A little advice
 

hey guys/gals i've been arround boats my whole life. just bought a '89 four winns liberator 211. (for next to nothing) just built a 400 hp smallblock for it. what kind of speed should i expect, and is this a decent project boat???

Re: A little advice
 

Any project that cost you next to nothing is a great project start.Now you just have to figure on how to put next to nothing into it and you are set.

Re: A little advice
 

O did you want good advice.I have non ,sorry

Good luck

Re: A little advice
 

LMAO..... :drink:

Re: A little advice
 

Welcome to the club. Both the OSO site, the "bought a Lib for cheap," (mines a '87 241) and the just built a 400HP SBC for it. Motor ingested water and dropped a valve seat. Interior is like showroom.

Mine has an Alpha drive on it, with the old "stock" (?) 350 Mag (Carb) it did 42. My local boat expert told me to expect 53-56mph.

I hope you have an alpha or bravo, if you have an alpha, I'd put a drive shower on it.

Re: A little advice
 

Welcome ! I have an 86 211 Liberator. SBC about 375 - 400 HP. The top speed that I see is about 57 MPH GPS. But I really haven't spent any time dialing the boat in, Trying various props etc. With the original 260 Mercruiser and Alpha drive the boat would run 50. By the way don't believe all the stories you are going to hear about the Alpha drive if your boat has one. Again, mine is 20 yrs. old and is in excellent condition according to my mechanic. It was just gone through for the first time and he said all the internals look good. The only thing was it needed to be resealed. I use synthetic drive lube and a shower!
Good luck with your boat, Dave

Re: A little advice
 

What kind of drive?

Is it a decent project boat in what respect?

How are the transom and stringers?

Re: A little advice
 

Don't believe the stories about Cobras either.

Bravo stories you can believe. :D

Re: A little advice
 

it has a king cobra drive in the process of being rebuilt. everything else is solid..... the boat has about 275 hrs on it.

Re: A little advice
 

From what I am told, all libs had OMC cobras/king cobras. Somewhere along the line mine inherited an alpha. I have seen kings come with 460 Fords

Re: A little advice
 

Welcome to OSO! The Liberators had the option of OMC or Merc, but the merc option was a lot more. Therefore many opted for the up and coming cobra setup.
My project is an 89 liberator 241 with twin omc 350 king cobras, also got for next to nothing but...... I have already replaced the transom, stringers, bulkhead, and floor, the engine blocks are at the machine shop getting ready for new guts, and the upholstery shop is ordering vinyl and carpet as we speak.
So if you have 1/2 this work to do or less you will be alright!! the liberators are a great rough water boat, just a little heavy.
sorry can't predict your speed, I would guess around 60+ with the right prop.
GOOD LUCK!!! :D :D

Re: A little advice
 

Hey! Another 211 Liberator!
I've got an 88 with a 383 stroker, and an OMC drive. With a 21" OMC Viper prop, I'm seeing 60 with Just me, and 1/2 tank of gas (approx 25 gals.). I'm upgrading my cam this year, it's limiting my RPM. From what I remember, the Fourwinns line came with merc power up till about 86, 87 until they joined forces with OMC. Then they started putting Cobras on them.
The Liberator is a great rough water boat for it's size, and loves to get air. It's a fun ride. Yes, it's a bit heavy, but with the stroker in it you'd never know it. Mine always got on plane rather quickly for it's weight, but I'm always careful not to stand on the throttle when coming on to plane (I want my drive to live!). The addition of trim tabs got me on plane quicker with less effort on the engine's part. They don't do anything for me on the top end, but I never really needed them up there anyway. I recommend getting them. Just make sure that BEFORE you put the drive back on, you check the shift cable, and have it adjusted. Make sure you get a guy who knows what he's doing. There are two small fixtures used to adjust the cable. With them, one guy can do the job in about 10 minutes. If you can't get the fixtures, there is a procedure in the service manual, but you'll need two guys. Part of the procedure is to make sure the cable moves easily, there is a spec in the book for the required amount of pull to make the cable move. Don't skip this step! It affects the operation of the shift assist switch. An improperly adjusted cable will be the death of your Cobra drive.
(Not that I'm trying to scare you or anything). Enjoy the boat!

Paul

Re: A little advice
 

A friend of mine had an 89 211. Bought it brand new. Small block Cobra engine and drive. Put a different cam and intake on it . It ran right around 60mph. Fun boat, handled great. Too bad it got totalled. We got T-Boned at about 45mph by a 24ft. Crownline. Dove off the boat at the last minute! Scared the crap out of us. Driver of the Crownline said he didn't see us because the sun was in his eyes. :eek:

Re: A little advice
 

Have similar boat. 21 baja with 330 454 alpha. Did honest 72Mph. I think about 55- 60 is tops for you. The torque of the big motor not the horsepower, really is what makes it go. BBB

Re: A little advice
 

Oh , Got to get rid of that boat soon, If anyone is interested. Motor is coming out due to a Knock. It's a very custom hull.
Maybe I'll put it in classifieds. Just wanted to see If anyone local wants it. CHEAP FUN ! But not as great as my 24' Formula BBB