Good for you and them. That's a great way for them to earn customer loyalty.

The Imco should hold up fine. So is this a 550 or did you have it upgraded to a 625?

I upgraded it the the 625.

Awesome, can't wait to see how it turns out.

Congrats Spin !
 

I can't wait to hear more about it.

:coolcowboy:

Hook up and come down! I got off street parking, close access to flush hose etc.

Launch ramps are free but no fresh water (that's legal).

I'm stoked about Spin's upgrade.

The outdrives on and the engines installed!! They're still finishing up a couple of things like the hydraulic steering and the exhaust tips. I'm hoping we're going to be able to water test her this week!

http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/...r/AEECA4B2.jpg

http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/...r/5DBF03BC.jpg

http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/...r/F410382D.jpg

Looks nice. I don't know much about the X dim on a 29 but man that drive sure looks like it is buried. Any idea what the X dim is on that?

What speed estimate is anyone quoting, looks good.

We're thinking high 80's low 90's but I'll be sure to post when we water test it.

As far as the X dimension goes we're going to run it and see how it handles. We think we may need to swap the lower out with a shorty on but we'll see.

Can't wait to hear to your results! Good luck with it. Love the set up!

Sweet!

any results yet???

I just got the boat back but I'm not going to be able to take it out until next week. The engine also has a 5 hour engine break in time that I have to get out of the way before I can open her up. I'll keep you posted.

Try to get some good video clips! I'll say it again this is a really awesome project you undertook. Congrats

Spin, great job and cant wait to hear the results. One thing you might want to think about in the future is adding 380 tabs and making them level. Roger's team (who posted above) turned us on to it and it was night and day for the better.

I finally got a chance to take it out a break it in! We really weren't sure which prop to use so for the break in we used a 24 bravo 1. Acceleration was excellent! It made it to 75 without any hesitation but but I'm sure I'll need something with a little more pitch. I did find a few other things as well. First, the boat had tendency to lean to the left. Without putting the trim tab down it was a little uncomfortable. We're thinking we may need to switch the direction of the prop. Second, the boat is REALLY loud! I used to have a silent choice exhaust but with the location of the new headers it's not going to fit. When we pulled to our favorite watering hole and shut the engine off people started clapping! I guess I'm going to have to put some sort of exhaust system on it.
I'll put up more pictures when Troy finishes with the engine compartment and I'll give you better numbers once we get it propped right.

What RPM were you running at 75 mph?

I'm not a 100% sure. The gauge was reading 3500 but I'm sure that's not right. I thinking maybe since I went from a V-8 to a V-10 its done something to my tach. Once I realized I slowed it down to about 50 not wanting to stress the engine. I wasn't quite at WOT so if I had to guess 5700-5800.

Some tachs come with a switch on the back that allows them to read 10, 8, or six cylinders. I am thinking that back in 06 my rigger had to buy new tachs with that capability as mine did the same thing as yours the first time the rigger tested it.


BTW, I have a set of brand new 4 1/2 x 6 CMI's Sound Elimination System clamp on mufflers out in the garage if you decide to go that route. They have zero power loss up to 1000 hp.

I really hope mine has the switch. My gauges are the older style so if I have to replace the tach I'll probably need to replace them all if I want them to match.

A far as the mufflers go my mechanic told me he might have a set but he's not sure. He's going to check on Monday for me but if he doesn't I might be interested.

What kind of speeds were you getting with the 496 - and what prop did you run? 1.50 ratio?

Mid to low 60's with a 1:50 Bravo 1 outdrive and 28 Bravo 1 prop and talk about slow to plane. I was going to put a 26 Bravo 1 on but I found this Ilmor and decided to go that route.

Making it work
 

Spin, how much work was this beyond installing any bbc in the boat?

Other words, was the Ilmor a real pain to adapt to or was it relatively painless?

I was thinking about steering, fuel, engine mounts, exhaust etc..

I dont' think it was to bad. The only real thing that I noticed was all the rigging was on the opposite sides of the engines. Meaning everything on the left of a Mercruiser is on the right of the ILMOR. The engine mount locations had to be redone, the holes in the transom for the exhaust had to be opened up a little bit, the bilge pumps had to be replaced with shorter ones, re rigging electrical and fuel lines in the engine compartment, and of course we added the power steering which I don't think there was any complications with that. All and all not so bad. We're still trying to figure out which prop and direction of rotation to use, and if we need to shorten up the outdrive any.

I'm taking my boat back to Supreme Marine tomorrow and I'll see if I can get a little more detail.

[QUOTE=Spinletto;3581628]Mid to low 60's with a 1:50 Bravo 1 outdrive and 28 Bravo 1 prop and talk about slow to plane. I was going to put a 26 Bravo 1 on.

A good friend of mine has the same boat & year as yours, but with a single 525 EFI, with a 28 pitch Bravo1 his takes forever to plane also, with 26 Bravo1 it's no problem.

Did you get the tach sorted out?

Yep.. I've got to get a new one.

Thanks Robert! It sounds 100% better now. I'm finally going to get a chance to prop test it this coming Wednesday.

http://s1215.photobucket.com/albums/...MIMufflers.mp4

Glad they worked out for you J.R. Good luck with the test.

