didn't know you had a serious accident, glad you made it!

Only 400 lbs tongue huh? When I had mine out last time I scaled it. Going from memory, I think it weighed just under 8k total, with 800 of that on the tongue, which is 10%. That was with 30 gal fuel but not the rear seat or hatch. Thing is heavy for a 27' boat.

Yeah, I am liking how it is looking. Big improvement with trailer wok we did.

With 400# the way the Aluminum Bunk is set up with the torsion axles it tows like a dream. With 600+ I pulled it 70 with the Escalade and it was very smooth...just a bit heavy on the front axle bias. when I had my steel trailer I was at 1000# and the trailer was damn near dangerous...empty it weighed 3400#. My 255 with 130 gals on board and 30 gallons of water with gear is about 7200# with trailer...trailer is 1100#. I think a 272 and a 255 are within 200# or less delta....about 5600~5700# dry. What are you towing with?

fixx
 

dont forget,the motors are out so theirs more tongue weight..see how it tows when the engines are back in the boat..

Mike...400# with the motors...600#+ w/o...no motors shifts the weight bias to the tongue.

Nice new ride John! Looking forward to hearing about them engines running on stands this weekend. If I happened to have a local job :evilb: I'd come over and help you get that thing together for the Emerald Run!!! I bet she'll tow nice with the motors and drives back on behind that Caddy. Should be a good looking rig too!

Two suburbans. I have a 04 2500 with the 496 and 3.73's. Rated at 10k towing, 17k gcwr. I tow a 31' travel traier with it and it does great right at the 17k total.

My other one is a 99 1/2 ton with 120k on it. I will see how it does on our flat Indiana and Michigan roads. It would only be used to transport the boat if we take it with us camping and the big one is towing the tt. Once there, the 2500 will transport it to the lake. I may need to get a second 3/4 ton! What do you do with nine kids though?

Brian

WOW!!! You don't have a family...you have a TRIBE lol:evilb::evilb:

If the 1/2 ton has 3:73's it will be great...I never had any trouble at all with my F-150 (RIP) ...sob...

John,

What is going on on your end?
I read you are getting some blue paint?
I like that !!!!

Yeah... I'm going to paint the valve covers and maybe the pulleys blue before I drop the motors. The hell of it is I've got both together except for Flywheels and starters. Now is the time to do it though...easier than once they are in.

I am building some roll around test stands so I can fire these motors up and check for leaks before they go in. They were run on a Dyno but I have changed all the cooling and brackets along with remote oil filter adapters. If I need to change something I will know it.

I have them on assembly stands now and the flywheels can't be mounted on the stands. The run stands will allow me to assemble the flywheels, couplers, bell housings and starters prior to install.

Work has had me tied down for the past month...just picked up a HUGE job with the Miami-Dade School Board that has had me occupied.

Congrats on the work you got.

I was wondering if you were going the 292 fans tech route? Gotta tell you, I have been eying them also, just not on a now timeframe. If I want to stick with the 272 size, the 292 fastech has to be very close to the same size.

You have had a 272, what do you think of he 292 compared to it?

Brian

New technology, more robust construction if you can imagine that!! More cabin and cockpit room....not to mention the step hull.

From a hydrodynamic view I'm guessing at plane the 292 FasTech has about 60% of the viscous drag that our hulls do.

UPDATE

Engines are ready to drop in...any day now!!

[IMG]http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps224b2917.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...psbeaf50a5.jpg[/IMG]

They look great, this has been a great thread here like many others we have seen. You must chomping at the bit to get her in the water. I thought you were putting a closed cooling system on these to help with the salt?

We`ll need more pics as progress goes on. We rely on you guys down south about boating, since I just winterized today:mad:

Thanks for the words...and you got to know I am excited about getting this "Bird" in the water and dialing it in.

My buddy Diego in Miami is doing closed cooling on his 383's in his Nova...Aluminum heads don't you know. I'm staying open on this one ... mostly due to the fact I'm a flush freak plus my only AL is the intake...and it's brass lined.

I will keep the pics coming and am strongly considering doing a blog on this project. Once things become "Dynamic" I want to do some video as well. Our boating is year round for the most part. Whether we go out or not isn't related to the season but depends on how the seas are running due to the wind. We are blessed in that the water is warm year round and if the wind kicks the waves up to an uncomfortable level in the ocean...we can stay in the Intracoastal and enjoy the sand bars and shallows. I have to say...it's a real kick to be on the water Christmas Day or New Years and call the family up North to rub it in!!:evilb: I've been here 35 years and never take it for granted.

John,

I like the blue valve covers, I had them like that on prev set up with the 454's , let us know when you are dropping them in !
I should be ready by en of October !

I'm ready for this boat to run! John when do you want me to fly down and help with the final install? :evilb:

I see you went with an hei set up who did you use?

DUI M12720
(http://www.performancedistributors.com/marinedui.htm) Total.33*..all in at 3000 RPM. I got two entire DUI set ups including all the "Live Wire" spark plug wires as well. Jiffy192 (Gavin) made me a hell of a deal on the 2: he had in 502's going in his 311 Formula...only had Dyno time on them so they were virtually new with the high strength alloy cam gears for the roller cams. BBC's and SBC's use the same distributors so they dropped right in.

I have used these before and they are strong reliable performers.

same set up I had on my 242. I also had the live wires. The only issue I had with mine was the advancement aperture welds broke that held on the advancement springs. I sent it back to them and they fixed it under warranty other than that it was a good setup.

Keep at it man, you are making progress. I envy your weather, hoping to get mine out at least one more time but weather or schedule seems to be fighting me.

Brian

Definitely a nice boat. I can't go without a boat so I keep trying to do stuff as I use it. Lol. Keep up the good work. Can't wait for you to get it wet!!

All belts, hoses, alternators, PS pump installed. Still need to hook up external oil filter connection but can test run prior to that. I have to throw some run stands together so I can put flywheels, starters, bell housings and wiring harness's on.

[IMG]http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...formula001.jpg[/IMG]
I may take some vacation days and get these engines in the boat.

It's time.

Good Lookin boat man!

Thanks. I am getting the hardcore mechanics out of the way first then I will rework the interior, gauges, etc. I have a pair of McLeod bolsters from a 292 that I am building the interior around so they will go in first after I get the engines and drives in.

I will confess that there have been times that I second guessed myself converting to Bravo Drives but I know I will be better off in the long run. I tell you though...when you upgrade from Pre-Alpha to Bravo you change everything!!:evilb:

Would you finish this damn thing already ;) Guess I'm gonna have to come down and help.

Cool. I'm thinking of a bravo upgrade when I finally build motors.

Let me know when you are ready because I have the entire process memorized. I think the biggest issue overall is the raw water pump for the cooling. I went with the crank mounted pumps for simplicity and ease of maintenance. I am pulling supply thru the drives because I didn't want to drill holes in my hull for the intakes.

Mounting the Transom assemblies is easy...you just drill 2 additional holes at the top. I up sized the couplers to the full round Bravo HD style. Your steering ram is the same as the Bravo as are the shift brackets.

Having post 1986 Alpha makes the job on your boat about half as difficult as mine since many of the parts are shared across the Alpha/Bravo platform. With the pre-Alpha No. 1 drive there were a lot of differences.

I'll give you a shout when I need an extra pair of hands:evilb:

Merry Christmas "Birdheads"
 

Merry Christmas from the 26th Parallel!! High today 80*...seas 2'...water temp 78*.

[IMG]http://i705.photobucket.com/albums/w...ps0195b8ba.jpg[/IMG]

Christmas Day bath before heading down to Ft. Lauderdale to drop in engines and drives. She'll be 35 in August according to the HIN#...unbelievable :cool:

You got to hand it to the Formulas...they just keep coming back for more.:cool:

What a beautiful job you did on that old bird. There are literally tons of current day boaters that would be far happier in a boat designed just like that one. Congrats on a job well done :)

Lookin good John. She should be getting close to getting wet now.

Yep...ran into a Bravo issue today. Seems that the input shaft splines on one of the drives I bought from that guy in Sarasota are twisted so we're replacing that, checking the upper bearings and replacing seals to be on the safe side. I'm hoping for 1st ~ 2nd week of January for my first sea trial. I'm getting very close.

Still one of my favorite looking old birds. John get it done! :evilb:

Awesome man. Can't wait to hear how it goes.

The boat looks great. I like the Formula letters on the deck. The look of the boat name lettered out on the deck is just cool to me. Formula has that in some of their graphic options in different years and I like it so much I may put it on mine too.


I just got a power package to drop stock power back into my SS. I converted from Alpha to Bravo so how much adjustment difference do you think I will have to deal with in the shifter and cables? Is the stroke and adjustments the same across those two drives?

This conversion is my first rodeo so I am carefully feeling my way around to make sure it is all done right.

Well Sir...we will learn this one together. I have the OEM Bravo Shift cables that came with the 2008 Bravo transom assemblies I bought. I will be using the OEM Formula/Morse throttle/shift setup (from the helm) to start with and I will let you know how that goes real soon. This is a real test for me because I'm moving from 35 year old "Pre-Alpha" technology to Bravo. My old shift brackets mounted to the engine bell housings and now my new ones mount to the exhaust manifolds. I'm sure there will be a bit of tweaking involved...we will know real soon.

I think the Formula "European" style deck logo is classy as well. No mistake in making "Brand Recognition" from the air.

Prop Selection
 

I am probably going to break in with "Old School" Mercruiser 21" Stainless props primarily because I have a very good pair. My rigger tells me he sees me going to 23" Bravo I's real quick and depending on how that runs out maybe even go to 25". Being "Old school" I have ZERO experience with the prop development for these rigs over the past 10~15 years. Hell, back when this boat was new...cleavers were the prop of choice...they were a bit of a dog out of the hole but pulled like a "Bat out of Hell" on the top. I'm sure the newer technology is light years better...I'm open to suggestion from those that know more than I ...which includes just about anybody LOL.

The other thing that came up is setting the drives up with the port side spinning opposite rotation...anyone doing that with hands on experience as to the result?

I would post in the prop section your boat/motor/drive combo and Brett from BBlades should be able to get you close on what props to start with.

Thanks... very good suggestion.

Mine was 87 model Alpha, Gen1 so most of the Quicksilver stuff was similar between the two. That will help me out some but I'm not usually lucky.

Yours is a lot further back so I guess we will see how much Merc has remained the same or changed up.

Don't pull your hair out getting it done. :lolhit: