Speaking of shortys, ext boxes and

[The Hedgehog]

ludricous power, has anyone heard from 502Stang?

Does his gorilla setup still sit over at PMEFI getting tuned or is it waiting to be unleashed?

I am guessing that he is working WFO on the oil platforms. Until Carl's shorty thread it was sure quiet around here.

[Last Real Texan]

Last I heard the motor had made a best of around 650 Hp and is a bitccccchhhhh to get to idle, The intake has no IAC and it makes things very interesting. Should be done by now, it was on the DYNO last monday. I hope he gets this thing together for the Eufala gathering would really like to see it together and a strong ZX showing , and it looks like I will be traveling to Kenner next week for a ECM dial in .....Hey Bill want to go?

Tex

[The Hedgehog]

Last I heard the motor had made a best of around 650 Hp and is a bitccccchhhhh to get to idle, The intake has no IAC and it makes things very interesting. Should be done by now, it was on the DYNO last monday. I hope he gets this thing together for the Eufala gathering would really like to see it together and a strong ZX showing , and it looks like I will be traveling to Kenner next week for a ECM dial in .....Hey Bill want to go?
Tex

Give me the heads Up and I will go. I want to be there when that BIG ZX of your breaks 90.:smash:

[BigGrizzly]

Let me tell you are in for! you will be dodging lobster pots at full bore and mark will be sitting in the back seat with his laptop on his lap pushing keys and telling you to go faster. Yes Eufaula will be fun and could be a propping experience. Now that Ted is going it will be a enlightening experience also. My suggestion is if anyone wants to see some of the best and fastest boats on the registry come to Eufaula. Not to mention to meet the originators Forrest and Emmo.

[SilverBack]

It has been a nightmare!!! We changed to a milder cam and somewhere between DWM and Mark's place in Kenner the wrong spark plugs got put in. They were the stock plugs from the stock cast iron heads, The plumming got messed around and the water going through the intercooler was 180 degree water that was coming out of the engineand they had a intake air leak going into the carbon fiber top hat. It still made 650 HP like that. Oh yes..it had the stock ignition and they left the MSD box in Baton Rouge. How screwed up can things get. So I paid Mark to dyno for 2 days in that configuration. Mark noticed the plugs and fixed that problem. He niticed that my fuel pump was falling off 10 psi at WOT. Got that fixed. Fixed the intake air leak. And we were back to a stock idleing engine with 725 HP. The torque curve followes the hp curve exactly which Mark really loved. He said that will be great for my drive. I havr the 3 lb pulley on and it is putting up 4 psi. Not too bad. That is right where I want to be for now. The intake does not have an IAC but that is not too big of an issue after the adjustments that Mark made. That 725 HP @ 4 psi on 89 octane still had the 180 degree water going to the intercooler and it was still with the stock ignition. Mark thinks that may be good for another 10-25 HP. The engine is purring like a kitten and it sounds like a stocker except for the procharger singing. It looks like my Throttle up 6 blade is going to be the best prop so I think I am finally set. I just canceled my reservations for Eufaula. Who knows if I would make it or not......

[BigGrizzly]

All I am going to say is somebody really dropped the ball and you are lucky that Mark was doing it or you may have been really in for a big disappointment($). I am still surprised he let the water temp to be 180 deg. Your on your way again.

[SilverBack]

Dropped the ball is not the word for what was going on!!! DWM and Mark were both pointing fingers at each other and looking really unprofessional. This project has had only the best parts and I have spent a boat load of money on this thing since January. I have been really turned off by the whole thing since I could not make AOTH. I bought a Bass and a guitar and have started learning how to play just to settle my nerves. In the oilfeild there are not any excuses you get your job done or you get replaced. It seems that it is just not that way in a lot of other feilds of work. I am really lucky and the boat is great and everything turned out great. The boat looks great inside and out. It is one of a kind. The detail is great except for the ZX on the layout pad. It was not that easy to get here but I finally can put these building nightmares behind me. I only went about 40k over budget. I am going to get tatoo'ed when I sell this thing!! When I started I never thought that I was going to build a full hydraulic steering, IMCO extension box, Xtremem SC with a -2 lower drive custom boat with so much power but everything is matched very well. I think the engine and lower are a perfect match. The engine makes great HP and great torque but it doesn't make a ton down at the low RPM's and it runs on 89 octane. The 6 blade prop surfaces about 2-3 inches and shoots a rooster tail like a blackhawk on steroids. It idles fine and is not too loud at idle and it pounds the ground at WOT. It really screams. So I guess I am very lucky ......but I had to pay for the education. Luckily I have the finished product to enjoy now.

[The Hedgehog]

I am glad you are back. Sounds like quite an ordeal.

So....the most important question: Is it fun to drive. I would love to see some shots.

[SilverBack]

Bill....and company....what price tag do I need to put on my ZX? What do you think it is worth? It has got to go!!!

[The Hedgehog]

Bill....and company....what price tag do I need to put on my ZX? What do you think it is worth? It has got to go!!!

You don't like it anymore?

Once you do something big like that you need to wait a while or you will lose your shirt.

What did it end up running?

[BigGrizzly]

Stop, 502 you are again let your emotions rule. When you started this great project we tried to direct you. What I did not expect was how many balls were dropped by so many different people. Just recently I related a story about a high priced 1,100 HP engine that didn't make much more than 850 hp and cost the guy another $30,000 to fix it. Now he almost doesn't remember the issue, he loves his boat. Primary thins to remember: there are car engine builders, there are boat engine builders and there re boat and car engine builders. after 45+ years of dealing with them i prefer the boat and car engine builders-they have mad all the mistakes already. When somebody tells me they know race cars and are going to build a boat engine, I know what is going to happen most of the time. Not good! Most of the time when a person shows me their dyno sheet I pretty much know what kind of engine builder did it. In a recent conversation a gentleman called me for some in site and read me his dyno specs, I told him what kind of motors the builder usually builds. The problem is that they all think they are correct. Lack of real experience is the issue. Mark builds high performance and race boats and is good at what he does. I would not want him to do my car engine-real life experience isn't really there. A well known drag racer called Garry for tips on a boat motor, he knew his limitations, because he specializes. The other problem is that everyone is after that god almighty last MPH and horse power. My engine originally made 800 HP but we detuned it for durability and drive ability. I almost got sucked in to the hp thing. Thank God Garry said to me if you can't drive you can't race it. Then his wife said "isn't your wife going to drive it?" I woke up in a hurry. NO REGRETS WHAT SO EVER! Don't feel bad, EVERYONE on this board has been there, some have spent much more than you. Enjoy the thing. It would have been fine if you came to Cumberland without a boat and Eufaula too. This is Donzi net not who's who's in boating, we care what you are not who you are. I want to meet you not your boat.
As for finger pointing, the first liar doesn't stand a chance. the important thing is it is ok now. You work too hard to let this get you down. Besides I want to meet you and talk about what you do, sounds interesting. Lets get that thing on the water. The only thing that bothers me is Throttle up made you a 6 blade prop and the boat hasn't been wet. This could be a problem. No one has built a combination that you have and they are not fortune tellers. One out of 1,000 HIGH PERFORMANCE boats need or can use one. Other than that you are on your way I really hope it is right the first time. Get it wet take it slow and get back to us with information before you spend another penny. Don't guess wright it down and we will help. Now post the darn pictures!:)

[SilverBack]

Bill....I love the boat!!! It is great!! It is better than any boat I ever dreamed of having!! I know that I am not going to sell it any time soon. I am half kidding about that. Don't get me wrong if someone offered me enough money to get out of it I would.

The real issue is I spent about 40 thousand MORE than I had planned on this little project and I planned on spending 10-15 thousand more than I told my wife that I was going to.

The boat is for sell if I can get the right price..........That is more for my wife than for me....you and I both know that no one will show up ready to take it off of my hands for that kind of money. It is going to be mine forever more than likely. That is one reason that I de-tuned the engine. 725-750 HP is plenty and I want the thing to live and the drive to live. I want to go boat riding ...not boat fixing for the next few years. The boat will cruise very easily at 65 MPH and that is what I was really looking for. It is very quiet and has a very smooth idle. You have to treat it like a carb-ed engine as far as idleing and putting it in gear goes but that is no big deal at all. Mark really got all of the lope and rough idleing out of it. I have no idea how fast it is on the top end. a GPS speedometer is one thing that I do not have. I do have a kicking stereo all new interior, new paint, a new trailer basicly, a totally redone bilge, hydaulic steering, Xtreme SC drive and the thing will fly and it runs on whatever gas that you want to put in it. The torque does not come on until you get up to 3000 rpms. This engine is very tame and not a drive crusher. The engine was built to handle 900-1000 HP so at 725 it should live a long time.

As far as how it handles...do you know that little canal that Tex was talking about in New Orleans...That is about all that I ever use my boat on. My boat will never see salt water and it will never see big chop.

The boat is great!!!


Gizz....You are right about everything..except maybe the prop...I am not saying that there are not other props that would run alot better for the last MPH. I wanted a prop with little slip, that would be good for cruising around 65 mph and that would throw a huge rooster tail just to be crazy sometime.


I just have to install my wake tower and my diving board and I will be ready....do you think that I should install the diving board on the swim platform or make it a high dive and mount it up on the wake tower??

[BigGrizzly]

Put the board on the tower and it can double as a wing.:wink: