Anybody Repower This Year?
 

Wondering if anyone is looking to get more mph this year. :D

I'm running my twin 454 Mags this summer, and then out they come! I'm either going to rebuild 'em or look at some aftermarket options.

I'm almost looking forward to a quick end to summer! :eek:

Bruce

TT, you better run those engines hard this year. You need to at least break something first to give you a good excuse for the upgrades.

Nooooo......I don't want to break anything! :eek: I want to be on the water!

:D

You can bet they'll be run hard though. The only excuse needed for the upgrade is the GPS reading...it needs to be in the 80's!

Fred, have you heard of an engine builder near Oshkosh named Mel Riggs?

Cool...I'll have to look him up. I heard about him at the Chicago boat show.

It's only 12 more Fridays before the Rat Run. So about 10 more Fridays before we're on the water! :D

Hey Jo
It's a ***** wearing that Pantera coat....can you tone down the eyes a bit....they draw alot of attention!!! They did help to get us some free drinks at the Hard Rock though!!

:D

Scratch the 80's. How 'bout 100!? :cool:

Boot you are a wild man. I have to get rid of our boat so I can be right on your heals. :D ;) :cool:

I repowered last year with a 500hp and a 420 mega blower, got 700hp. Just put it in the black F1 and jo and i turned 92mph in Biscayne bay at 5350rpm, with a 31 pitch prop. Look for 2 420 mega blowers, you will be happy and have a reliable set up, also switch your forward drive gear and clutch to imco :D

How much faster is the water in biscayne bay compared to fresh water? Ironman.

IRONMAN- Saltwater is approximatly 2 to 3mph faster than fresh. i still have some tricks, after im done i should be about the same.An interesting note where i boat on the ohio there is a 5 to 12 knot current, going up you lose a few going down you gain :)

just put me on retainor to fix all the drives that you WILL break this year hahahaha :D

Thanks, Panteraman28 I always thought that the salt would be about 3-5 faster but that also probably takes in to account the delta in HP at sea level compared to at typical fresh water elevation. I boat at about 400feet above usually. BTW great rig you have there. The Ironman

Yea,

I'm repowering with a new 28 Pantera.

Congrats, Von!!!!
Did you get it ordered?????

Went to the Meeting about the River flow levels tonite. There were about 300+ people there and 99% were for keeping flows the same. Not sure if its gonna happen though. The decision for 2003 flows will be out in May.

Yea Griff,

I ordered the boat! We are still working out the power options, either 496HO's or a 575sci. Some other goodies and hopefully some fun paint. I really want twins (motors and women) but I also like the simplicity of a single ( and we are using the ITS and XR combo if it's a single). I just worry about a failure on the river and floating to KC before some one pics me up, I had one CG Aux person tell me he ignores some calls for assistance depending on who it's from!

Jo has been very, very good to work with he answers all my questions (which are a lot) has done several price work ups based on power, options, changes and on and on!

The boat's name will be Gunfighter, it's named after a P-51 Mustang that is out here at the CB airport and a member of the Confed Airforce.

Mike

I run GIGI Motorsports P5-12 24 foot Pantera, I am have a 550 hp motor being built. It will be done in 2 weeks. Can't wait

Panteraman 28 - that black F1 is way cool. Hope them couple of tricks get you the few mph. Not sure if I want to go the blower route. Never heard of Mega blower, why that vs. a Whipple? What are you doing with the outside of the boat, are the stickers staying on or coming off?


Vonbongo....WAY TO GO!

You still have the Fountain? I was considering it when I saw the pictures last fall....but then we saw the Pantera.

I'd go with the twins. I think for all around river boating the 496HO's will be sweet, especially with the with the selective hearing of the local CG dude! Mine gets on plane like a friggin' bass boat and has great acceleration. Run the 496's for a year, and then SC 'em! If looking at single, consider the Innovation 600SC. Jo did at least one of those last year.

You have some great decisions to make!
Glad to see we're getting some Panteras up here!

hanna,

That suckers gonna fly!

Good luck this summer and drive it like you stole it!

Safely of course:D

We talked about the Innovation, but also discussed not having anyone around here that could work on it. So the 575sci would be the single engine choice for me to get me where I would want to be for a single. Once the warranty runs out you can add an intercooler and some boost for 675hp pretty easy.

