Fast 201 Liberators
 

Does anyone have a 201 Liberator that runs 70 mph or faster on GPS?

My boat ran 68 on GPS with the Cobra drive. The Bravo is being installed and so is new exhaust. I'm hoping for 70 - 72 when it is done. It has a built 383 with forged pistons and rods.

Yeah, my 21 Liberator has seen 127.8 on GPS! Here's a video. http://my.break.com/media/view.aspx?ContentID=261221

I think it was you who I was talking to at the Daytona Boat show of 06. Seeing that thing there made me think really hard!!!!! I thought about that boat for some time but obviously bought my Fountain instead. It was a hard decision because I grew up driving a very fast 16' Checkmate my dad bought in the late 60's.

I saw your Vids on the net. I have recently purchased a Hi-Def Camcorder and want to get some cool footage both onboard and of pass by's. PM me if you're interested.

I was asking about Four Winns 201 Liberator's not the mfr Liberator. I know most of their boats go over 70 mph.

Who has a Four Winns 201 Liberator that goes over 70 mph?

I had one years ago, it was a good boat. I don't think I ever seen 60, but then again it only had a 350 King Cobra.
P.S. Don't lean on that top smoked plexi glass going into the cuddy, I think it was like $450 years ago. JB

A Four Winns?

Don't knock him.

I think I put more Hrs on the one that I had, then any other boat I've had.

Gas was cheap and it got good MPG:D

My cabin was once broken into during winter storage (inside) and the thiefs broke the plexiglass top and doors. I had new ones made by a local company which was way less money than what Four Winns wanted. They look just like OEM parts. My Libby ran 55 with stock power. The 383 puts out great power and the boat ran great. Cobra drive didn't like the new power and is now being upgraded to a Bravo drive. Now that I will have a drive that can handle the power, the wick has been turned up on the motor. I should have 50 hp more so I'm hoping for 70+ mph. I have no idea how much power the 383 will be making, I can only estimate based upon the speed of the boat. Not too many 201 Liberators hit 68 mph and when they do they usually have big power. Stock 454 powered ones usually hit about 60 - 63 mph and I think that was with 330 HP (not sure if that was at the crank or at the prop).

my liberator topped at 55. loved the boat,hated the drive.

my 201 ran 62mph on gps and still does with a 350 bow-tie block bored .040 lunati cam, dart heads balanced assembly rpm intake stock carb and ign and aftermarket center rise exhaust. It has a king cobra on it and I know it has more than 1000 hours of abuse and has never been apart changed the shift cable twice. I do know that we have had two king cobras in our family and one volvo and now a bravo 1 and alpha 1 and the mercruiser drives have been nothing but trouble

I had the opposite experience, nothing but trouble with the Cobra drive. It said King Cobra on the trim cylinders, but it was just a regular Cobra drive. I had trouble with the shift cables and had them replaced several times.

Yeah and people say to stay away from Libs with an OMC drive! :rolleyes:

I have 4 friends with libs, one 201 and 3 221a and all have the newer cone clutch King Cobra. They're bulletproof.

I think what they mean is stay away from one with an OMC Cobra drive. You have to be careful because a lot of the drives said King Cobra on the trim cylinders even though they were just your run of the mill Cobra drives. My boat had the 350 King Cobra engine, but just a regular Cobra drive that died. It then died repeatedly when the engine had extra power even with a drive shower installed. The Bravo should be able to handle the 383's power without any problems.

Most of the bad stuff I have heard about the King Cobra comes from those that have never owned one. I have broke many bravos, but power does that. I have talked to some owners of the Kings who say they are bullet proof. The boat I now have has a King, and we are preparing to strap 750 ponnies to it so I will keep you posted, on bullet proof. Though they do not shift smooth, I will say that. You don't want a rookie running the sticks in tight corders with my boat. And yes, I even had a life time boat mechanic and certified at one time Cobra tech adjust it, it is as good as it gets.

Back to my original question:
Does anyone have a 201 Liberator that runs 70 mph or faster on GPS?

did you ever get an answer to this question? This is an old post but damn someone had to have an answer

I'm working on maybe/hopefully being the fastest 201 until someone responds

BrendanR Did you hit 70 mph in your 201 Liberator? My 201 Liberator hit a best of 72.1 mph with the 383 engine. With a built 400 sbc it hit 72.8 mph. Later this summer I will be running the boat with a built 406 sbc engine. It should go a little faster with the new engine.

I have been 76 mph in my 89 model 201 liberator. It does start chime walking pretty bad at those speeds.

What is your setup to hit that speed? Engine, drive, prop, rpm, and any other interesting info?

It is an aluminum headed 383 with fast xfi sportsman fuel injection and procharger. I did a bravo swap 1.5 ratio with labbed 26 pitch 4 blade prop. Only turning it around 5100. It has more in it but the chine walk gets bad. Also added a Mayfair single ram add on hydraulic steering.

That sounds very interesting. How does it get on plane with that setup? Is it a P1SC head unit? Prochargers don’t build much boost below 3,000 rpm.

4 blade props didn’t work for me. They gave me too much stern lift and they made the boat unstable. I use a 23” Mirage Plus 3 blade which gives more bow lift. Chine walking only becomes an issue with too much trim. That happens when trying to get the last 1-2 mph of top speed.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.off...618348ade.jpeg
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I tried 25 pitch 3 blade and the 26 4 blade it was about the same with the chine walk. It planes great no issues there. It is p1sc head unit with very large air to water intercooler with the race procharger blow off valve. I run edelbrock mpi intake with sheet metal elbow and Wilson 105mm throttle body. Only running 5psi of boost.

Sorry for all the tools and extra stuff in the pictures that’s during assembly. It gets old crawling in and out of the boat to get something when working by yourself.

Very nice. Did the single ram hydraulic steering change the way the boat handled?

I have a Mustang Cobra with a D1X A2A setup with that same bypass valve. It has 19# max boost right now.

Nosfool did you dyno your engine before installing it?

I did the steering for a safety feature was warned about steering cable breaking at speeds over 70mph. I did not dyno the engine just installed and tuned it on the water.

My exhaust exits through the stock exhaust ports while I see you installed new exhaust ports in the transom.

What cam are you using in that 383? Is it a hydraulic roller? Do you have forged crank, pistons and rods?

What compression ratio? What fuel do you use as far octane?

Another question for you Nosfool. Is your Mayfair steering an add on single ram kit or a full hydraulic single ram kit?

The exhaust was set up with through hull when I purchased the boat. The owner said it only had the exhaust through the foot until he added thru hull. I did change put bigger tips and lightning headers on the motor when I installed it. The motor has a scat nodular crankshaft 4340 I beam rods and wiseco dished forged pistons. Makes around 9 to 1 compression. It is hydraulic roller camshaft and it is a 1 piece rear main seal block. The Mayfair is an add on kit not full hydraulic. It works really well. I had comp cams do me a custom ground cam for the set up.
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Nosfool do you have dry exhaust? That is a fairly radical cam. My guess is your engine would rev to 5,800+ rpm.

yes I hit 85 mph last year. It was a hot run so the next one right after was on video...

this site won't let me post videos until I've commented 10 times...

It has wet exhaust. Yes it should make good power all the to 5800 to 6000 rpm. I have always ran it with full of fuel and full interior and passengers in the boat. It’s still gaining speed but I get out if the throttle due to the chine walk it has. It runs 62mph on gps at 4100rpm with the 26 pitch prop.

[QUOTE=WILDMAN;2198713]Yeah, my 21 Liberator has seen 127.8 on GPS! Here's a video.

This is a fourwinns liberator???

you install tabs...??
I chine walk a little after 80 but really not bad with a big block.

I installed some 12x12 Lenco tabs.

Let's keep this thread rollin. I'm curious to see where we all get with these liberators. I'm after the infamous 261 speed record in a 201!

[QUOTE=BrendanR;4900098]261...??

That guy has a 21 ft Liberator which is a center pod tunnel hull boat. The hull weighs about 900# without the outboard engine.