Merc. carb and intake
 

I have a 1988 350 Magnum engine with a severely ate up intake manifold on it. I was thinking of upgrading from factory cast hi-rise intake to a square bore carb and alum. intake...first is this a good idea? Second, what has been used or could be used in this application with minimal modifications.........Looking for suggestions and thoughts...........
B.A.D.

I run Edelbrock performer intakes on my small blocks in my cigarette. You can use any dual plane intake, a single plane will not make the low end torque you need. If you run in salt water you must flush religously. I actually flush once after running the boat and once the day after if I know it's gonna sit for a while but I run in very salty water (gulf of mexico) No matter how good I wash the boat I always find salt crystals somewhere the next day and I can only assume the same is going on inside my motors.
Also, they are so cheap I'll probably replace mine in two years just to be safe. I'll get the air-gap manifolds next and in the meantime I'm experimenting with industrial coatings I can use for the water passages because I don't know of any small block stuff with brass water passages.

I use an Edelbrock rpm airgap on my small block. When I took it apart, I noticed a bit of corrosion at the water passages making it's way towards the valley. This was after two years of raw water cooling with salt water, and semi regular flushing. When I put it back together, I cleaned up the damage with a bit of epoxy, and used a little bead of silicone so there would be no space at the manifold/gasket/head for the water to sit.(the hole in the gasket is larger than the passage) When I took it apart again six months later, the extra sealer seemed to help keep the corrosion from crawling towards the valley. Next season, I'll put a new one on and cut the old one to pieces to see how it looks inside.

For a stock 350 MAG use a Performer or Performer Air Gap. No need for the RPM intakes as you won't be spinning the engine above 5000rpms. I use a RPM Air Gap on my 385ci but I spin it 5700rpms. I've coated the water passages with POR-15 and it really seems to keep the aluminum from corroding. GM has a aluminum dual plane with bronze lined passages. I've seen it at EbasicPower.

Edelbrock makes the SBC aluminum manifolds with coated water passages for salt water use

Thanks a lot it seems the consensus of opinion and use is Edelbrock performer or air gap. I think that the air gap is going to be the intake for me. Anyone have info on carbs? Right now I have a stock Q jet that is working. Think I should just freshen it up a bit or go with something else? If I go with the air gap what happens with the exhaust heated choke. Or do I just wire it back and take the position that " We don't need no stinking choke". If I go with a new carb with electric choke it would solve that problem.....Then what issues will come up with linkage hook up????????So many issues and only 3 months till spring..........
B.A.D.

Why not use your existing carb with a regular Performer. You will have the heat passage for your choke, and you will not need to buy a carb adapter if you decide to use your carb with an air-gap. Also, I don't think you will notice any performance gains between the Performer or air-gap.
Davew

Well.......all great points.......But I just bought an air gap SO... It looks like I have all those issues to over come........I was thinking of buying a 4160 Marine Holley to put on top of it....Given that.... can anyone help with the issues? I bought this Pachanga 22 in June of this year and haven't had it in the water for play time yet ..........other than the test ride......I have spent any spare time I had thru the summer and fall working on this basket case.......It is paying off but it's been a long hard road.
B.A.D.

It seems as though your mind was made up on what to buy before you had all your answers?
Dave

All I have to say is wow......I'm glad to see that someone is full of themselves and so helpfull............Ahhhhhhhhh thanks for the help.
B.A.D.

TWO BAD,
My last post was not meant to be negative or sarcastic. I'm sorry if it came off that way.
Back to the point, when you start to put it back together if you haven't already, you are going to need a new throttle bracket to hold the cable because the merc one will not clear the new carb. You might also have trouble installing the cooling hose that goes from the circulating pump to the t'stat housing because on that manifold it is raised.
The other thing you might want to check with someone is your going to need a new fuel line from the pump to the carb. I think this line needs threaded connections at both ends, no hose clamps. This is an insurance/coast guard issue.
By the way, I like the old Pachanga's, almost bought one.
Dave

Dave,
Thanks for the food for thought. It is really cold here now and I'm working outside so, it maybe a while before I put it together. I'm just trying to have all my ducks in a row when the weather breaks. I've wanted a Pachanga since they came out in the 80's and finally bought one...Just wish I had bought a better specimen...But when I'm done it will be right. Lots of time and money so far and more to come. It's likely one of those things that it won't be worth what I have in it to anyone but me. You know the old hole in the water syndrome.........Thanks again for the help.
B.A.D.

:cool-smiley-027:
TWO BAD - Do you have any pics of the basket case? I think my basket is dirtier..

WELL......Your basket has a pretty deep bottom and I hope your wallet is deep too.......I'm not quite sure just how deep mine is yet but everything I touch seems breed more problems to over come. I should have left this poor thing in R.I. but, I'm stuck with it now...No, I shouldn't say that I've wanted one for 20 years. As much as I hate to say it ...I have no idea how to post pictures....I have over 300 pictures that were taken and are stored in my computer in a corel photo album.. Can you be of any help?
B.A.D.

Sure. Do you know where the files are located? Should be something like C:\Program Files\Corel\Albums\Album1\Picturefile.bmp.

Working off a different comuter now....But They are in C:/Documents and Settings\Brent\My Documents\My Pictures\Pictures....I also have them on a memory stick. if that helps...Sorry but I grew up before the computer age and am learning some hard lessons...Thanks

Alrighty - not to worry.So now when you reply to this post, press the Go Advanced button below/
scroll down to the "Manage Attachments" button - press it/
Press "Browse" and navigate to your memory stick/
click on the first pic you want to post.

If the pic is too large I'll send you some instructions to reduce it's size for posting.

Here goes.....Some of my basket
B.A.D.
Doing somthing wrong it says I'm not connected .............I'm sending this message .................tried 2x's same result.............

Hey, your avatar is exactly like my 87. great color scheme, I think. ;)

2 BAD, what makes you think the rest of the motor is any better than the intake? Why don't you find a good used 454 and drop it in? Leave the Alpha on it, the 87 454(mine) came with Alpha. Just don't holeshot it and it'll be fine.

Then you can catch the disease and start spending all your money on aftermarket goodies. :D

Well....I don't .....for sure ......The seller replaced the engine 2 years ago but alot of the bolt on's (i.e. intake) were switched over....Plugs look good, compression is consistent, oil looked good and it runs smooth .....I know I'm making a big assumption here but.......The reason I started digging around was due to running a little hot.....Nothing terrible... but what I found appears to be excessive corosion (partial blockage) in the thermostat housing and some pretty bad scaling in the intake manifold. Other issues that were repaired included a cracked impeller in the Alpha and the feed hose in the gimble housing was pinched. Also the water pump on the engine was automotive not marine with corosion inside.....This poor thing has seen alot of abuse.....About the 454...I love the idea and there maybe one in my future but I'll run this one out till I do that....
Thanks for the toughts from a fellow changa owner
B.A.D.