what kind of speeds can i expect from a force 250 with a fresh 400 hp 383 with an alpha. got 48 gps. with a tired merc 260 with a stainless 19p. my force blew the motor last year and since its sitting im going to give the boat a few updates, paint, gauges all new interior and stereo, am i mad for investing money into a baja this old, hull is in very good shape. this is my first boat. bought it on pure impulse two years ago

I would tend to think high 50's to low 60's on a good day. You're probably going to want to upgrade your prop to a 23ish. What area are you in?

Yes, we are all stupid for spending $$ on boats.
Is the 383 a marine motor or a car motor?

I'm on lake Michigan in green bay. the motor willbe built new as a marine engine with Eddie marine exhaust that's the plan anyway. I would be overly excited to get 65 out of this pig anything over 60 will suffice.

You'll probably get there.

I have a older 235 Force.
With the old motor which was a Magnum 365Hp or 385HP I forgot what the Magnum was, I was doing around 60.

When I bought the boat I tried to research it and came up with not a whole lot I think I have the first force ever made lol 84. Like I said earlier it was an impusle buy I have 3500 into to boat plus 800 into the drive I want to invest about 10 total. paint is the least of my worrys. Its what I do I wouldn't expect to get that for it in a few years so I know I'm flushing money down the drain.

Just enjoy it along the way, and its not a waste of money. I just tell everyone not to put more money into their boat than the value of the upgrade that they will get out of the use of that upgrade. Upgrading and going faster is a ton of fun, but it generally doesn't make the thing worth much more...

That said, if you put $3-4K into your boat and get an additional $3-4K worth of pleasure out of it over the years, you're square and the boat will sell faster when you're ready to get rid of it...

I owned a '88 265 for almost 10 years..in the end it had an HP500 built to a 509 with a B&M 250 running about 5PSI and over 600HP...Torque was prob close to 700...I ran about 70 MPH GPS..being it was a 265 and yours is a 250..some give there..but those old bajas did not have very efficient hulls..with that lower torque 383..I would expect upper 50's only..might see it bounce 60 if your lucky..prop with bow lift is helpfull too.