I have bit the Bullet!

Getting Closer...man this project has been alot of work.

Simply gorgeous. Even the the fuel/water seperator bracket is chromed!

Did you have the valve covers painted/powdercoated red? I didnt think they were available in that color. Very nice detail work all around.

TRBenj wrote: Simply gorgeous. Even the the fuel/water seperator bracket is chromed! Did you have the valve covers painted/powdercoated red? I didnt think they were available in that color. Very nice detail work all around.

Thanks for all of the comments I appreciate it. Tim...yes I had the valve covers powder coated the same as the other parts. It is a Dupont Red with illusion pearl in the powder. Has alot of flake in it you can see when the sun hits it.

Almost done!

WOW..that looks fast just sitting there, you may want to go with a bigger fuel pump to feed those awsome heads, holley and carter make good marine pumps, and you can go one size bigger with your fuel line, it will help alot on your mid range and top end!! I like what you did to valve covers, is that paint or powder coat?

MaddMarxx wrote: WOW..that looks fast just sitting there, you may want to go with a bigger fuel pump to feed those awsome heads, holley and carter make good marine pumps, and you can go one size bigger with your fuel line, it will help alot on your mid range and top end!! I like what you did to valve covers, is that paint or powder coat?

I am going to hook up a fuel pressure gauge to the dash so I can monitor it as I run it wide open. Cam Research told me they have a small block Ford that they made 685 Horsepower on only 3 PSI from the fuel pump which I was surprised. Alot of Mustangs came with 1/8" fuel lines but the 351W Pro Boss comes with 3/8" fuel lines which from what I have learned is good up to 450 horsepower so for now I am going to try it like it is because I am under 450 HP.

The valve covers are Dupont Red powder coat with illusion pearl powder mixed.

Thanks again for the comments!

Thanks!

JoeinNY wrote: Truely top notch work and planning, hats off. -Joe.

Thanks...there was some planning to it and I ended up getting carried away with the powder coating guy.

I got it running on Friday and did the cam break in all seems well with one exception. I did a lake test this afternoon and the only issue I am having is on the port side Hi Teks I have a little tick and seems to be a small exhaust leak on number 7 cylinder. The port side headers on these AFR heads were very difficult to bolt up. Starboard side bolted up no problem but the Port side was a pain. I used brand new PCM gaskets and I can not get the header bolts any tighter. Has anyone used any type of exhaust manifold sealer of some type? I have never used any before and it is probably not the best way to go about it but again these are new gaskets and the header bolts are as tight as they are going to get. On the original OEM GT40 heads the Port side bolted up much easier. The lake today was a little rough and I had my family with me so I was not able to do any high speed runs but the throttle response is amazingly crisp and revs very fast. In a long no wake zone you can feel the cam a little more than the stock cam but nothing bad. Overall ran great. Next week I am going to try and go out and do a full out high speed run and hole shot to see how it performs. Happy Memorial Day!

Thanks!

Use orange (high temp) silicone sealer and seal the gasket to the exhaust manifold.

Do not over tighten those screws to aluminum heads or you will be installing heli-coils. 25-35 foot pounds is plenty. Use studs if you can.

Thanks again for the help on the Pro Tech ignition.

I guess there is something to that argument after all. Did Cam Research say that 67/76 might be a good starting point? Gottaski's recommendation was to start with a seperation of 6 jet sized front to rear and go from there. Im thinking of starting somewhere from 67-69 in the front and 73-75 in the rear. (Clearly my 72/82 F/R is not even close.)

At least you erred on the side of too rich, which is safe. Im sure that thing will be running great in no time!

[QUOTE=TRBenj] I guess there is something to that argument after all. Did Cam Research say that 67/76 might be a good starting point? Gottaski's recommendation was to start with a seperation of 6 jet sized front to rear and go from there. Im thinking of starting somewhere from 67-69 in the front and 73-75 in the rear. (Clearly my 72/82 F/R is not even close.)

Actually before with the stock cam and GT40 heads the carb had (from memory) 66 in the front and 74 in the rear. Cam Research said for my boat go with that first and try it. I will try the 67/76 combo now then the a 66 or 67 front 74 rear combo and see how that responds.