This project is so cool. It just gives a good old Fountain boat a new life with new techology and a fuel efficient engine of a size that fits the boat! I remember one time I tested a 27 Fever with a std Merc 502 EFI 415 hp........ THAT BOAT WAS SLOW ON PLANE! I thought that it had nothing to do with a sport boat. With your set up, it looks like you will get a fun boat with a unique sound for a "small" Fountain.

Please post some more picture of the boat and your impression of the handling. I geuss the lighter engine make the boat stay higher in the water at standstill? What kind of trim level do you need to get it to air out? Speed and prop? It looks like your drive is a bit low, but th eboat also need bow lift to get it to perform well. Lower drive = more bow lift... You mention that your boat leans to the left due to the prop's rotation. I would assume that raising the prop axle would reduce this leaning to the left (port). I wonder if a torque tab like used on the outboards would benefit this rig? I use to make singel engine hi-perf V-bottoms alot better to run with a high "X-dimention".

If you fit a prop that is slow to rev up during the planing process, I know of someone who make a water-pressure activated valve that they put on the cavitation plate in order to let the prop ventilate to get more power and RPMs. Just like on the No6 drives with the vent pipes. When the boat planes, the water pressure close the valve in order to prevent cavitation at low planing speeds.

Please update when you have some more results!!

Thanks :-)

Finally done!!!
 

Here she is completely done. We're still trying out what prop to use. This time I used a Labbed 26 Bravo 1. I got 78 of the GPS and a little over 6000rpm. I was really impressed with the acceleration and how easily it got on the plane but I'm sure I should be getting a little more on the top end. Maybe a bravo 28? Maybe a shorter outdrive with a 5 bladed prop. Any ideas? By the way way I had the outdrive trimmed out to about 5 1/2 at WOT and I even think I could have trimmed it out a little more. Also I was by myself and I had a little over 3/4 tank of fuel.

http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/...o/IMG_0271.jpg
http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/...o/IMG_0270.jpg
http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/...o/IMG_0273.jpg
http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/...o/IMG_0269.jpg
http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/...o/IMG_0268.jpg

What a sweet setup you have. What is the r.p.m. range of this monster motor? As I have Bravo 1 26 pitch props on my little 6.2s I'm guessing you will need to step up to at least a 28 pitch. Please keep posting your test results.

Too cool! So pretty!

29s with 525s run about 78, so you should be 83-84 at top end when dialed in right.

Sounds like you need a prop with more bow lift if you had to trim up that much. Not sure what the V10 is supposed to run at WOT (5800?) but a 28in prop with more bow lift should get you running faster and keep your RPMS up.

I dont think you need a shorty lower yet since guys are running 29s with 575s in the 80s with a stock lower.

That motor looks bad ass crammed in there, great project

Prop Help
 

OK so I finally got a chance to prop test a labbed bravo 1 28 and I was not impressed. 5800 RPM at WOT but only 79 mph and 20 seconds to plane with no tabs with just me and half tank of fuel. I got the same mph out of a Bravo 1 26 at 6000 rpm and much faster to get on the plane!!! WHAT AM I DOING WRONG!!! My performance sheet from the factory said that my boat came from the factory with a Merc 525 and standard length Bravo 1 XR with a Bravo 1 28p prop and got the same speed. Troy thinks I should try a 1 inch shorter lower outdrive with a 5 bladed prop like a Merc Maximus.

So what do you guys think???

I'm not sure what my x dimension is to be honest but I guess I should probably figure it out.

http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/...o/IMG_0271.jpg

http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/...o/IMG_0270.jpg

Well, if you have the original Fountain Performance Report, the X dim should be there.
Was the boat built with a l/h prop?
Many single 27 and 29 were built that way, but not all.
Maximus props are not known for better top end than B1, anyway.

Why not contact Brett Anderson at BBlades. He is one of the supporting vendors on this site. [email protected]
He has a prop loaner program and has also been very responsive to email or forum questions.
Fountain has advertised the 29' Fever w/525 as having a top speed of 75-80. It would seem your setup would be 3-5 m.p.h. faster.

Several years ago I changed from Bravo1 ,4 blade prop to a Hydromotive 4 blade, it is more of a
stern lifter prop, same pitch, I gained speed on top end, and much less trim is needed, I would think you have plenty of bow lift , my good friend has the same boat as you w/ 525 EFI, 26 Bravo 1 prop, his bow runs high at wot.

Thanks for the info guys. I don't want anyone to think that I'm unimpressed with the Ilmor I'm just a little fusterated trying to get this thing dialed in right. 79-80 is pretty good but I think I can get at least a couple more mph out of it once it's setup right.

Prop slip calculations
 

http://www.mercuryracing.com/propell...calculator.php

Assuming: Your labbed 28 has pitch added =28.5
1.5 Gear ratio
5800 RPMs is accurate
79mph is GPS
=
Your prop slip is 24%, way too high. There was a thread on here, think it was also a 29 Fountain where he actually increased speed and lowered prop slip by LOWERING the drive. If you can get your prop slip down to 12-16% you will see much higher speeds... sounds like you need to try different props or maybe a 1" spacer in the drive.. I would have thought that setup could spin a 30, maybe with a bit of pitch removed. Good luck!