Ilmor 625 in a 29
 

Does anyone know if the Ilmor V10 series engines will fit in the newer style 29 Fevers without major modifications?

I hope so, that would be wicked.

Yes...it would definitly be wicked. But you may/will have to cut out the center of the rear bench to do it. That'll still give you room for 4 in the cockpit. Sounds good.

We could do it for you at RF MARINE.

Reggie your the expert, would it fit? If not what kind of modifications ($$) are we talking about?

Worst Case Cutting Through The Bulkhead Alittle.

My guess is I need to figure out dimensions of the engine compartment compared to the engine. It would be sweet but being that they're not making the 29's anymore and who even knows if Fountain's going to be around much longer, I hate to do major modifications to it. There's only so many left.

It Would Be A Neat Setup. Or We Can Just Take What You Have & Get You Going Faster. What Power Do You Have Now & How Fast Do You Want To Go?

Currently it's got a 496 HO in it and I'm totally not happy with the top speed or acceleration. It was repo and the boat originally had a 525 in it so I'd like to put something close to that back in it. I've been looking for a good deal a Mercruiser blue top or a Ilmor. I've also thought about sending my engine to Raylar and having them upgrade my engine to one of their 600.

We Can Get Quite A Bit More Power Out Of The 496. Modifying Your Motor Is Going To Be The Most Cost Effective. With The Added Power & Properly Setup I Think You Would Be Very Happy.

Thanks I'll give you a call tomorrow.

I Look Forward To Hearing From You.

An easy upgrade would be a Procharger. Stay with 3.5psi boost and that will get you the torque you need. Don't think about the 5psi kit without doing some internal engine mod's. The 3.5psi kit is easy to install and you can always take it off if you want to sell the boat.
If you are going to move up in power you will want to look at upgrading the outdrive. It is going to be the weak link!

I see your point about accelleration and speed. Sinnce the boat had a 525, I assume you got an XR drive. The 625 Ilmore will work with the XR. Wouldn't cutting the bulkhead just give you trouble as you will hit the fuel tank? Ahould be a fun boat with the V10. It revs high and you can still use a small pitch prop to gain accelleration while maintaining the top end. Or am I wrong here?

I talked to Ilmor today and I asked if this engine will fit without making major modifications. They asked me to measure the the inside of the engine compartment. They said I would need 45 inches for the top of the transom to the top of the firewall. My mechanic got 46 inches but he measured from the middle instead top but the transom. Since the transom angles out from the bottom up they said their sure its gonna fit. I imagine it's going to be tight! According to them it's only 2 inches longer than a chevy big block... I bought the engine.

Keep us posted on the progress with this project, it should be awesome!

Awesome, It Should Run Really Good.

Is it a new engine from Ilmor or did you find it in the aftermarket? We need pics :)

who is doing the swap?

I went with the 550 that was in the OSO classiffieds.

http://www.offshoreonly.com/classifi...o42117-en.html

It's on it's way back the Ilmor. They're going to look it over and I might have them upgrade it to a 625. Depends on the cost.

You will need to change out those headers from straight backs to downturned. Otherwise you will have a very extreme downturn in your exhaust in order to get it under the swim platform.

Being that it is new, see if Ilmor will change yours out. If not I may have a set.

I'm not a hundred percent sure yet but I think either Supreme Marine down in Ft. Lauderdale or Wilson Custom Marine in Stuart, FL. Ilmor recommends Wilson Custom Marine because they're one of their dealers. They also said that they might be able to give me a warranty since I'm sending it back to them, so if they tell me I have to use one of their authorized service centers in order to get the warranty than I won't have a choice.

Anybody know anything about either of these 2 places?

Wilson Marine - that's these guys. They know a lot about Ilmors and Fountains.

I heard Wilson is a great company...

Do I get any credit for turning you onto this idea??

Have fun!! :coolcowboy:

Hi there, maybe I missed something, did you also fit an Ilmor in your 27 lately? :eek:

I wish.. Ilmor won't fit in a 27 without major mod. It would not be worth it to do the mod. Better off to get another boat.

The 29 with a 710 or 725 oughta sing nicely.

Thank you! I'll keep you posted.

Yes it would.

I have a 710 in a 28 ft boat and I can assure you - its thrilling.

Mash the stick and it scares the panties off the chicks and impresses your buddies with vulgar displays of power.

These mills have anvil like reliability and can sip the gas if can actually manage to control yourself.


UD

UD,

While I share your enthusiasm for Ilmor and would LOVE a ride in your boat, I can assure you that the 27 Fountain has a bilge that does not lend itself to stabbing a V-10. It'll fit in the 29 but not an early 2000's 27 footer. Well, not unless you are willing to spend a ton of money and labor that would easily be a bigger pita than simply getting another boat on a fire sale today..

A standard BBC "barely" fits in there. And the back of the rear bench is part of the structural bulkhead. It would be a nightmare in my opinion.

You should bring your ride down to SD and grace our ear drums with the sound of 6000 rpms!!

Cheers - :coolcowboy:

Yes it will fit
 

Well here it is! We finally got a chance to get the engine into the engine compartment to see if we were going to need to make any modifications and so far the only thing that's coming up besides relocating the engine mounts is the bilge pump. We're probably just going to swap it out for a newer smaller one. Theres about three or four inches between the engine and the back of the seat. Tight but it will work!

http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/...etto/Imor4.jpg
http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/...tto/Ilmor2.jpg
http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/...tto/Ilmor3.jpg
http://i1215.photobucket.com/albums/...etto/Ilmor.jpg

I love the red engine. That's gonna be a sweet setup. Did Ilmor swap you out your straight back headers for a set of downturns?

Fan-ta-stic.
Makes me wonder if they wouldn't still sell the 29, with such setup!
Are you going to use also the Indy drive?
And if not, do you have an idea about whether it would fit easily or not?
I'd love to find a 29 with no or broken engine, and follow your path.
But I would like to get rid of the Bravo as well, with such power...

If it has a Bravo, why not just get an Arneson ASD#7M? If you should need and want to convert from Bravo to Indy, you will need to redo the whole transom.

Not a matter of IF, actually.
All the 29 vere built with Bravos, afaik...
Good point re. the ASD, though I can't recall to have ever seen them in single screw boats, actually.
I guess it would be a nightmare when maneuvering...

The maneuvering problems are a myth. And on a stepped hull, there should be no problems running an ASD, the notch won't according to Rik, not be an issue either. There has been plenty of boats through the years that worked great with single ASDs. The efficiency of a surface drive is in a completely different league than any of the B1 options. Also, the issues of dialing in an Indy vs. the ASD are the same + the ASD#7M is lighter and cheaper than the Indy.

This has to be one of the baddest 29 projects out there.. can't wait to hear your results! Won't be the fastest 29, but it will still fly, sound bada$$ and should be a very reliable package. Good luck.

Would love to go boating with you guys sometime.

Agreed with you on the "fitting" part. I was tight on my rig which had mold level clearance - (look at the water return line)

I was assuring of its fun factor-once running - getting in is a @#$%^&*.

Thanks everyone! As far as the outdrive goes I decided to go with an IMCO 1:50 standard length. I believe it's an SC or SCX but I can't remember. I'm also reinstalling Latham Hydraulic steering. Somewhere along the line it was taken out.
I'll put up more pictures soon!

They traded me for a small fee.