Hello All,
I Have A Stock Ready To Drop In 330 H.p 7.4 Mpi-
And A Chance To Buy A 200 Hr., Slightly Built 454 Bb -375-400 H.p -running Holley 750,etc
Hooking To A Bravo I 1;-1.5 Drive.
Would The Possible Speed Bump To A 1973 24' Eagle -then Into 4600lb 28' Sleekcraft Enforcer In The Near Future Be Worth The $2000 + Swapout, Dialing In, Etc, For My Occasional Boating Fun Or Should I Just Stay Stock And Save The Headaches.
Mike

I wonder how many times that question has come to peoples minds. I would have save a ton of money if I would have always said your option 1. Depending on the history of the 375 - 400 hp 454 would probably determine what I would do. Also is it a magnum block? The one good thing about the 330's is you can run them all day at WOT and never have any issues as long as you keep the oil changed and full. The other engine your considering, sounds like it has been more than likely apart and messed with. Not that, that's i big deal however makes you wonder at least a little. The little difference in power may end with headaches as you mentioned. You can always do some reasonable upgrades to the 330 down the road that will easily achieve the 400 hp. Save your money for now and stick with the 330. With the kind of power you may consider down the road I wouldn't concern myself with the 2 bolt mains, cast crank and 3/8 rods. I can honestly say I have pounded the living **** out of 330/roids and never broke a crank or rod. Good balancing and bearing tolerances are key. I hope I didn't ramble to much or say the wrong thing. I ran a buddies boat last summer across lake mi WOT for 67 miles. Thank god he's not on this board. However needless to say, NO ISSUES...

getrdunn is 100% correct. unless you like working on your boat/engine (some of us do) it's not worth it.

I was thinking the same thing. I wouldn't pay $2000 for 50hp, esp. when you're only going from 330 - 380ish (the low Hp is the cheap Hp, when you go from 500 - 550 it gets a LOT more expensive). If you're that worried about it just get yourself a set of heads, or exh. manifolds and be done with it.