mystery 454? NEED HELP

so went to remove starter and opened up the battery compartment to find the neg cable melted to the post? what could cause this? the only thing i recently messed with was the wires going to the coil after i had it tested maybe hooked up wrong? it was a new battery. this has been how it has gone with this boat.

Yeah that sounds like it is it. The connection was only hand tight bummer. COuld i rewire the end of the neg cable to fit on the big post or is the battery shot?

Don't think it is shot yet wait till you get correct starter and see what happens.What were you going to get for carb?I think you should do a little more research on motor before making decision.I would want to know what heads and maybe a peak into cylinder to see if it's got domed pistons and a rough idea of cam lift.

Michigan motorz has a listing for top mount standard rotation don't know if you have a local boat parts place that will have one on the shelf of course there is always ebay if you are sure you are ordering correct part.Sure someone will chime in with reliable source.

The casting numbers are under valve cover with the date code.You can get a ball park number on valve lift with a set of dial calipers or if you have a mag base and dial indicator it's pretty easy.just check valve closed then turn over by hand till fully open.Just like to get a rough idea if it's a somewhere near stock lift or something more high performace.If you have access to one of those little video cams to peak in cylinder great just like to get idea of compression ratio.

snowdan wrote:    this has been how it has gone with this boat.

Don't get discouraged Dan. I will tell you that if it has sat for some time you could potentially put quite a bit more money into this then you would have ever thought. Not trying to scare you off by any means but it's a boat. That's what they do. Suck up money. Then to add insult to injury, you add "marine" to any part the prices will skyrocket.

On the flip side, there is nothing more enjoyable than spending time in or behind your ride. Well, OK maybe one thing is more enjoyable but that doesn't last nearly as long.
When you get it running and you realize what you can accomplish in the watersport world with family and friends and the fun you can have, you'll never regret a single dollar that you put into it.

Besides, you got it for FREE!!!!!!!!! Quit yer bitchin'.

"rocking" is the overlap position and 180 degrees off of firing position. It is observed by watching both the intake and exhaust rockers moving at the same time. When this occurs, the sister cylinder is in TDC position or firing. This is how we set valves and injector timing on inline six diesel engines. It aint easy baring over a 12 liter diesel.
It is also used on V-8 gassers if you know the firing order. 18436572 for a LH BBC. Draw mental lines across the dizzy cap to ID the pairs.

For a LH BBC the valves may observed as opposing or sister cylinders as follows:
1&6
8&5
4&7
3&2

When 1 is rocking, 6 is knocking and versa visa.
When #1 cylinder shows both rockers moving you should have # 6 cylinder rockers in the relaxed position, both valves closed. Follow the rule with the remaining pairs. I find it quite useful for setting valve lash at guaranteed known position.
A little old school for the young techie crowd but it works every time.
You can use this info to 100% ID the cam shaft firing order.

If the bowl vent tube does a J turn and points back down the throat then its marine.

backfoot100 wrote: Tom, Did those have the externally adjusted floats?

Yes, Center Hung double pumpers. (just sounds dirty)

Just no sight plugs on the bowls!

Il pop those valve covers today and see if I can figure out the firing order. When a valve is relaxed the rockers will have play in them right? The list on the carb was 4779 and I was told was not marine no j tubes besides that the primary throttle shaft has tons of play in it. Found some starters that look the same but not knowing if it is a omc, mercruiser etc makes it hard. I found a starter that is for a crusader 7.4 that looks like a match but how can I be certain? I was laughing because the only starters that were ever I this boat since I had it were the wrong direction. I will post the carrying numbers from the head when I open it up. I will need some help determining which carb to buy

Heads will largely drive your carb choice, so let us know what you find.

The exhaust manifolds look like Indmars to me, but there seem to be a lot of non-original parts on that motor. Regardless, the only thing I can think of that would be marinization-specific about the starter choice is the bellhousing. Though, my guess is that so long as you get a marine starter for a Mark IV BBC that spins the proper way for the location youre mounting it in, you should be fine. I dont recall struggling to find a starter for our RH top mount OMC.

Oh, no diff on bell housing or ring gears between BBC and SBC as far as i can remember.

baitkiller wrote: Yes you are correct. I would wager somebody here has a carb for you. I am not a Holly guy so no help here on that. Other than being original I cannot understand the obsession with such a finicky carburetor. I threw the leaky POS in the dumpster and bolted on an AFB with a wedge and haven't looked back. I am sure there must be a benefit somewhere, I just have not discovered it personally.

I have a list 9022 Holley 800 CFM 4150 marine double pumper for sale. Rebuilt last season and ran maybe 10 hours. New billet base plate replaced the worn out original. No choke on it currently but I may have the choke parts if you want to run a choke. Got frustrated with a problem I couldn't figure out and bought a new one to replace it. Turns out I had a vacuum leak under the intake and this carb is fine. I'd like $450 for it. If interested let me know, would be a good fit for a 454... I had it on my PCM 454.

As for your dislike of Holley carbs... They are not finicky, but rather they are very simple and reliable. I don't understand where this reputation of being finicky comes from. They just plain work. Every "finicky" problem I've come across is a result of contamination, typically junk in the air bleeds from improperly installed or inadequate air filtration. In my observation the people who typically bash Holley carbs don't understand how they work, and are having trouble with their old worn out engine not running right with an old gunked up carb, or just bolting on a brand new carb on wahtever engine with no tuning and complain that it doesn't run right, has flat spots, runs rich, or whatever. All carbs must be clean and tuned for the engine to run right. It's a simple, reliable, tunable, and well proven design.

cadunkle wrote: baitkiller wrote: Yes you are correct. I would wager somebody here has a carb for you. I am not a Holly guy so no help here on that. Other than being original I cannot understand the obsession with such a finicky carburetor. I threw the leaky POS in the dumpster and bolted on an AFB with a wedge and haven't looked back. I am sure there must be a benefit somewhere, I just have not discovered it personally. I have a list 9022 Holley 800 CFM 4150 marine double pumper for sale. Rebuilt last season and ran maybe 10 hours. New billet base plate replaced the worn out original. No choke on it currently but I may have the choke parts if you want to run a choke. Got frustrated with a problem I couldn't figure out and bought a new one to replace it. Turns out I had a vacuum leak under the intake and this carb is fine. I'd like $450 for it. If interested let me know, would be a good fit for a 454... I had it on my PCM 454. As for your dislike of Holley carbs... They are not finicky, but rather they are very simple and reliable. I don't understand where this reputation of being finicky comes from. They just plain work. Every "finicky" problem I've come across is a result of contamination, typically junk in the air bleeds from improperly installed or inadequate air filtration. In my observation the people who typically bash Holley carbs don't understand how they work, and are having trouble with their old worn out engine not running right with an old gunked up carb, or just bolting on a brand new carb on wahtever engine with no tuning and complain that it doesn't run right, has flat spots, runs rich, or whatever. All carbs must be clean and tuned for the engine to run right. It's a simple, reliable, tunable, and well proven design.

pics of carb? would this bolt right on?

cadunkle wrote: They are not finicky, but rather they are very simple and reliable.

+1