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Thread: Twin 6 Shooters

  1. #1
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    Cool Twin 6 Shooters

    OK....... so they're not some fire breathing big blocks with roller this and high lift that but I had fun pullin' them out, redoing almost everything with new and poppin' back in. For you youngins', these are 250 c.i. GM inline 6's rated at 160 h.p. each. What they lack in h.p. they made up for in torque. Real stump pullers. They get my 4500 lb. 7 Meter into the mid 40 m.p.h. range, even in the slop.
    Rich P.

  2. #2
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    Wow!!!!

    FWC 160's ??? original gauges, windshield, and Morse steering, and controls?

    now that's a rare bird...

    keep up the good work, some of us are pretty envious..

    JH
    Charter Member - WAFNC, SBBR, KWOSG
    1955 Perfect Mate
    1986 Hornet III, 502-415 TRS

    www.donzi.org


  3. #3
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    Over the years I have had two with the 165's, a 65? Owens XL20 and a 73? 17 foot Formula, the one in the Formula I put the 4 barrel on which they said made it a 188. The Owens was a tubby boat but a surprisingly good ski boat it would pull 5 up with like you say stump pulling power. I was all set to get a 292 truck block and do it up for the Formula but it caught fire with me aboard and sunk, the 292 punched, cammed and a bit more would have been a real interesting package. I loved those old Chevy 6's I ran E gas for a few years until the venerable 265 V8 came on the scene, I could beat them for a little while. The 265 became a must have and lead to Lula Belle my 38 Chevy but that is another story. I still think it would be a lot of fun to build up a 292 or a 302 Jimmy and stuff it in a small hull.

    Phil
    No matter what your beliefs are "GOD BLESS AMERICA"

    Fully retired marine tech near 60 years in the biz.

  4. #4
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    Those engines and engine compartment look absolutely pristine. I like the fact that you can actually get to and around the engines without getting a hernia. My complements for keeping it stock.

  5. #5
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    Thanks for keeping it original and putting those old chevies back in there. My first boat had the 250, strong, smoothe motor. That boat looks great!

  6. #6
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    Question

    I just perused the pics full sized and have a? I see Donzi on the side, but it looks just like my old 23 Formula. No knowing did Donzi/Formula have have match mate models?

    Phil
    No matter what your beliefs are "GOD BLESS AMERICA"

    Fully retired marine tech near 60 years in the biz.

  7. #7
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    Cool

    Thanks all for your interest and encouragement.
    The engines are original confirmed by the mercruiser engine tag and the build sheet I got from Donzi. The original FWC system I replaced with the updated system you see. Thank You e-bay.
    The guages are all original as far as I can tell. They are all mercruiser guages. The Morse MT-3 control is new. It had a Mercontrol system but I put on a counter rotating Alpha 1 drive and the original control couldn't accomodate the reversed shifting.
    The Donzi 7 Meter is very similar in appearance to the Formula 23 of the same era.
    Rich P.

  8. #8
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    Thanks Rich the angle of the pic sure had me wondering.

    Phil
    No matter what your beliefs are "GOD BLESS AMERICA"

    Fully retired marine tech near 60 years in the biz.

  9. #9
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    Nicely done is an understatement. Man, is that nice.

    Question, as I have one of these on my 350/18, ARE those Bendix Flame Arrestors any good? They are low profile, about 1/4" lower than ANY K&N I have found.

  10. #10
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    Cool

    Lenny,
    The flame arrestors are the original style for this carb/engine. I'm guessing that the low profile is due to the size of the engine. They don't need to flow as much air as bigger engines do. I was actually looking at K&N's but haven't sized what model fits. I have rochester 2GC carbs.
    Rich P.

  11. #11
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    Rich,

    -------If you hadnt posted the first pic I would have thought the second pic came from the day the boat was delivered by a contientious dealer. Very nice job, very nice.............Bill S

  12. #12
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    Stovebolts

    Great motor. Balanced/blueprinted they run just like a BMW motor. I've had several..........they have been spectacular. At one time in the 50's, I had the full pressure 216 that had belonged to the Rocky Mtns stock car Champion.It was in a 41 Chebby coupe, and consistently whomped all 6 cyl challengers, all flathead Fords, 265 Chevys,OHV Olds/Pontiacs,all kindsa stuff. It had been a 2 year build,bored/sleeved/bored, and every exotic part you could buy and lots that were made by our machinist. Had a whizbang exhaust-collecter into a huge Buick muffler.Almost silent. Cliff at B&B built it.A sleeper.Then came the 283 FI Corvettes................

  13. #13
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    Cool

    When I first found this boat, I was a little disappointed that it had the sixes. I was also concerned about getting parts since 1981 was the last year mercruiser used this engine. After a quick check with mercruiser I found that most parts are still available. I was hoping for a pair of V-8's but after opening the engine cover and seeing all the room to work, I was sold. We've all seen boats with engines that are nearly impossible to work on unless your a skinny contortionist or for some things the engine has to come out. Since I do all my own work, easy repair and maintenance was very important and boy were these engines easy. By myself, it took about 45 minutes to pull each engine and about an hour on the re-install. When I started the port engine, there was a banging sound from the flywheel area. After about 20 "Oh S**t", I found that the bellhousing dust cover was being hit by the flywheel. It took about an hour to pull the starter and cover, bend the offending tab on the cover and reinstall everything. How sweet it was. Since it wasn't sea ready when I bought it, I was keeping my fingers crossed on the performance after I already re-did everything. I definetely wasn't disappointed. Now it will never be as fast as V-8's, but it's no slouch and the fuel economy is pretty good. I'm hoping the counter-rotating alpha drives will give me a little more speed than the original right hand drives. It tracks nice and straight at all speeds whereas twin engine boats I've been on without counter rotating props had some stern walk.

    Well, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas (or holiday for those so inclined) and a Happy, Healthy, and Safe New Boating (in a Donzi, of course) Year.
    Rich P.

  14. #14
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    Those are bullet proof engines, you'd be surprised how many small C50 Chevy dump trucks and 3500 step vans used to run them in the late 60's, up until 1972, and people ran them WFO all the time...

    Clifford makes a 4 bbl intake for the 250/292ci, and Holley has a 390 4bbl carb setup just for that intake. It makes about 185-190 hp then. The 292ci version was 185hp w/2bbl and 215-220hp with a Clifford 4 bbl setup. Merc never sold the 292 version AFAIK. I believe Crusader did however. If you had a 292 long block, all the outside pieces bolted right up.

    JH
    Charter Member - WAFNC, SBBR, KWOSG
    1955 Perfect Mate
    1986 Hornet III, 502-415 TRS

    www.donzi.org


  15. #15
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    Cool

    JH

    Mercruiser did sell the 292ci in 1969 as the Merc 200. It came with a Rochester quadrajet carb and used the same exhaust manifold as the 250 ci 160/165's which came with a Rochester 2 barrell carb. The 160/165's have an adapter plate to use the 2 barrell carb. AFAIK, the car/truck 250's only used a one barrell carb. I've spoken with Tom Langdon of Stovebolt 6 engine Co. who was a GM engineer for inline engines. He gave me some high performance tips for the 250c.i. Because the mercruiser intake and exhaust are a one piece manifold, the Clifford intake and headers are out of the question. But he told me some piston, cam, carb combos to bring the hp on the 250 ci to over 200 hp.
    Rich P.

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