eggzactly, I would consider a Johnson/evinrude, but Yammys are for fishboats. Merc 3 litres are the easiest to modify, and one of the most reliable.

Ob sonic wasnt doggin on the jonnys or olies they're good too but mercs are reliable, powerful, and abundant. I see your a big johnson fan...... some pun intended. J/K

Tex I forget the website but google it. Theres a company that sells refurbed merc 250 efi for like $8 g???? I think, this was a few yrs ago. Try google rebuilt merc250

Yamaha v max motors are good performance ob but not a lot used and expensive to rig.

If on a real cheap budget I used a suzuki dt 200 motor on a 19` ski boat. They're ugly, heavy, and a little tougher to find used parts . But they're cheap , good power and pretty reliable. Prob find a 250 efi in good shape for under 3g

Where are they out of and do they have a site? I have a 04 250 efi that I was thinking of doing some tuning to or selling and upgrading to a 300. But if I can get away with getting the work done and being reliable, :lolhit:, that would be better.

Be careful.
I've spent the last 4 yrs rebuilding/selling powerheads for a living.
99% of my cores are fresh rebuilds that never made it out of warranty.
I charge $3500. to rebuild a stock V-6 carry in. I would call Simon (who ever you choose) to get accurate pricing before making a decision.
I'd guess double the price Rick was quoting. Eric's price may be $3500. but I'd guess that is to modify a p.head thats already in perfect condition.
The 3.0 based Mercs are in fact great motors. My Sonic had two when I bought it. For what a good clean carburteted JohnRude would cost you can get a computer controlled, fuel injected Merc.
A down side is price of parts and difficulty in trouble shooting them. My friends all have them and when they act up they just start screwing on $500. black boxs.
When a carb'd JohnRude acts up I go to my junk box.
Another option (and I think an excellent one for that hull) would be a V-8 JohnRude. You can buy stock 300's all day long for a couple grand.
My buddy Gordon Montague (Monty Racing) can make it a 400 hp pump gas monster for what a 300 Merc will run you.
I saw dyno sheets for a pair he sent out west for a center console that were about 395 hp's each.
You can buy a complete parts motor for a grand. They're 550 lbs which is weight of a current direct injected, 2 stroke 250/300.

Gettin way off topic but whats that sonic see for mph w the twin johnnys?
MD

any updates on the condition of the pantera?? where is tinman we gotta get this pot stirred again!!!:lolhit:


mines is still for sale 96 28 548ci

STR is in South Florida, I can PM you his # if you want.

The one in the picture.....
 

was my 1st one and it ran 80 GPS.
New boat is still getting dialed but has exact same power.
Saw 70 in the Keys w/a full tank (89 gls) but the motors were too high causing it to porpoise w/o down tab.
Have since dropped the motors and will see what I get this weekend.
Also running Bravo 1's for now but old boat ran best w/Chopper.
I have a set of them as well as two other sets waiting to be screwed on and tested.

What about optimax's or promax mercury outboards. There is one nearby me for sale. http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/boa/2619058398.html Is the lower unit OK for what I'm looking for? Read somewhere these lower units used on bass boats are not preferred. I can't tell; the lower units all look the same to me.

Never seen a bass boat running a 25”?????
Must be one big mf ing bass boat

They usually run jacked 20s

Way too cheap $$$, funny wording.... Shoot him a email, bet hes in paraguay helping orphans and wants a cashiers check.

Scam

MD

Now thats what I'm talking about, let me know if you come across one that looks good. Saw a 1987 on one the other day and thought it was a new motor. Here is the pic. Belongs to OSO member jimmy6104, but he said its a little heavy and not balanced very well. I know cig built these with this motor to race against the apache and shadows. In fact in the famous 21 apache youtube they were chasing a 21 cig named Frenzy.......or so I was told. At this point I'm thinking screw the weight, throw some sand bags in the cabin and haul some azz.

Yes if you can, Thanks

Sounds good, but early opti's had issues

Maybe im wrong but seems a couple grand underpriced???

If its real its a deal.
Still dont know why he'd run a 25” on a bass boat????

Good luck
MD

Dumb question and even further off topic for this thread, but what makes the 250 opti or pro better then the EFI. Isn't 250 HP 250HP?

Fuel mileage on the opti. Merc 250EFI's are fuel hogs, but that is what makes them so reliable.

Its a scam, got a reply back, but couldn't read it. It was in chinese characters. Slacker scammers didn't even convert to english. :lolhit:

soo...who bought the "project" anyone????

