3 Choices--- 525efi xr/its sportmaster, 600 efimerc/xr itssportmaster, Ilmor 625. teague platinum or imco extreme or Konrad 540. If the Ilmor and 600 packages are about the same money and the 525 package was 10k less which one would you put in a 35-40; v bottom for reliability and resale?????

I keep telling you, but you are not listning ...MERC is over rated, what reliability, they have their own issues. A reliable custom builder will give you more hp for same money. TMP comes to mind, they have a 650 efi, JC, Pfaff, and Im sure there are a few others...Good luck.

If I was concerned about resale I would go with the 525EFI's. If I wasn't too concerned about resale, I would go with the 600EFI or custom power in the 600-700 HP range.

Are the 600's closed cooling and smartcraft?

Yes and Yes

If I were concerned about resale blue motors are the only choice. If your going to keep it a while then go custom. I think you can get the same money but your prospect list will shrink when you go to sell because many people want to be able to have their local dealer work on the motor and or drives, not have to yank it out and ship it off to get it worked on.

I would pick 525's if resale were the #1 factor because:

1) 87 octane
2) no super charger to maintane

Second choice would be the 600 and 1st if I were buying a boat.

How much more are the Ilmors over 525s.

10k more each

JC, Zul, Mesa, Chief... etc.

Out of those 3, I'll take the 600's assuming money is not the prime factor. They probably won't be worth .01 more at resale versus the 525's, maybe even less.

EFI and warranty is the key to resale these days. Warranty speaks volumes for a companies product. Everyone says they can build you anything, but very few back it up with warranty, dyno sheets, and customer testimonials. Also, ease of maintenance is important. Alot of the custom engines offered aren't serviceable by anyone but the builder, making service very expensive.