Looking for the new Donzi

[suicideking]

Hello, new to the boating world. Now with all but one of the hotrods sold it is time to enjoy boating. The 22 classic is in my opinion the chopped 32 five window of boats. Looking for something in the 98 vintage and newer. It seems the 22's are easier to come by than some of the old hotrod iron, there fore knowing the amount of effort, time, and money it takes to restore the older material I will buy newer and do small modifications as time permits. Are there any particular year models one wants to stay away from ? I have great access to aftermarket 496, 540, and 572 chevys from the guys who build my hotrod motors so I will want one with a BB. How about drives ? Any information would be greatly appreciated in helping me with my selection. Thanks.

[mike o]

Hi, welcome aboard, lotta good stuff on the 22' power plant options. I have the sweet 16 myself, so I cant be much help...

[The Hedgehog]

Its a fun idea. BB's are good. You need to be carefull when using car guys for boats. I am not saying don't do it, just do your homework. Some car stuff works pretty good in jet boats but not I/O's. Cam and tuning is way different. Stick a big radical car cam in a boat and the overlap will cause it to suck water into the engine. Bad business.

I think a 540 is a great motor for the 22. You probably want to stay short deck in that compartment though.

[suicideking]

Thanks for the info. My engine builder is an all around diverse fello. He mainly does the v drive equipment. Any particular engine / drive combinations one would want to stray away from ? Thanks again.

[Donziweasel]

There are dozens and dozens of engine and drive combos (including steering). A good place to start is what your aspirations are. Are you looking to break 80 mph? 90mph? How much do you want to spend? Like or dislike supercharging? How much are you going to do yourself? Just a start, welcome to the madness! BTW, you will find the info you need here.

[zelatore]

Well, if you've got access to lots of BB parts and gear, you could do worse than something like this:
http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=53377

It's clean and you can run it the way it is for now to learn a little about driving the hull, then in the winter pull the tame 454/Alpha combo and put in the big bad motor you're got your eyes on with a BravoX or Imco drive.

[zelatore]

Oh wait, I just saw you're on the west coast. They don't allow Donzis west of the Mississippi.



:hangum:




Just kidding. It does seem a little lonely out here in the west though. Most of the boats/board members are back east, but there are a few of us here on the "right" coast. When I bought my '01 last year I actually bought it on the east coast and had it trucked out to CA...couldn't find much to pick from out here.

[Donziweasel]

Sounds familar, I got mine from Iowa. As far as us Western guys are concerned, it's not the quantity of us, it's the quality!

[BigGrizzly]

Welcome, The only thing I will say is I have been there and Like Tex said about car guys. No offense but the V drives suffer from the same things too. This isn't about who can get there the fastest but who can stay fast the longest. V drives can be built similar to jet boats due to the power absorption curve which is different than an out drive. Du to out drive characteristics out drives don't do well above 5,500 rpms, where a V drive it works well.

[chappy]

Hello, new to the boating world. Now with all but one of the hotrods sold it is time to enjoy boating. The 22 classic is in my opinion the chopped 32 five window of boats. Looking for something in the 98 vintage and newer. It seems the 22's are easier to come by than some of the old hotrod iron, there fore knowing the amount of effort, time, and money it takes to restore the older material I will buy newer and do small modifications as time permits. Are there any particular year models one wants to stay away from ? I have great access to aftermarket 496, 540, and 572 chevys from the guys who build my hotrod motors so I will want one with a BB. How about drives ? Any information would be greatly appreciated in helping me with my selection. Thanks.

Welcome to the board. I'm assuming this is your first boat based on the first sentence. If it is, the advice above to get the boat, get comfortable driving it, THEN do the motor and drive upgrade is very good advice. Even in stock form, they can be tricky. If I had the cheese to build it, bbc with bravo/imco shorty. That's just me though, some say I lack guts.:cartman:

[mike o]

Sounds familar, I got mine from Iowa. As far as us Western guys are concerned, it's not the quantity of us, it's the quality!
Mine... came from al-a-bama, with a adventure marine Ft. Walton Fl. decal on it.... as far as Im concerned, I dont care where it came from,, as long as Its on my dock.........:wink: