1978 Ski Nautique

Scott,
I have recently upgraded my 351W. I needed the motor to run better and with more power. Some of the things I chose to change were the intake, ignition, and the prop. I went with an edelbrock performer intake which makes great power for idle-5500 rpm. I chose not to turn my motor over 4500rpm even though it will very fast. With these parts you motor will rev alot higher. With the taller intake my throtle response improved. I also instaled a new distributor, I went with a D.U.I., this is an HEI set up. http://www.performancedistributors.com/
Thease distributors are expensive but they are some of the best. When you go to the web site look at the marine section for yours. You will have to change the dist. gear, because of the reverse rotation. I just used my old one with no problems. I also perchased a set of there live wires for better fire power. I went with a set of auto lite platnum plugs. With this new ignition my motor idles very smooth and starts with just a bump of the key. I highly recomend this mod. On to the prop, I chose an ACME #540. Take the time to read the revew http://www.correctcraftfan.com/articles/ACME_540_Prop.asp

this article sold me!!!

With just the bolt on parts I have told you about here my boat runs awsome. Every dollor was well werth it. If you would like pictures or more info on changing thease parts let me know I would be glad to help. -Brad-

The jets I use at 5000 feet are 44 on the primary I think I'll ahve to take another look. I a 80 American skier with the same motor you do. Mine has 540 hrs and has much power. At 5000ft I can do a deep water barefoot start in 4.5 seconds with 5 people in the boat a full tank of gas and 2 dogs. Your boat should have plenty of power. I did all the performance upgrade listed above except i went with the mallory ylm554 cv dist with the 3440 epoxy coil. No intake though. remember the taller the intake the more power you get at at higher rpm. Go low. High low end torke is what you need. I would rebuild the carb first and then do the ignition upgrades. Have fun.

With low compression caused by leaking valves or worn rings the best bolt-ons in the world won't help much and you may end up wishing you's paid $200 for head work.

You may want to check the compression of that engine and make sure you don't need to rebuild the heads since she's almost 30 now.

There's nothing better than upgrading a solid engine where you can really tell the difference. The Prop that was mentioned earlier is probably the best upgrade on our old boats. If your engine is a little tired, but not yet ready for heads/rings etc get the 542 prop.

Good Luck