Winter upgrades done.....now for testing.

[Last Real Texan]

Well I am finished with my winter upgrades and on to the testing phase of this project. I installed a dual ram steering system and also serviced my lower unit while swapping over to a new IMCO shorty -2 case. I went throught thwe lower and installed new seals and checked the bearings and such , my gears and bearings looked like new.

I can only hope that the case makes some difference over the stock one. I was 8 inches deep before the swap and now am only 6 inched deep, still down there but it should help some. Hey at least the lower is in good shepe now, I found that the pinion nut was only hand tight on the vertical shaft, not good when it is supposed to be torqued to 100 ft lbs

The superchargher will have to wait until next winter......

I hope to run the boat thurs afterneen to get a new baseline with the shorty....then hopefully a bigger prop, if it works..........hope the slip is not through the roof

Boat runs a solid 70 GPS now , who knows, is there more with the shorty? we shall see........


On anothe note I did some other things like raising the bolsters up 4 inches and installed some billet bling to boot.

looking forward to the season starting.


Bryan

[fasttrucker]

Thats great you get to test in GA. and here in MD its still winter till may 1st.I put a low water pick-up unit on my bravo but that imco looks cool.Good luck let us know how she runs!:)

[tmdog]

Tex.- - Last two days have been great. What body of water are you going to test at?

[Last Real Texan]

JUst a little local Lake down herer in Macon. 6 miles end to end but has a nice 2 mile striaght that is great for high speed runs, no boats at all during the week , only drawback is flat water ... less than ideal for high speed passes in a 27 footer.

I did some breif testing yesterday and have to get a bigger prop but I knew tis already.....24 inch bravo I goes zing now that the drive is a little higher. Bouncing off the rev limiter now and need to try a couple of props in the next couple of weeks. It is looking good though...n o problems getting on plane and no prop blowout at all. I have lost a little of my bow lift but I do not think it is a problem , step hulls like to run flat.

The hydraulic steering is the shiat , smooth like butta.......

Iwill keep you all posted......

[The Hedgehog]

You have really put some time and thought into the ZX this winter. You will have a very original boat when you get done. The mad max steering rules.

Hats off to those that take older model boats and customize then into something fun. Once propped right I am guessing that you will be nicely in the mid 70's. That is something to be proud of in nice heavy normally aspirated boat. Now if I can only finish figuring out my machine!

I can't wait to try your shorty on my non-step. My guess is that the lack of bow lift will be a killer, but you never know until you try!

[fasttrucker]

I called the Blower Shop yesterday just to check on this low profile 250 cid blower.It would work really nicely on my carb/502.Thw wife and kids talked me into a disney vacation this summer :bawling: so maybe next year.

[The Hedgehog]

I called the Blower Shop yesterday just to check on this low profile 250 cid blower.It would work really nicely on my carb/502.Thw wife and kids talked me into a disney vacation this summer :bawling: so maybe next year.

Did you get the hull blueprint done?

Blowers are good. Have you considered centrifigul blowers. They are not near as pretty as roots blowers but easier on the drives and have nice big intercoolers. Your boat with a procharger/supercooler combo whould be unreal!

[fasttrucker]

I called the glass shop on march 1st and was told that he is in the middle of a big project making fiberglass tanks.So I told him that I would call back on april fools day.Hes going to need the boat for like a week,so ive got plenty of time.

[fasttrucker]

Iam only going to do the bottom this year:smash: along with adding a front bilge pump/recaluking the rub rail.Removing the non-working speedo pick-up(ive got it hooked to the new low water pick-up drive)and filling the holes.Repairing all the cracks/dings in the bottom(I hit a lot of junk that floats down the bay).Mounting the new gps bracket/holder.Ive also have a lot of paint chips/cracks that I would like to repair.Then I have the canvas shop repairing my full cover(small rip) and back seat is starting to come apart at the seam(where my son sits)They might be able to fix that.Then my meck. works at the same marina so he can tune it up for the season.(oil change,water/sep filter,plugs,outdrive service)....Then I hope Ill get 80mph gps.:biggrin: You know if I add the blower I would have to spend money beefing up the bravo-1 drive.Iam not sure that I need to go any faster then 80mph ask Doc. he will tell you how I drive:) :uzi: