New Formula Owner F-223LS
 

Hello All,
Just picked up a 1988 Formula F-223 LS w/ 454 & Bravo-1. Whats everyones take on these? What are commonly added options? Is their anything that I should swap out on the 454 right off the bat for performance gains? Is there any place I can find NOS parts for these. (I'm missing the L in Formula on one side) How much HP would I need to make this boat go 80? Is it stable at those speeds? How large of water can the boat handle at cruising speed? Sorry for all the questions.

Thanks!

You can find the letters on eBay, it will all depend on what engine you have the 330 hp or the 365hp mag motor. I,would keep it stock,and run it for a while to see if everything checks out and go from there.

congrats and post pics when u can, the 223 is a great boat, 2 friends have them, 1 is all stock and mint, runs 61, 64 once, another has a warmed over 365hp and is just over 70, anything over 65 is pretty squirrely, so I think 80 might be risky, as said above letters can be found, boat will be fine on any inland lake, if on a great lake anything over 3's will be bumpy, with that said they do ride good just not great, the 223 did not get the 24 degree hull like the 242, and I was amazed at the difference between the two,

I used to have a 1991 242SS, which is the next size up. Same power package.

How much HP would I need to make this boat go 80? - you don't want to go 80 mph in that boat . . . not enough hull underneath you. . . but if you were to try, then probably about double the HP that you have.

How large of water can the boat handle at cruising speed? - 3-4 ft chop would be about it . . . rolling swells, maybe a bit more.

Is there any place I can find NOS parts for these? - Despite the boat's age, I was able to find most everything, so long as I was able to get a manufacturer and part number off of whatever was broken. I did order a T-Bird emblem from Formula (they are the "large style for emblem & lettering), and also bought new lettering on eBay.