Thanks KAAMA. I have already sent 10x a message.

On that 540 build- that all sounds good. Couple of things I'd change;

Crane golds instead of the scorpions
Crane Hi6M instead of the MSD
AFR 315CNC's on heads
The new bulletproof Morel hydraulic roller lifter
Make sure the valves are manley or Ferrea, not Eaton

You should be very pleased with that combination. Now, look into drive upgrades.

(P.S.- $13K isn't a giveaway price. I'd shop some other guys on it. Gellner, Eddie Young, etc.)

Rob,
My personal opinion is to stay away from Scat or Eagle cranks. Go for the extra $$ and get a Callies. I agree with Chris, no scorpion rockers and stick with AFR 315 CNC heads.

What drive upgrades would you suggest? It has been suggested to put in a Bravo X conversion (about $1500) or just go right to the XR (about $7500). I have also heard I should keep running what I have until it breaks and then upgrade the drive. I am a budget boater, so if I can buy some time I would like to. However I do not want to consistently have problems on the water. Thanks for the info.

Thanks Vinny, I will take note.

What you do to the drives is dependent on you as much as it is on the boat and power. If you want to do full-throttle holeshots, if you want to do big wave jumping and you don't want to take the time and effort to learn and exercize proper throttle discipline, you'll shred the XR. Driven sensibly, the X upgrade will probably do you just fine. Merc outdrives like to be kept cool (drive shower) they like fresh oil and they like to operate inside their clearance specs. Essentially, you can keep one around with a little common sense on the sticks and regular fluid changes coupled with having them gone through periodically by someone that knows what they're doing.

I agree with you on the Eagle- I've seen some funky one's. The Scat has so far been reliable in the quality and durability department. The Callies is better, definitely, but at moderate power levels I've yet to see a broken Scat.

This is my Achille's heel on projects. It's constantly "only $500 more" until I'm into Sterling money into engines that were supposed to be "just warmed up a little".

Aint that the truth!

I completely agree with vinny and chris here,insist on quality parts,the afr heads are the key to making some good hp numbers plus a engine loaded full of the cheapest chinese/offshore imported parts shouldn't run 13,000,Smitty

I tried my damndest to figure out a way to make the same kind of power with a head other than the 315 CNC. There just isn't. They only look expensive. There's no better or cheaper way to make that kind of additional horsepower.