Thanks!

might try a double pump 650cfm

For the last several months I have been researching marine carbs a little. Most Marine carbs out there that I have found seem to be geared toward the Big Block engines in Formula speed boats etc. The one carb that I did find that has additional idle tuning features, electric choke, vacum secondary, PVC port in the base plate, power valve blow out protection, and completely USCG legal is the Demon 650. I may give it a try to see how it compares to the Holley.

Another thing, I have talked to a couple different companies about an Air Fuel ratio set-up. It would be almost impossible because they tell me that what happens is the first issue is that once the O2 sensor gets hot and any liquid (water/coolant) touches it, that can ruin the sensor permantly. Not when it is cold, just after it gets hot. Besides that, if it was near the water exit in the exhaust stream the reading would be inaccurate as well. A division of Dynojet that makes O2 systems told me they tested a system on a Bravo Big Block in a Formula boat and the only way it worked was to tap into one of the rear cyclinder header pipes before it goes up into the water jacketed area near the cylinder head. They actually welded bungs into all 8 header pipes right near the cyclinder and tested all 8 pipes individually and recorded the reading in a data logger. They said the rear cylinder is the best to monitor if you can only get one cylinder. Obviously this is not picking up the other 3 cylinders on that bank but it was a little more reliable compared to plug chops etc. and they felt more accurate. I looked at my Hi Teks and I am not comfortable that I could weld an O2 bung in there. The bungs are a minimum of 1" in diamater and that is barley enough. Plus, I am not sure how far that O2 sensor protrudes up into the exhaust cavity. Probably overkill but a few guys that I know that have O2 Air Fuel ratio monitors love them. One has a carbed motor and the other is fuel injection. They both have data loggers and will record about 15 miutes of data. They run the engine hard for 10-15 minutes, grab the laptop, it down loads the data in a graph form relative to RPM's and Air Fuel ratio, then they make changes based on jetting etc. Run the engine again, download the data etc. One also has an Air Fuel ratio gauge on the dash. Dynojet recommends a safe ratio of 12:1. It would be cool to be running across the lake and have a gauge displaying the real time Air Fuel ratio. Also has an alarm that activates a warning light, siren, or can cut the igntion if it suddenly goes lean. So you are running at 5,000 RPM and the gauge shows 12:1 Air Fuel Ratio and all of the sudden it goes lean and the ratio goes out of whack, instant alarm and shut her down. That sounds like a very cool and precise way to tune a carb. If I get a wild hair and ever try it I let you guys know.

Thanks!

79nautique wrote: You guys keep making me feel good, you have done all this stuff and are still a little lower on the numbers than mine and I haven't even changed my heads to the high compression big valves yet. 51.9 gps 5000k loaded 5500 by myself

Chris, remember that youre not exactly comparing apples to apples here- your boat is 21" shorter, 15" narrower and is 200 pounds lighter. Also, the 90+ boats dont run nearly as nose-high as the older ones, so we have a lot more wetted surface to overcome. It will take a lot more power to push our hulls into the 50's.

TRBenj wrote: 79nautique wrote: You guys keep making me feel good, you have done all this stuff and are still a little lower on the numbers than mine and I haven't even changed my heads to the high compression big valves yet. 51.9 gps 5000k loaded 5500 by myself Chris, remember that youre not exactly comparing apples to apples here- your boat is 21" shorter, 15" narrower and is 200 pounds lighter. Also, the 90+ boats dont run nearly as nose-high as the older ones, so we have a lot more wetted surface to overcome. It will take a lot more power to push our hulls into the 50's.

Don't forget we both use the same prop just different tranny's too, just wait in a couple of week I should have the head swaped out and new numbers for you to catch up too as well.

maybe a shade higher on the rear float?

JoeinNY wrote: Unless you changed props in there somewhere your not running more rpms and less mph than the last engine which was heavier than the current engine, well unless you had a winter like me where you gained some significant weight. What type of measuring devices are we working with here?

My thoughts exactly.

I would get your ignition wire issues sorted out first. Weak/inconsistent spark on one cylinder cant be helping performance.

I assume youre running 93 octane? I believe your CR to be ~9.5:1, is that correct? If so, Id say your timing is fine.

The hesitation down low is strange. Thats one thing I havent experienced with my ultra-rich setup.

Im not convinced you need a bigger carb. My understanding is that a carb thats too small may restrict the motor, but it wont cause driveability problems (hesitation, popping). On the contrary, it may actually improve low end power. I say get your current set up dialed in first before swapping in a new Demon.