Need for Speed

[champ]

I live in Maryland and boat on Marley Creek. I have had my 66' Champion for over a year now and have worked out many of the bugs it came with. Many of the members on this forum have been true boaters, offering good advice and guiding me in the right direction. Thanks.
Although I am new to boating but not mechanics, I want to go faster. I know there are too many variables for me to figure out what is really needed to get this boat spot on.
Last weekend when cruising alongside my buddy on a jet ski he wanted to race. On plane and cruising at 3000 rpm's I punched it, ate him up for about a minute until he passed me. When I asked him later how fast he was going when he passed me, he said 40 mph. Pride may have made him exaggerate, but I want to think I was going faster than that.
....so I am wondering. Is anybody around this area who can recommend a good and honest volvo outdrive specialist to take a look to see what I might be missing? Or maybe another friendly boater who just wants to help a guy out?
At any rate, I now know how most of you feel when heads are turned on the dock just to see what is that going by.

[zelatore]

You may have already posted it elsewhere but it wouldn't hurt to refresh our memories on exactly what you have now.

I believe your Champion is based loosely on a 16? Or was it an 18?

current engine and mods, drive, ratio, prop, RPM, etc.

From that, we can make some recomendations on what might be a good route to take. Maybe you're getting all you can exect out of your current setup, or maybe you're missing something simple that could give you 5 mph.

I'm not a Volvo guy myself, but there are plenty here who know their way around them.

[BUIZILLA]

Champ's were 17'

[champ]

The 1966 Champion is similar to the sweet sixteen of the same year, but as Buzilla said it is listed as a 17'.
The Motor is a fresh 351 Ford w/
RPM air Gap Manifold
Holley 750
Mallory Distributor
Glenwood exhaust

Outdrive is a volvo 270
30 weight oil in outdrive

Prop now is a volvo aluminum 3 blade 14x23 LH
Old prop was a 3 blade stainless 14x22 LH unknown maker
I changed the prop for two reasons: first was wot was over 5300 rpm's, second was slipping occurred at high speeds after about a 20 minute run. Idling down for a few minutes and the slip goes away for a short time. I still have the slip issue and believe the previous prop was not the issue. With the new prop wot is still over 5100 rpm's, but it is up on plane faster than the first.

From what I read from other posts I think there might be an issue in the outdrive cone clutch. The motor seems to have all the power I need, I just got to get it to right place. Thus the reason for my post.

[Donzi_Dude]

you should be running 50MPH with that rpm/prop.

if you want to go faster look @ your exhaust manifolds/cam?.

a stock head 351 can make 350HP all day long if set up correctly.

[MOP]

Borrow a GPS I think the guy on the JS was pulling your chain! 5100 with a 23 guessing you have 1.61 gears you were topping 60+, only the weakest JS's go 40. Most all today top 60 and better!

[champ]

The J S guy said that when he was passing me , that he was doing only 40 mph.. It was my guess too I was going faster than that. My motor is still in the break in mode and although it will go to 5100 rpm's with the new aluminum 14x23 prop, 4800 rpm's is where it sounds real nice.
I just spent about an hour reading some of Grizz's old posts about his Solas props. Is there any place else to get one or does anyone have one for sale. And what pitch to use if I can find one?
I still want to go through and need help with the outdrive and if something is needed, I'm gonna get it done. The slipping after a good high speed run has got me wanting to be safe and not sorry.

[BUIZILLA]

we have all of Grizz's leftover Solas props as well as all of his Turbo props, so if you have an interest, please PM me, we'd be glad to help you

[mattyboy]

if you're not new to mechanical stuff the first place I would start is removing the drive and finding out the out drive ratio. props are a great place to start if the 351 is a healthy one a solas 21 or ultra 24 would be a good start. but with out knowing the ratio getting the right prop will be hard.

a 300 hp 351 volvo with 21 solas will get you right to about 60 mph. but the rest of your setup needs to be setup right solid steering and no hull defects.

[zelatore]

we have all of Grizz's leftover Solas props as well as all of his Turbo props, so if you have an interest, please PM me, we'd be glad to help you

I agree with your first instinct. Take a look at your drive and sort out the slip problem (I'm doubting it's a prop hub) and make sure everything is in good working order. I'm not much help on that front as I know almost nothing about Volvo drives.

Once that's done and every thing's good, take a simple hand held GPS and see what speeds you're really getting at WOT.

Then give Buiz a call. You are certainly leaving a little on the table with that aluminum prop. Most agree that the solus is about as good as you'll get for an off the shelf Volvo prop.

[Ghost]

MOP and some others mentioned what I first thought when I read your post: that it might be worth being certain what your speed really is. I'm only about 25 mins south of you if you need a handheld GPS to do some speed measurements.

Mike

[mattyboy]

just another thought here it might pay to try and find a v8 ratio 1.6 drive used on ebay. this will give you a spare plus it may just be more economical than having to find a mech and pay them to tear yours apart.

the slipping can you describe it better.

is it a gain in rpm with loss of speed?

is it a gain in rpm and no +/- of speed

most volvo props are less effecient the faster they spin.

Things I would try first before getting a mech involved.

get a new prop, change the outdrive oil to 90w synth for a test run, and verify the ratio. if your drive has a 4 cyl lower it may just be a case of "it is what it is". if it is a 2 ratio I would look for a solas 23 or ultra 26. might not be a bad time to verify the tach too.

[champ]

... back to this post after a weekend of bright work to a friends teak deck. Thanks Ghost for the offer of the GPS. As it turns out, my friend with the jet ski later admitted my boat was going 45 mph with four people onboard. This sounds a little more plausible.
Waiting for a reaction bracket for raw water pump and going back out this weekend.
I am pretty sure this is a v8 outdrive as the b number on serial plate and originally was holman moody.
The rpms stay the same with a loss of speed.
Drained out drive oil and it was clear although some metal was found in it. Guessing this is normal to a degree.
Questioning the use of 90w synthetic in outdrive if 30w is what is recommended (no offense Mattyboy). The issue seems to be slipping occurs after drive has warmed up a bit am not trying to mask the problem. What about 40w? Does anyone else have a suggestion?

[mattyboy]

... back to this post after a weekend of bright work to a friends teak deck. Thanks Ghost for the offer of the GPS. As it turns out, my friend with the jet ski later admitted my boat was going 45 mph with four people onboard. This sounds a little more plausible.
Waiting for a reaction bracket for raw water pump and going back out this weekend.
I am pretty sure this is a v8 outdrive as the b number on serial plate and originally was holman moody.
The rpms stay the same with a loss of speed.
Drained out drive oil and it was clear although some metal was found in it. Guessing this is normal to a degree.
Questioning the use of 90w synthetic in outdrive if 30w is what is recommended (no offense Mattyboy). The issue seems to be slipping occurs after drive has warmed up a bit am not trying to mask the problem. What about 40w? Does anyone else have a suggestion?

no offense taken. the 30w 90 w is an outgoing debate Volvo had some internal memos that stated to use 90w gear oil over their former recomendation of 30w motor oil. The drive is really strong and will operate for a long time even with water mixed into the oil. I went from 30w to 90w and the drive shifter smoother and was quieter than before. I also had some shifting issues after hard runs was told it was glazing and needed relapping but it turned out to be a shifter linkage adjustment on the drive. If the lower has never been touched or changed it most likely is a 1.6 drive. If you look behind the anode by the prop shaft the ratio might be stamped there as well. pretty common occurance to find a 4 cyl lower hung under a B drive.

rpm the same but loss of speed..... when it starts to slip what happens when you throttle back to a speed just above coming off plane then accelerate back slowly to wot?? or come off plane and try to jump back on plane quickly?? having any problems shifting around the docks??

[champ]

I think you are on with this. When slipping starts I usually back down and idle for a few minutes (maybe 5) then it will get up and go again. I have not tried to plane or get back up right away, after slipping started.
It does though become harder to shift when coming into dock. Will check the linkage too.
I am gonna try the 90w this weekend and see where how goes.
Thanks

[nguber57]

I have a v8 270 volvo lower if your interested i am in baltimore.