29 Fever with a 496mag top speed?
 

I wanted to see if any of you would happen to know what a newer style (06) 29 fever with a 496mag top speed should be?

Are you sure its a mag and not a H.O.?

I think it is
 

Only a 375hp mag. The HO's shows that on the cover "MAG HO".
Guessing around 62-64mph. Small motor for that big of boat.

Wow! That's a Mag. Never seen a 496mag in a Fountain. I would guess 65mph max. Heard the H.O. runs upper 60's-70ish.

From what I've read Fountain didn't offer the 496mag in the 29, but I could be wrong. Is there anyway that the plastic piece on top could have been switched? Is the engine marked anywhere else?

Call merc with your serial number, they can give you the info on the engine.

Call merc with your serial number, they can give you the info on the engine.

Over here on this side of the ocean up north, where gas is waaaay too expensive, it is more common to see the 496/496HO's and even diesels in fountains. I would think it's more a question of asking what they can do, than what they will do.

That boat has got to be a slug, way under powered with a 496 375 hp I know sea rays that will out run it

67-68 with a Mag HO is what I have read, so 64-65 and a turd out of the hole with a MAG. If it came from the factory with that motor Fountain will have a performance report on it from when it was built

Call me stupid but wasnt MAG for carbed engines and HO and MPI/etc fuel injected. Unless it changed later on

No. The Magnum name was simply a name given to higher hp "black" motors with forged internals such as the 454 Mag compared to the standard 330 hp 454 ect, and are not to be confused with merc racing. The Mag's came as carbed and later as FI engines. For the injected engines, the terms was EFI and later MPI. The EFI was a TBI setup and the MPI of course a Multiport. Nowadays it seems that the name just carries over for the new 8,2's as it did with the 496's from the 502 and 454. My guess is, that it's more of a marketing thing than anyting else, for the high hp black motors. There was certanly nothing "magnum" about the 496's with all the cast internals. The 350 still carries the sticker as well. Maybe someone has a little more insight of the origins of this name?

You can check the ECM also. It will have" H.O." on it if it is in fact a 425hp. Would be a slim chance someone changed the cover but I've seen stranger things.

Who knows, I'm gonna call Fountain tomorrow and find out.

How about speeds with twin 6.2's
 

Anyone have an idea what a 29' fountain with twin 6.2's speeds would be and how it would handle. I have seen a couple of them listed in the classified ads, just wondering what kind of speeds you would see. Seems like that might be a nice combination.

The late model 29's with a pair of 6.2's will run 70-72 mph. They weigh ~ 7000 lb due to the 2nd engine and running gear (drive, transom plate, etc), compared to 5850 lb for a late model single setup. They were/are tough to sell and seem to go pretty cheap, when they do sell, from what I have seen.

Maybe somebody changed the big metal thing the plastic piece is attached to..............

Well I talked to Fountain and it looks like someone swapped the engine and my outdrive. It came with a 525 and a XR and now its got a 496mag, obviously, and a Bravo 1. Awesome!! J/K Well I guess somewhere down the line I might want to repower it.

Hey you could do a raylar kit.

My guess is the past owner stopped paying for the boat. Took motor and drive sold it for some big coin. Bank repoed it and threw in the cheapest drive and motor for a 29.

Exactly my thoughts, That boat deserves the 525 and XR package.

My guess is that if you pull that motor and drive and then installed a used 525 and XR you are looking at about 25 K. I would use it as is and not worry about it.

to confuse things more there was also a 454 Magnum/Alpha package that was actually a low-po cast 330/454 ..

Hmm, ok. Not doubting your statement here, but just been through all the old catalouges from '88 and on, and I just can't find that one. The 454/330 low hp was in the early 90's and late 80's rated as 300 prop hp and 330 crank. That was called the 7,4L and not Magnum. The one called 454Magnum, had a 4 barrel carb, and was in fx. '96 rated at 350 hp and that has sometimes been called the 330 too, since merc for a short period also posted the prop hp as being 330 hp. The same year, there was indeed a Alpha/7,4LX 330 hp cank-300 prop which is the one normally reffered to, as the 330. The Magnum name is not present anywhere for the 7,4L's and 7,4LX's though. What year was the package made you are speaking of?

I remember the 7.4 alpha package that you are speaking of.
I think it was only produced for one year then they went to the Bravo drive. It was a stop gap between the end of the TRS/Big block and the Bravo's. I think the Alpha was a little light duty for the torque of the big block engines.

A-HA WATSON!!!! My suspicions have been confirmed!!! Why swap the little plastic piece when you can swap the big metal piece instead!

Nefarious bastards!!!!!

the Alpha 454 package was called Magnum even though it was a base 330 cast internal engine..
Says Alpha 454 Magnum right on the arrestor

Here is a pic of one,
http://www.powerboatlistings.com/pow...454_Magnum.jpg

man I would hate to see how it performs with a load of gas, people, and coolers!!!

It's actually getting some work done to it as we speak and the guy who is working on it said I could upgrade my current engine to an HO for about $2000.00. After that I think I'll probably just leave it alone with the exception of little things here and there and just have fun with it for a while.

Well you may need to use your tabs while getting on plane, and it may take awhile. and a positive is that you don't need to worry about smoking that bravo drive.

I dont know the HP on those, but my 454's on my 1991 29 does 70 right now, old owner said 73 but I havent been able to run it more than once to play with trim and so forth

I believe the 425HO has a forged crank and rods. I believe the 375 has a cast crank and rods. Beware.

Thanks I'll ask him about that. I'm getting all this done at Victory Marine down in Dickinson, TX and from what I have heard and read he's one of the best.

As far as I am informed, it was only the early 496HO's that got the forged crank. The later ones should have a cast piece.

Exactly. And this is where it gets funny. They did indeed do the Alpha/7,4L 330 package when the TRS went out, and then went to Bravo drives. THEN they started supplying it with the Alpha again in the mid 90's, as in the example from '96. The TRS was also available atleast untill '92 on the high performance motors. Weird eeh:grinser010:

Sorry for the hijack.

For 2k you are probably just getting a cam upgrade and an ECM upgrade, which may be the only difference between the two engines.

Do a little more homework but I would strongly consider it if he will warranty the work for this year. 50hp will make a BIG difference and make the boat much more enjoyable. Then just start saving for a motor down the road

As long as you don't ever ride in a 29' fever with a bigger engine you will be fine, but when you hop in one with a bigger engine you will wish you had spent the extra money.

Not sure about some of Bob_T's comments but when I asked Scott Shogren about the difference between the 29 Fever with the 525 Blue motor compared to the twin 6.2 black motor set up he said the twin set up got on a plane much faster, especially with a full tank and multiple people onboard. Eventually the 525 will run it down and is about 5 m.p.h. faster. As far as weight differences and sales potential Scott would be the best source of correct information.