RazorsEdge

Hello, I recently purchased a 1995 Superboat 24. It has a 454mag Bravo 1 with about 200 hours on it. I was wondering what could be done to pick up some speed without loosing my low and midrange. It already has K-planes and a Stainless Marine exhaust. Currently running either a 24” Bravo or a 25” Mach. I was thinking of leaving the cam, adding some Edelbrock Performer RPM Oval port Heads, Performer RPM Air Gap Intake, Demon Carb and doing some ignition work. The boat will be run in fresh water, Great Lakes. Any suggestions you could provide would be great.
Thanks,

z.zuperboat

You should be thinking 540. And the price is rite. If you want to go fast give me a PM

Dave M

Sounds like a cool boat. Post some pics. I'm not much of a motor guy but I'm sure others will chime in soon.

Pat McPherson

Razor,
Welcome to the board and congrats on your purchase.
I like the selection of parts that you have listed, but without a cam change, your engine is not going to gain much power at all. I would also suggest that you overhaul the bottom end if your going to up the anti. Rings, Bearings, an oil pump, and a few more gaskets are well worth the extra on a 10 year old engine.
There is a lot of knowledge over in the TQ&A forum if you want help selecting parts. Or a few of us armatures here will give you an opinion.
Zuperboat has a 600HP engine for sale that would push a 24' Super near 90mph. It probably would not cost a whole lot more than rebuilding yours to make 450HP.
Good Luck!

tripps

Bolt in Zuperboats mota and hang on,don't say "its to much power" you don't have to use it all, it's more than worth what he's asking,you wont be sorry tripps

RazorsEdge

That was a little more than I would want to spend at this time. I was thinking that a few bolt on could make a big difference. How long does a shortblock in a boat last? I didn't think 200 hours sounded like a whole lot. Edelbrock claims 500 hp with their RPM setup on this motor. I figured without changing the cam, I would see 450 hp and close to 500ft/lbs with a pretty flat torque curve. Possibly move the boat up to around 80mph and not put too much stress on the Bravo1 drive. I guess I need to do a little more research.

Superbabi

Tripps did I read somewhere that you were in the Bahamas ???

z.zuperboat

My 2 Cents Says If You Put A New Upper End On An Old Lower Your Going To Blowout The Lower. Heads And A Cam May Make 500hp But At What Rpm. With A 454 Your Going To Have To Spin It Around 6ooo To Get 500hp. Add A Dominator And Make A Few More Ponies, But You Loose The Torque. Its All About The Torque. Don't Look At The Hp Number Look At The Torque Number. And To Get Good Torque You Need Big Cubic Inches. My 540 Made If I Remember Correctly 700 Foot Lbs @ 4500. Sell What You Have And Go Rite To The End Of Your Journey. Otherwise You Will Be Adding Parts For The Next 5 Years And Still Have A 454. DID I FORGET SPECIAL HEAD BOLTS FOR THE NEW HEADS ANOTHER $150 ROLLER ROCKER ANOTHER $300 CORRECT LENGTH PUSHRODS ANOTHER $200. NEW VALVE COVERS TO CLEAR THE ROCKERSANOTHER $200

Pat McPherson

Zup has made some good points.
I've been there done that/doing that...

When I bought my 24' three seasons ago I bolted in a 310HP/7.4MPI. She ran about 65. For the second season, I boosted up the 454 with head and valve-train work; didn't touch the bottom. She ran 70 a few times before it blew...
This past season I rebuilt a stock 415HP/502MPI. She will now run 75mph, but I am now thinking I'd like to go 80+. I'm going to leave it alone for another season before I build a 500HP/502...

So What is your budget?
If you are going to build up your 454, are you able to do most of the work yourself?
You have listed about $3000 in parts, but believe me, you won't gain anything without changing the cam.
The heads you have listed are indeed good for 500+HP, but so are the heads that are on the engine now. I would suggest that you spend the $$ from the new heads you planned for on rebuilding the bottom and for a new full roller valve-train...
To push a 24' Superboat 80mph, you will need a minimum of 450 prop shaft horsepower. This translates to about 500HP at the crank on a dyno with no accessories and headers...
A 454 is capable of making 500+ftlbs of torque and 500+HP but it will need the right combo of parts. And like Zup said, be a high revving engine (5600-5700rpm).

If you want to here me babble on some more, just ask...

z.zuperboat

Babble Babble Pat There Is More Than 3000 In Parts Heads 2k With What Valves/3 Angle Valve Job Is No Good For A Boat We All Know That.intake Is 250 Carb Another 600 Plus,ignition Is Another 600 And No Cam Yet. Rockers/rods/bolts Another 600 Almost 4500 Already . My Roller Cam Was Almost 1000. Babble Babble