Fla Marine Engine builders
 

So who in Fla. builds a sound marine engine @ about 550-600HP without going the Merc. way $$$$$. Naturally aspirated.

I would check out Cobra Power. I was at there shop this weekend and although I do not have one of their engines everything was top notch and I think they offer a 650hp naturally aspirated. They are in Miami.

Tommy at www.chiefengines.com He builds some real nice motors.

go with a slightly used merc 525, they can be bought complete in the 17k range, they produce 550-560hp fuel injected . builders will be about that with exhaust to build new, you will be able to resale it with the merc blue

Talk with Ron Potter ( Potter Performance Engines ) he starts with a 550 N/A.

:party-smiley-004:

Innovation Marine / Sarasota

Express Marine Engines/Bruce Baker Deland

http://eriemonster.com/marineexpressengines/

http://www.expressenginesusa.com/

I'm not to terribly far away.:D
Eddie

Raylars got your deal!
 

Check the classifieds here on OSO under engines for the offer for one of our Raylar H0600-625HP engines. We'll crate it up and have it to you in just a few days. Someone is going to get a smok'in good deal on this tricked out one!

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

Second nod to Ron Potter. He turned my 575's into the meanest 700's you have ever felt or heard! His n/a motors are sick too. His shop is by far the cleanest I have ever seen and he is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. He is right in Sarasota.

SilverSkater40 (Jim Darr) Dude!!! You are a tool. You may want to seek help! You bad mouth Ron Potter (a great guy & OSO advertiser) because you ran your boat aground TWICE and have engine trouble! You think it's his fault you are a retard? The internet and waterways would be safer without idiots like you around. Let see how long it takes you to get kicked off again and make up ANOTHER screen name. How are your chop top , 34, 496 DW's comming............

Nobody mentioned Laz Mesa/Mesa Balancing?????????????

BTW, I have Innovation 600s and I cant say enough good about them.

Third nod for Ron Potter.........last winter he built me a pair of his closed cooled 600 fuel injected motors.......I love them, the price was right and one of the nicest people you will ever spend time with. Made me feel comfortable all the time, called me a few times over the summer to check in and make sure all is well.........highly recommend Potter Performance!

Silverskater40 obviously has nothing better to do!

Jay

Good Call out Ryan!

In no particular order because I believe they all build a great engine,

Chief
Ron Potter
Innovation

Tom C.

Tom, Ryan, Jay, thanks for stepping up. This silver skater 40 enjoys talking trash. I have never met a more honest and trustworthy businessman than Ron Potter. He has done a rebuild on my merc 600sci, and last year built me a 800efi. His work is flawless and his attention to detail is outstanding. I'm working on getting a twin engine boat.................so I can have 2 Ron Potter Motors.

Superbabi,

You suggested that I call Ron Potter in another thread. I was the one that asked about the 650 efi in Nor-techs. Can you tell me what kind of warranty Ron puts on his engines? I may still go with Merc 600 sci's, but 600-650 N/A motors sure sound good.

Also, not intending to hi-jack, but what do buyers typically think about aftermarket motors? Thanks!

N/A motors get a 1 year warranty.
Supercharged get a 90 day.

http://www.potterperformance.com/

And yes his shop is always that clean!

I agree, TOOLBAG!!!! The Mods over on Serious gave him a chance and he showed his colors again.... His lastest is Hot Ducks old Apache....

I, living in south Florida have tried about everyone. There are several people that are good but if it's not their engine, everything is wrong and needs to be changed. The most honest guy that has been around for 20 years and does a fantastic job is Tony Gargiulo (NO RELATION to me) of Native Racing engines in Hollywood. He is honest as the day is long!! He will work within you budget. He is the ONLY local guy I will use. I have had experiences with several, not all but several of the guys listed and I would really recommend native. In the 80’s he built motors for some of the biggest names in racing. He stands behind his work and he is a hands on owner.

NATIVE RACING ENGINES, INC.
2408 SW 57th Ter
Hollywood , FL 33023

(954) 986-9244

I'll say it again, you guys can like it or not, I have had bad experiences with Rons motors , that is a fact, 3 of them blew up with less than 20 hours on them, 1-850, 2-1150's, nothing warrantied on them,there is another major issue that I'm happy to talk about in a pm. thats all I'm saying, what about the 45 Apache. motors being rebuilt right now and yes it has drysumped 6's on it. yes Ron has a clean shop, yes Ron is a nice guy, I'm just telling my experiences with his motors, is'nt that what this site is about, I'm glad all you guys motors are running fine- NOW.

Ryan, here again you are making up stuff, you don't know any of the problems I had, pm me and I'll explain to you. I'd put my skills of boating well beyond yours anyway. boat was not ran a ground twice, you are just another name caller hiding behind your computer. learn how to spell also.

Hiding behind my computer???? I use my real name the ONLY screen name I have had since I was member number 80 on this site!! Your name is Jim Darr you've had a DOZEN different screen names. How many times have you gotten booted from this site? One more thing, when you had motor problems were they Nor Tech motors or Ron Potter motors?

Ron Potter is well respected in the industry, in his past and his current endeavors with regards to new custom motorbuilding and rebuilds. Nothing but praise and kind words about Ron from everyone I ever spoke to, whether it be on line, phone or in person. Then, out of nowhere, a dissant aggressor, (silverskater40) pokes his head from under his rock and starts his negative attacks for no reason. GO BACK UNDER YOUR ROCK TOOL!!!:mad::mad:

You all forgot COBRA in Ft.Lauderdale !!!!!!

Ron Potter has done my work for the last 8 years, initially when he was with Nor Tech developing their great lineup of motors, then when he went on his own, my gas engine work went with him. He stands behind his product like no other and is as honest as the day is long. :) :Score-101010:
Bob

When I had to make the decision of who to use it was tough. I narrowed it down to Potter and Cobra. Ron was incredibly knowledgeable and easy to talk to but I decided to go to Cobra because they did everything including rigging. Randy did my motors and drives and have had a great run with his stuff. Also gave me a great warantee. Either way dont think you can go wrong.

Run... Run.. as fast as you can.
I wouldn't deal with Cobra (Randy) again, not even to change my weed wackers string.
Enough said.
Old post above.
Edited:: 1/11/09
Cobra and I had some issues, and did not get resolved. It should have and may be it will some day. Will have to see, I'm still willing to resolve them somehow. Don't know about the motors, but we all know no one can please everyone all the time.
I'm passed this.

Do you really think its fair to bad mouth cobra when you never even bought anything from us. So let's set the record straight, you bought a mercury 525 package with 65 hours from a customer of mine with a one year warranty from mercury. Cobra had nothing to do with this other than pulling them out of the boat and providing a place for you to pick them up. If you have any problems with the motors and drives then you should take it up with mercury or the customer you bought them from.

Yes. Let's set the record straight. I had the Purchase Order with Cobra. The ad in the classified was not true and product was missrepresented. Items were not provided as per the PO. and discussions. Package was missing parts. Cobra/Randy's/your promise to make good on parts and items did not happened. Invoices sent by me to Cobra for resolution was ignored. E-mails and phone calls from me ...ignored. I gave you guys all the time and chances to resolve the isues
Don't know much about the Cobra motors, but service, customer relations, integrity of Cobra. Suks.
PS. In the original add; Cobra was the contact, the seller and Cobra signed my PO.

CHIEF Engines. Tommy and crew are great, so are the engines.

Paradox,,,,,,i think u had a big missunderstanding ,,,but even though u had some issius i never had a problem with Randy,,,,needet an oilpan ,,,QUICK,,,called Randy ,and had one ,Driveparts ,,,NO problem,,,Engine No problems at all,,,Trannys ,,Randy has it !!!!!!

So ,,,its not just engines its all about the Boat,,,COBRA !!!!!!:ernaehrung004:

Still sorry that u had some issuis there,,i do believe he will make good next time,,,chances in live is what keeps the world going!!!!! you should give Randy one ?!:cool-smiley-027:

South Florida Machine Shop
Build AWESOME motors

Marine, Race, etc...

Specialize in BBC setups

Who the hell is that ????never heard of them !

Either NEW or not good ?! LOL:eek:

Still sorry that u had some issuis there,,i do believe he will make good next time,,,chances in live is what keeps the world going!!!!! you should give Randy one ?!:cool-smiley-027:[/QUOTE]

Randy had planty of chanses. Thats why the "issues" are so upsetting. IT's not that I didn't wanted to get things resolved, or didn't gave him enought time.
Just for instance.
I was missing the transom plates in the package, Randy, his people and even myself spent hours looking for them in his shop. Eventually he sent me a set, but the standard Bravo plates. The ITS plates has a special cut out for some hoses or something and has the steering "block"/distibution part.
I had to get the whole new set. But even after that I was ready to resolve the problems, but I just got ignored.
The plates are just one example. No need to go into all the issues. The point is.. Cobra screwed me, and it could have been resolved.
It SHOULD have been resolved.

I Bought A Cobra 600 Ci 750 Hp Motor From Him A Few Year's Ago . And He Took Care Of Me Every Time I Had A Question Or To Adjust The Carb Ect " Didnt Idail That Good Needed Ajustment's Once In Boat ",
From What I Have Herd The Guy That Bought My Boat Has Close To 300 Hour's On Motor And Is Still Running Good ..
Everyone Has Good Day's And Bad Day's Maybe You Cought Him On A Bad Day ?
Know One Can Be Perfect All The Time .
One Thing I Can Say Is Randy Alway's Had Time For Me .
Mike

Randy had planty of chanses. Thats why the "issues" are so upsetting. IT's not that I didn't wanted to get things resolved, or didn't gave him enought time.
Just for instance.
I was missing the transom plates in the package, Randy, his people and even myself spent hours looking for them in his shop. Eventually he sent me a set, but the standard Bravo plates. The ITS plates has a special cut out for some hoses or something and has the steering "block"/distibution part.
I had to get the whole new set. But even after that I was ready to resolve the problems, but I just got ignored.
The plates are just one example. No need to go into all the issues. The point is.. Cobra screwed me, and it could have been resolved.
It SHOULD have been resolved.[/QUOTE]

I'm going to set the record straight for the last time, the transom plates was at the bottom of the box lying flat with cardboard on top and all the gimbles and drive on top of that. I believe when you removed the drives and transoms, you thought you were looking at the bottom of the box unaware that the transoms were underneath the cardboard, therefore, not knowing that you threw the transoms out with the box because the transoms are so lightweight. I have no need to steal two transom plates because i sell them for 100 bucks each.
Remember you bought $60,000 worth of engines from a customer and when you showed up at my shop, I gave you 2 transom plates for free. if you are missing one little valve on a $60,000 engine package and trying to ruin my name, you are making an ass of yourself. Now I know why you have a boat that is brand new that the manufacturer did not want to rig for you. i suggest that you put an end to this because you may never get the favor you need in the future over a 100 piece.

I'm going to set the record straight for the last time, the transom plates was at the bottom of the box lying flat with cardboard on top and all the gimbles and drive on top of that. I believe when you removed the drives and transoms, you thought you were looking at the bottom of the box unaware that the transoms were underneath the cardboard, therefore, not knowing that you threw the transoms out with the box because the transoms are so lightweight. I have no need to steal two transom plates because i sell them for 100 bucks each.
Remember you bought $60,000 worth of engines from a customer and when you showed up at my shop, I gave you 2 transom plates for free. if you are missing one little valve on a $60,000 engine package and trying to ruin my name, you are making an ass of yourself. Now I know why you have a boat that is brand new that the manufacturer did not want to rig for you. i suggest that you put an end to this because you may never get the favor you need in the future over a 100 piece.[/QUOTE]


No Randy.. I will set the record straight for the last time, because your memory is very foggy. I had the PO with Cobra, you signed it, not your customer.
Not that it really matters anymore, being it’s almost a year, it’s water under the bridge for me.
I also didn’t feel like getting into details here or in my other older posts, (do the search) but don’t ask me to amend my post of not recommending Cobra. I don’t.
Not because there were issues or parts missing, but because the way you handed the situation. I gave you all the chances to get everything resolved and you ignored the problems. You even asked me to send you the invoice for the distribution block. (I have all the E-mails) and faxes. The package price was also more then $60K and the hours were misrepresented. (Merc. is aware BTW)
Specifically, the transom plates WERE NOT IN THE BOX. Your mechanic thought he put it on the top of the box, not the bottom. I still have the pallet, (it’s under my outdrives so I don’t get mud in the boat when I go in and out) Nothing was thrown away but the black plastic, and styrofoam you had the package wrapped to be shipped overseas. My mistake was not wanting to inspect everything at the time, since it was already packed for overseas shipping, so I trusted you guys.
The valve boxes were not cheap, and the plates are not the only issues we had. It took me, my son and my GF days of scrubbing to get the corrosion off the outdrives. New anodes had to be purchased, yet I didn’t worry about this, however the add said; what ? “perfect, like new condition”. NOT!!!.
What about the exhaust manifold that you drilled holes in it? And one had pit holes and rust all over. You just told me to deal with Merc. and sent me my way. No problem, Merc came through and covered it under warrantee. But that’s not the way to treat customers, YOU!!! should have take care of that. What about all the pumps, and misc. parts I was missing? I paid you guys in advance. That was my fault.
The boat builder was and ready to rig the boat, but there was a time constraints that I had to make some of the Poker runs. He was just to slow, and cheap and probably was looking and trying to get a deal on the motors/drives. I did not wanted to wait, so I bought the stuff from you. If you remember we had a separate PO for Cobra to rig the boat, but you guys got busy, so I had some one locally finish it.
Things were missing, lost, misunderstandings etc. I can deal and I did with all that. But than you just blow me away, ignore the problems, E-mails, faxes. phone calls etc. so my comments stands. I would never do business with your company and do not recommend Cobra to anyone. That’s my prerogative.
However. I will say this. After all the headaches the motors and drives are great. I am very happy with the ITS system, and NOT ONCE I SAID YOU STOLE ANYTHING OR YOU CREATED THE PROBLEMS on purpose. Chit happens, You should have been more cooperative and open to solve the issues.
I’m sure you kiss everyone azzes who buys motors from you, but me being on the other side of the state, I got shafted.
I’m done with this, Good luck with your Cobra motors and your real estate ventures.

Look I had a bad experience with Ron, he knows what it was, They were Nortech motors which Ron built, but my biggest problem had nothing to do with my Motors, If you guys really want to know, PM me and you will be suprised and understand my comments, and why they are justified, I'm not saying anything on this site.