The 496hos are a serious choice, the down side is I wanted ITS and it's not available on them and there isn't room in the budget for 500's and ITS! I really like the idea of redundant systems. Never even had the Fountain as much as hicup on the river, but that thought is always there.

Believe me Jo is giving me a great deal on the 575 upgrade, he even checked on the 525EFI for me to see when it was available, very helpful person.

We are putting shorepower in it, lowering the floor, hopefully some changes in the cabin like a second locker and a small sink.

Yes I still have the Fountain, it needs a good home! Well it has a good home but it needs a new home. Had a number of calls but no takers yet, I think when it warms up it will go. It's a heck of a deal at $39K with the new trailer and cover, paint is like new, 95 step bottom, the WPM Full Hydraulic steering, it's just a clean solid boat.

No matter how good the pantera is I will miss the beak boat, it was my first true performance boat.

Can't wait to see the ride, Von. Sounds like its gonna be awesome. My vote would be for the single 575. I figure with twins there is twice as much that can go wrong. If you're ever in a situation where you need help, throw an anchor. Somebody will always come along that will help. Griff.

Yeah, I got a taste of the twins last fall when I was doing some minor maintenance. Two of everything!

This is my first twin engine boat. Things I like:

How fast it gets on plane

Acceleration

The sound of starting 2 motors:D

Around the docks. Need to learn some of the tricks here, but the little I've done, we should be able to squeeze in about anywhere.

Knowing 99.9% of the time, if there's trouble, that I can get on the trailer under my own power. I've been on the recieving end of the rope a few times.:mad: Sometimes with the river current, it can get exciting for the tower and the towee!:eek:

Things I don't like:

Doubling up on maintenance
Fuel economy??? Not sure here. Haven't drove it enough.

I'd have a tough time deciding. How 'bout the best of both.....twin 575SC!!!!!!!!

Just e-mailed Jo.

Looks like it will be the 575sci and the ITS. I'm fired up aboout this :D.

Vonbongo,
Congrats on your new 28, you will love it. I may br partial to Pantera because mine is awesome, but I think its the best 28 ft boat made.....bar none.

thirsty turtle I chose a b&m 420 mega blower over a whipple because whipples run very hot. the way i set my motor up has been very reliable and turn key every time, just one turn of the key and it starts.

Thanks for the support.

It's words like thoses and the answers from Jo that made this all possible!

It'll be a painfull few months :p

Good choice!
That's going to be a great boat!

How far into the 80's will that take ya?;)

We think that will put the boat close to 80. The 500EFI's run 70-73 on 470PHP the 575 has 550 (according to merc) and Jo thought that would be good for 5-6MPH, then factor in 7" of set back for the ITS and maybe 2-3 more mph and then the XR soaks some of that up.

If it will touch 80 I should be happy for a while. The 600 Innovation boat was estimated at 82mph so I don't think I will be too far off that. Hope not anyway. With out a step it will probably take a little chop to make it, we will see!

The blower should give it a little more torque out of the hole so overall I think it's the right choice.

Now I need to settle on a paint scheme, have several stars & stripes themes and a sorta retro race boat theme. I duuno, it's going to be hard to choose. :)

Put bad ass black panthers on the sides! :D

Sure Von, order that big power. Now instead of being the ONLY Pantera on the river, I'm going to be the slower and older Pantera.:D

Hey Griff,

Can't help ya with #2 but I am sure Dustin Whipple can take care of #1 for ya!!! :D

You also forgot to mention who would have the higer fuel bill to pay!

Little intercooler and a smaller pully for that 525 and I'll be looking at your rooster tail!

Oh well when Kat gets his motors in we will both be too slow!

I agree with # 1 looks better but I will be showing it to our graphic designer and see if he would make any changes to make it better.The customer is the one that has the final say on this one.Regards, JO:D

The good thing is my price tag was a LOT lower than yours. I've thought about the intercooler and a smaller pulley, but as you saw adding height to my engine is not an option unless I build a new hatch. Don't really want to go that route, so I'll put some hours on this set up and then decide if I want to go to something bigger.
As far as fuel bill goes, they should be within a few GPH of each other. So we'll see who's out on the river more. Hopefully, we'll be seein a lot of each other.

:D

Yea, for the difference you can just leave your boat idleing during the week when your gone and still come out ahead on $$!!

But if no one ever bought a new boat, there wouldn't be any used ones!!!!

Man I hope wer're seeing a lot of each other! That 70's on saturday made me itchy!! Wanted to go down to the river and just stare at it!