265 horsepower or 300 horsepower

I can't speak for the 300 horse chevy motor, but I have a 97 sport with the GT-40 and couldn't be happier. Plenty of power, fires right up, worry free. Not to mention alot of people get well over 2000 hours on these motors! I had a 94 ski with the carbed motor, it ran great as well but sometimes was a little tough to start when cold, also not quite as powerful obviously. Also, it seems alot of folks end up having an issue with the "Pro-Tec" electronic ignition, I think however there is an affordable retrofit kit.

In my opinion, go with the GT-40 and don't look back....but that's just me

dward wrote: I am about to buy a sport nautique. 96 351 ford carburated PCM engine 265hp 306 hrs.

I look at a boat a little different than most,MOTOR choice being the primary factor.If the apperance is close on all the above mentioned boats, I would not hesitate to take the carb motor over the other two.
The GM is tough, but lacks the low end grunt that the FoMoCo has.
The Pro-Tech will give you problems, just which week end it will ruin, is only in the cards. But it will fail,Dizzys and carbs have been around a long time,hard to beat ..........

boat dr wrote: The Pro-Tech will give you problems, just which week end it will ruin, is only in the cards. But it will fail,Dizzys and carbs have been around a long time,hard to beat ..........

None of the engines in question have the Protec ignition. That was only used on carb'd and TBI motors from 91-95.

If all else is equal, the GT40 multiport EFI is the best motor of the bunch. That was a great performing engine, and had a great run from 95-02.

The '97 with the Chevy must be an Apex? I thought it was rated at 320hp, though. It doesnt seem like there were many boats sold with that engine package- most likely because it was an upcharge over the GT40, which was a great engine. I wouldnt expect the Apex to be as good out of the hole, though it may hold a slight top end advantage. I cant speak to the engines reliability... though for the right boat, Id take a chance on one.

The carb'd Ford would also be a solid performer- though the boat would lack a bit of top end compared to the other 2. This would only be a consideration if youre barefooting and need the extra few mph. With the right prop, this engine wouldnt give up anything out of the hole compared to the other 2.

Like BKH said, the condition of the boats would be my primary consideration.

Disregard that TBI question....and I still gotta work on getting that quote thing dialed in, i'll just stay safe and steer clear of the quotes from now on!

Timmy and Brian forget about my post,it was about motors and reliability,never mind, all ya gotta do is look good right..........Boat dr

??? Not from me Doc. I didn't even make a post after yours.

BKH

dward wrote: and plan on doing alot of tubing,

tullfooter wrote: I can't believe you guys let the "Tubing" comment slide. Welcome aboard dward (witness protection program?)

I just got back and I did notice it!!!

No name,

Check this out tubes of all sizes
How small are the kids? Watch out because we have a thread showing some young ones taking on the challenge of boarding/skiing using some skill.
Welcome and keep us posted with the boat shopping.

if you are planing on modifing the motor later I would get the 350, They all will be standard rotation engines. Getting parts for the Chevy will be cheaper and you have many more options when it comes to upgrades with the chevy block compared to the fords, exhaust being a major plus, you have one option with the ford's besides lucking out on e-bay.


but that being said the GT-40 would be my second choice, but if the gel and interior are not comparable then that would take priority, as the engines are a flip of a coin in stock form.

throttle plates and injectors are easy, cam's and heads are easy, not much of a ECM change but that's not that hard either.

Main advantage and biggest bottle neck is the exhaust and there are 10 different choices compared to one very expensive option you have to wait for and then hope thay made it right and it doesn't have to be sent back because it doesn't fit under the motorbox or bolt up.

find used performance exhaust on ebay for a ford, good luck, now go look how cheap you can pickup chevy stuff for.

The best thing about EFI is the sensors and the engine's ECM and the ability for the ECM to change as the injectors and throttle plates are increased, cams are half the cost, heads are a wash, ignition is non-factor. EFI are a lot easier than you might think unless you getting very crazy with the mods

Well most of the EFI motors are already approaching 1hp per cubic inch, so how many mods can you do that would be considered tame? Going stroker is the next logical step (at least it would be for me), and thats going to require a retune.

If you can find a nice performance exhaust for cheap for a BBC, send it my way... its not as easy as I had hoped. There are more options, sure- but theyre all expensive. Youre looking at a minimum of $700-800 (if youre really lucky and know where to look) for good used. $1000-1500 is more typical (again, used). New prices start at $1300-1400, but youre looking at aluminum. Hiteks are about cheapest all-stainless option (~$2k for a BBC). You can get a new SBF set for $1500. Not a huge difference.

well I'll check with my buddy and see if he is replacing his on the Nortec when he adds inter-coolers to his, but they're chrome or polished and you might have to get new risers. I'm assuming the 501/502 block has the same bolt pattern as yours.

Got a TXT back and he is re-using them, wasn't sure if the 60K he's spending included new mainfolds or not or if the inter-cooler played a part where they needed changed to a different style.