smallblock power
 

Hi,newbie here,Wife gave me $5,000 to buy a boat.Picked up a 1989 baja 220 sport at an auction in real good shape for $3000,350 magnum/alpha1/quicksilver 21 ss prop.
what would be the best performance mods that I could do with the remaining $2000?
I am capable of doing the work myself,just want to know what would give me the best bang for my dollar.

Thanks,

Re: smallblock power
 

Sorry, bad news. You can probably do quite a few SBC mods for $2K, but anything that would considerably increase top end would kill the alpha drive. Merc put out a 330hp 454/alpha package that had a habit of grenading.
My $0.02
Keep the 2K for gas, maintenence, repairs, booze, etc and enjoy the boat. Spend the time you would have taken building up the engine and use it to learn to maintain the boat, engine, drive you have.
Gary

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Ditto

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If you just bought the boat, wait.

When you splash that puppy and get to know it a little you will find out what to spend the 2k on.

Nickel and dime stuff can eat 2k in a hurry.

Batteries
Bellows
Bilge pump
trim pump
trim rams
carb work
leaky hatch
bad transducer
plug wires
leaky cover
hub/spline
solenoids

You know what I mean. Every boat I ever bought needed more than I thought at first.

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Dam, by the time I was done typing..... :D

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Yeah, I knew the alpha1 had issues,but for the price(and condition) I couldn't pass it up.I'll stick to my original plan on installing a bigger cam(not too big) to get the "lope" that I love from a sbc
Thanks For all the replies,you guys are top notch :evilb:

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be careful there, too much lope = reversion = spend 2k to find a new engine

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I am an ase mechanic,have built many a blown engines for tractor pulling and one for a jet boat,not experienced in building a marine engine which I know is a totaly different area.
If I got a cam in the 114lsa area what kind of duration could I go with ?

Re: smallblock power
 

Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm by no means anywhere near an ASE tech, but being one, would it really make sense to go to the trouble of opening it up just to throw in in a cam and nothing else, just for the "sound"? Even in a car just changing a cam for the sake of a "lopey" idle wouldn't make much sense if you really want the best performance.

If you want to improve sound for "sound" sake, if it has thru hull exhaust why not just spend the money on some decent exhaust to change the sound?

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I am pulling the motor and tearing apart to freshen the motor and know exactly what I have,just wanted to add a little power and have the "sound". was thinking of the comp cam xm262h would this put me on the "edge" with the alpha1?. the exhaust is through the hull above water level

Re: smallblock power
 

Vortec heads, Fel-Pro 1094 steel shim gaskets to get some quench, Crane hydraulic roller cam 104224, or 109821 if you´re willing to spend few $`s to cut guides for more lift. Air-Gap Rpm intake, 600cfm Edelbrock, should be within your budget, and you`ll see apprx.
360-380hp, thanks to bobl / FTM, for giving me this info, it really worked on my boat.

S-24

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that one should be fine. ive got an extra ill make you a deal on. still in the box, never used.

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Wow those boats came with small blocks :eek: didn't even know that. the 220's are nice boats, my dad still has his, 1989, 502, bravo. great looking boats

Like the guys say, keep the money and just enjoy the boat, cause if you upgrade to more HP your alpha might get mad and scatter, but hey maybe not, I have around 570 hp running through my alpha :D :D

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email me with specs and price

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Ill check on it tonight. its either the 262 or the 270. I just sold a boat with 350 mags i was putting it in.

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That's a pretty mild cam. It was called Marine Extreme or something. I put one in a merc 260 with an alpha about two years ago. It gave me zero additional mph, but it idled really well and sounded great. I had to do an intake manifold job, so I figured WTF.
I was able to use the stock springs.

The boat ran and idled great with that cam. It just didn't make me go faster.

On my merc/alpha 260 sbc I did a Mallory MBI Ignition, an Edelbrock intake, and the Comp cam.
It was a 21 foot Nova (3500 pounds) and I got 52 mph at 4800 rpm with a 19p 14.5inch cleaver. Drive trim only.

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which is just a little faster than my 26 footer with twin sbcs. :eek:

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Question:
In the example above... (S24)
Why remove a 700cfm quadrajet in favor of a 600cfm holley?

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I almost forgot.