28' Pantera Project in Miami
 

I have bought the project boat, the water has been completely
removed along with the floors and fuel tanks. I have stripped this entire boat it will be going to Pantera for a full restoration which consist of new transom setup for one inboard engine supercharged for sure. New floors will be installed, along with new bulkheads and SR stlye dashboard and new fiberglass windshield with the SR hatch with the Naca ducts. I have all the parts for sale that i removed from the boat engines, outdrives, race hatch Imco Manifolds. willing to sell it all as a package or seperate. The boat is definetely a project but with the boys at Pantera doing the job is going to be a sweet ride. I will post some pics soon as we get things rolling. :violent-smiley-021

congrats!
 

Love that boat and thought about it myself. You might want to do some research/reading on here about the shop you've chosen.
Some very scary, recent and current issues going on there before you turn your boat and hard earned money loose.
Good luck and keep us posted. Will be an awesome piece once completed.

28' Pantera Project
 

Thanks for the advice a couple of locals have also mentioned not take it there. What is it about them that peole are scared of, they seem like really nice people and very knowledgeable about there product.

fixx
 

+1..you may want to take a few hours of your time and read this before thay take a life time of your money and get nothing in return..the last few pages are interesting..

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/b...neak-peak.html

i think this may be the perfect project for Pantera to get into. They will be pretty interested in getting a project to get their name back out there in a good way. You just have to set goals and manage funds. being in Miami you have great access to the shop to monitor the project. I'd definately give them a call you may be suprised.

are you serious ? go ahead . your gonna be surprised allright !

28' Project Pantera
 

I think i will give the Pantera guys the benefit of the doubt,
and have them restore my boat, I own my business and i've had hard times myself. It seems that everybody bad mouthing these guys on here don't even own a Pantera or Probably never been in one. I've met these guys personally a few times
and i'm sure they will get the job done. If it goes sour then i'll just take my boat somewhere else to get done. So i say lets see if they really want to come back, the boats truly are a piece of engineering after stripping mine down and seeing the construction first hand they build badass boats that will ride rough water real good at any speed. My buddy's dad owned
a 28' twin inboard back in the early 80's and he's always mention how good the boat would ride, specially in rough water. He loved the boat so much he made a 2 foot scaled model of it which is been in his living room forever. Hopefully it all work fine who better to restore a Pantera then the guys who build it.

fixx
 

3 words...seize all assets.. if that happens you wont ever see your boat..

second thought are you pantera?

Kinda....
 

wondered same. 3 posts and from Miami.
Good luck, I hope it works out for you and lets see pix's.

Underload- just took mine on a 250 mile trip from Sebastain FL to Lubbers Cay in Abaco Bahamas yesterday. The 28' is as solid as it gets, it got a little sloppy in the Gulfstream for about an hour ( wife onboard as well as 400lb of gear up front) and the boat just plows through almost anything without any cracks, creeks, or groans. I know times are tuff right now with a lot of businesses (mine included) but Pantera doesn't cut corners on thier product- there's something to be said for that.

I am doing a similar resto on my 24, for what I have in parts alone there's no way I could pay someone to put it together for me. Looking back on it now kinda wish I would have bought a much newer one ready to go. I bet I have 20 grand in parts on my boat, when you look at the classifieds It makes you wonder. Good luck with it, I'm glad to see its getting fixed up

If he has the title and Pantera is doing the work, would his boat be a asset of Pantera??

Parts from your Pantera
 

What parts you got for sale?

The last time i saw the plant do a project like this was Angels 28.
And that came out REAL NICE!

BTW, you may want to think about going w/ SBC for less weight.

I wish I had bought that boat, talk to Angel about it about every time I see him. From what I understand, things were somewhat smooth at the factory back when he had the boat done, but that was a long time ago, and his wife had the checkbook, Very nice woman(Angels wife), but I wouldnt make her mad.

fixx
 

if its in their position its up to the courts to decide..he will have to fight for it..If pantera had any of their money tied up in the boat the parts are pantera's assets and if it so happens to be paint of what ever then it can be seized..

I have Sold almost all of the things I'm not using but still have a few boxes of old stuff, I still cannot decide what to do with the interior if I want to try to stay with the original style or go with all new stuff, you might be surprised in the attention these boat will get and I think the classic old offshore look is still cool. Let me know what your looking for

28' project FOR SALE
 

Pantera crowd the 28'project is for sale bare hull and trailer
No water in it at all its been stored dry for 2 months
Floor has been completely removed and gas tanks.
Asking price is $7500 obo

Is this the boat from Harwell Texas? Wasn't the boat listed for 5 with all the motors and drives

YEP. Thats the one.

Looks like its time for this thing to go into the shredder....... Ill buy the trailer.

On second thought... Is that the Pantera factory building?

Were did you get the pic's from ?

Craigs list. Lol.
Current owner has a ad for it. I found the add then checked the form. Project canceled. lol