Hum...single 550 -600hp bbc Bravo....gets the wheels turning. I may look into that as a possibility. There would then actually be some room in the engine room.

Trust me...I have seen that tried...these are heavy boats and need 600+ horsepower and 800# of torque to run well. It's easier to accomplish with twin SBC's since you are already rigged for it. If you decide to mess with the transom...spread the centers to 34". Then you have the twin BBC option.

Diego in this forum has an '87 with twin 454's bone stock 330 horse motors running about 65. He's changing the stock exhaust to Stainless Marine performance as I type this. With a bit of carb tweaking and prop selection he may see 70.

I would like to see a strong pair of 383's in one of these...Diego has a fresh pair that made 400 horse and 460 ft lbs...he may be in a position to sell them.

I'm putting twin 400 horse 355 Vortec Roller Cam motors in my 255 as I write with Bravo drives, The 255 is a similar boat to the 272 maybe 200 lbs lighter with higher free-board. I'm running stock X and will possibly see 70~75 if I push it...top end isn't my goal...long runs (4+ hrs) at 50~55 are. I went for the Bravos for a variety of reasons but mainly for long distance ocean running durability.

My '86 272 had Alpha SS drives behind 320 EFI/TPI Mercruisers...23" stainless cleavers. We had no GPS in that day but pitot speedo was 74~75 at 6000 RPM. Those motors were strong and made power all the way from idle to 6000. I ran that boat 60 for 2 hours once which was about 4800 RPM...that 272 was a strong running SOB in smooth or rough water. it brought me home many times thru weather and seas that I should not have been in. The Alpha SS was strong. I used to catch air with that boat and spun the hubs out of several props...never had a drive issue. Take that back...I hit something right outside of Port Everglades one afternoon in 40 ft of water. Bent the starboard prop and the prop shaft. Mechanic went all thru the drive and tried to talk me out of it. I watched him the whole time to make sure i didn't get the upper swapped for a standard Alpha...I know the SS gears and bearings had to be heavier...6000 RPM on a standard Alpha...no way!!! The SS handled it. The only other boat I ever saw them on was a '86 Formula 242 SR-1 with twin 320 EFI's. Owner told me he saw 80 once after driving thru a chine walk...said he saw God!!

I never did check the X on those drives but I know I could get on a plane in 4' of water with no skeg drag!!

If you are looking for strong Alphas check this guy http://rlcboats.com/triple_digits/pr...pledigits.html

I think someone will break 100 in a 272 with LS motors based on GM 6.0/6.2 architecture I think it will take 1000 horsepower to do it....with twins. A single engine will run too deep based on hull configuration regardless of dive length....unless someone builds a pad into the hull...interesting to theorize.

I love these old boats...think about it...they still turn heads and hold their own in the performance boat world 25~35 years later....that speaks volumes.

Good luck with your project. Remember that the Formula hulls weren't built for top speed but moreover for the ability to slice thru rough seas at high speed.

Nice write up John.

This is the Sprink I was looking for threads from,i think. My initial thoughts with this boat was to pull the stock 260's and replace with a couple 383,s with good heads and exhaust .These days it's not hard to get 400 hp out of one of these strokers.Then I started wondering about the possibility of raising x-dimension to get some drive drag out of water .I was sizing up boat yesterday as to possibility of single bb and was wondering about how high or low to run single Bravo .what you said makes sense about drive to low ....Needs a notch or pad ,,,or both .But this boat will get neither.Do you think the stock alpha x dimension is high enough for some decent speed with 750-800 hp..I really only care about getting it somewhere in the mid 70's...This certainly isn't a race boat .Main reason for wanting decent top end numbers is to be able to "motor" in the 50's with motors happy. Not super concerned with Alpha reliability. Set up tight and not beat on too hard ,they should be alright .And if one comes apart ,I have more drives and drive parts .Obviously my easiest path is to leave transom alone ,since it is solid, and get some motors in this old bird.....Thanks for reply

Ls motors=out of budget for this old boat...would be fun though