87formula242

Hello all.
I recently purchased a 1987 formula 242ss with a 454 magnum. I was told that it should do about 55mph. I bought it from boat marine dealer in mass. They put a 19 pitch prop on the alpha drive. They said i would lose a little mph but it would plane quicker with the 19 pitch. Well i took it out for the first time yesterday and top speed was 36 mph running at 3800 rpms . I had a friend with me and he is a formula boat owner and said i should be running at 4600 rpms. The motor will hit 5000 rpms or higher in nuetral but under load it was doing 3800. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what maybe holding me back on reaching 55mph? Any suggestions will be helpful. Thank you

sprink58

This seems to be happening alot lately...here is a copy of my answer to this same question in the Formula owners thread.

When you say it "just stops dead" do you mean it shuts down and quits or it just won't rev past 3500 rpm under a load? I suspect the latter and that being the case I suspect...1. Timing not advancing due to an ignition/distributor problem or
2. The carb is starving for fuel due to A. Pluged fuel filter or line or B. Needle valve/Float issue.

To check for distributor advance get a timing light with a dial and watch the timing while you rev the engine to 3000 rpm. You should see a total advance of around 30~32 deg at 3000...if not start looking to a distributor problem.

The carb might be gummed up due to sitting up with ethanol gas that has separated...re-build or replace the carb. If carb is ok look to your water separator for stopage or an inline fuel filter.

Also run a sample of your fuel into a jar and look for water in the gas....also consider adding a bottle of Lucas gasoline stabilizer to your fuel tank. It certainly won't hurt anything and if you suspect a gas quality problem it will probably help it. I run it in mine.

Good luck with this.



Hope this helps your thinking...

endeavour32

iTrader: (4)

If the boat has been sitting for a while the gas will have little power (octane) left in it. I would run what you have out and replace with fresh. I had a similar issue with an 87 242 SS and a fresh tank of gas and fuel filter took care of the problem. Worst case, rebuild the carb.

tinman565

Just my opinion...but I would do this the opposite way you wrote it. The water seperator, and or fuel filter should be checked BEFORE you look into rebuilding/replacing a carb. Cheapest and simplest options first.