eat up motors it would eat couplers and gimbles though!

I would think it is the motor. Check oil passages.

I think it would be odd to pull a motor and replace it 3 times and get the missalignment wrong the same everytime. What is common between the 3 rebuilds, look there.

Block? Crank? Oil pump? Oil Pan, pickup, remote filter and lines?

Brian

Car Biz.....make my own....hmmmm....I have access to machining and fabrication at work. I just looked at the Latham web site and could easily make one. I will fabriacte the clevis's, use sst 5/8 pipe and just need to purchase a pair of sst rod ends.....wheels are turning....thanks, Brad.

You got it!!!!!!!!!!! IT is pretty easy to do and it was one of the best things i did. the back of the boat @ speed seemed more stable the think drives have a tendancey to "walk back and forth" the bar eliminated that!!!

I got my tie bar fabricated and installed it over the weekend. I have way less than $100 in this thing and it turned out great. I tig welded two nuts on the ends of the pipe then tig welded threaded rod for the rod ends to thread onto. The most expensive thing was the rod ends. I think Im going to change the port side over to counter rotation also :drink: Brad

Dude......
 

Gary Williams here. Glad to see you here and making the change.
As you know, I've done the little boats and the big boats and the big are much more fun.
The older Formula's are on my A list.
Great to hear from you Brother!!

Hey Gary, great to hear from you!! I am having alot of fun with the bigger stuff. As you know I was pretty serious about the drag boat racing and did pretty good. Got my old Mirage Jaguar competitive in 10 second class (M/E) running in the 0's at 112-115 mph in the quarter. But it was time for a change. Ironicly I ended up crashing...well stuffing my lake boat (a Baker ModVP tunnel) at 85mph...lol. So Im enjoying this bigger ride. Hope all is well with you in the land of sunshine :drink: Keep in touch brother.....Brad.

Brad....
 

I was very aware of your success drag racing and was always a huge fan especially in how fast you picked it up and got competitive.
Two time class champion??
I've still got FrankenRude II hanging on a stand and had an Allison XR 2002 that I intended to race. But after spending 2 yrs restoring my 2nd 24' twin O/B Sonic I was quickly reminded I don't have the money or brain matter to do both.
Reality is it takes almost the same effort and similar funds (if paying for hotels w/the small boat) to play w/the little boats as the big boats.
And as I tell my friends, our idea of boating is climbing on it Friday and not getting off until Sunday.
Sold the A Bote and dumped that money into the completion of the Sonic.
Based on where you're living I'm guessing your playing on the Ohio River?? If so, awesome place to boat and I miss it.

Give me a ring some time so we can catch up.
Glad to see you're doing well.
772-418-0902

Sounds like me and my wife....we are on the water all summer. We mainly boat on Barren River Lake. Its a 10,000+ acres lake with really clean water, very deep and tons of coves. Plus its less than 30 mins from my driveway to the ramp. I will give you a call in the next day or two....Brad
615-878-0574

Very nice boat. The lines on these are timeless. I also have an 84 272LS project boat that im restoring now. I spent today removing 2 coats of bottom paint. Can you post some interior pics and possibly engine pics. The owner of my boat died suddenly and the family knew nothing about boats both engines froze cracked blocks, manifolds one outdrive was stolen. I am now the owner of whats left. My boat has mirage plus 21s counterrotating drives. I cant say how they work obviously. I called Formula and questioned them about the boat they were very nice and answered all questions according to them the 21s were stock props and would run low to mid 60s with small blocks and 70 with 330s. brochures are availible on formulas website. Good luck with your new toy.

Hey Paul, I dont have any engine pics but can take some for you. Send me your email and I will get some together for you.