Having a wife that gives you 5 grand for your hobby rules. :D

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yeah,She's wonderful,after 22 years she still supports anything I express an interest in :D

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Oh really? LOL :evilb: :D

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i ran the 270 cam mentioned above and it performed great. did exactly what you are planing. i went with the 270 cam, edelbrock performer, stick with the Q jet for sure (i tried the holley but switched back) and i also tossed on a set of full roller rockers that i had laying around. woke that small block right up.

i have ran both the Comp Cams 260 and 270. the 270 was much better with just the right amount of lope and great driveability, was fine around the docks. i would go with the air gap performer if you can, it was just coming out when i did mine. also if you can swing it as mentioned above the GM Vortech heads are a great bold on HP gain. i have heard in the area of 30 to 40 HP for them alone. easy on the throttle and your alpha should be fine. right now i have a pair of them behind 300hp smallblocks in a 6K pound boat and for the most part they are fine. cept when i hit that big'ol sunken log :rolleyes: :drink:

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it is the 270 xtreme cam, make me an offer. (new in the box)

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I have a H-268-2 Crane cam in my 350 in my Donzi Minx. Along with that, I put new 2.02 heads (didn't go Vortech for a couple reasons), and EMI exhaust. The engine was originally a 320 horse 350. I'm guessing it's putting out around 340 or so now.

How much does your boat weigh?

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don't know for sure,but what I found online it is 2600# ,does this sound right?

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Ive also have some "Camel Hump Heads" I could part with as well

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Keep it stock, save your money for all the repairs that will be coming up, older boat means lots of work will be needed. Take your wife out. thats something that will last longer than your boat. Take it from someone who owns lots of toys and been married 19 years. Still happy!

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hopefully it won't need too much,according to the hour meter it only has 31hrs,I believe it,still has the original filters.it has been sitting since 95 though.have all the original paperwork and history(I am the second owner) :evilb:

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If it has been sitting for that long, you may want to check some of the rubber parts like the bellows and the boot on the shift linkage. Those things tend to dry out. I replaced both this year on an '86 21' Scarab.

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Keep it stock. Save the money for the bigger, faster boat you're gonna want to get before the end of next summer! :eek: :D :D :D

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Hey Dave,

What's the difference between the two intakes?
I put a regular performer on my Nova. My friend put the RPMs on his Donzi.
If I don't have a major fiberglass crisis I was gonna go through the blocks and maybe do intakes. I need exhaust manifold gaskets on both blocks. I thought I would do exhaust manifolds too. Not gonna cam them or anything though.
Maybe upgrade ignition systems. Maybe.

No wonder you can go faster than me. I'm running stock 260s.

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Blkhorse,
If you choose to upgrade the performance on this engine there are some economical ways to significantly increase your HP/torque output. I would suggest you look at the new GM Bowtie Vortec cylinder heads, part#25534421 ($499.00 complete), 25534351 ($269.00 bare). They are a much-improved design compared to the standard Vortec small block head. They are standard with 2.00”/1.55” stainless valves compared to 1.94”/1.5” for the original head, 65cc chamber fast burn combustion chamber design vs. 64cc, 175cc rated intake runner (actual 185cc) vs. 170cc and a 65cc exhaust port. They are standard with screw in studs vs. press fit, large valve pocket machining, and will accommodate up to a .530” lift without any additional cutting vs. .475” max lift on the original, and will accept both center and perimeter bolt valve covers. The runner size and cross section are ideal for your application making more power above 4000 rpm where the std Vortecs begin to nose over. Both this head and the large port Bowtie (rates 206cc, actual 215cc, 84cc exhaust port) are essentially iron versions of the aluminum Fast Burn cylinder head. I would suggest using the Performer intake as the additional runner volume is not required running a max WOT of 5500 rpm.
Because your block is a 1989 you are already set up for a roller and that will eliminate the expense of a retro conversion. The factory roller (197*/207* .430”/. 450”) will definitely be cam limited for this application. I would recommend not selecting a replacement cam until your component selection is complete when the numbers can be run accurately.
Bob

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where are these avail. at,is it 499.00 a set or each(I am assuming each)

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Blkhorse
Actually they are listed at GM Parts depot for $478.10 each.
Bob

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are the 350 magnum(1989 carb model) roller or flat tappet? what is the comp. ratio? cast or forge crank? 2 or 4 bolt block? or where can I find out what pieces are on these motors?

Thanks

Re: smallblock power
 

blkhorse,
The switch from flat to roller blocks took place in 1987. However some 350 Alphas came with the flat tappet cams post 1987. If you can provide the engine serial # it's possible to verify what exactly you have. The block however should be the one piece rear seal with machined lifter bores and guide retainer thereby allowing the use of the roller cam even if you have a flat now. I suggest you don't take anything for granted (being a used boat) and pull the intake or check pushrod (roller cams utilize the shorter pushrod) length to determine exactly what parts are currently installed. You have a cast crank, 2 bolt mains, and 8.8-1 compression ratio with 76 cc and 160cc intake port heads.

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Thanks!! :)

Re: smallblock power
 

My 87 320 EFI had a flat tappet cam.

The reason I didn't go to standard Vortec was because it's damn near impossible to find a cast iron manifold for them, and I run in salt. Also the issue with the max lift, though the one I chose would have been at the upper limit of it without machining.

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Seen many 400-450hp smallblocks on alphas. Dont be stupid when you are driving, they will last fine.

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How bad is salt for aluminum intakes? How about heads? I run in salt most of the time but would like to switch to performers.