Bought a 22' Donzi sport boat the other day....thought about putting an LT5 in it....what do you think? Should I scratch the idea...Is it too much trouble?
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Re: Hey Mike Mccagh, this ones for you!!
love the LT 5 but only way i'd do it a third time( the 61 vette and 41 willys are first and second i've done) would to get hold of an entire totaled ZR1. if all you get is a crate engine, it'll almost certainly come with the engine harness. but it'll lack the ECM and main dash harness. trying to figure out the wiring has been a pain in the butt with the willys and it's crate engine. with farm use 61 vette, i got all the wiring from the donor 92 ZR1 and a vo tech student could have wired it. still working on the willys wiring. Getting back to the LT5, not too many other chevy engines will propel a 3100# vet thru the 1/4mile lite in the 12's and yet get 22 mpg with 4.56: gears running from maryland to texas with the A/C and Bose runnin. a fella here in town has a 90 ZR1 with over 100k miles on it(hard miles) and its not been torn down yet. if you elect to go with a crate motor, i can advise on acquiring an ECM and where to send it to have it re-programed to do away with the "security" features. good luck justin. mike -
Re: Hey Mike Mccagh, this ones for you!!
Does anyone remember the Corvette 16' ski boat that was produced for awhile in the early 90's? It only came in red (of course!) and had functional Vette taillights, the words "Powered by Corvette" on the side and a Callaway SuperNatural 383(?) in the engine bay and other Corvette cues. I drove (piloted?) one and it was quite fast, but it was really designed as a ski boat as it had lots of low end, able to tow TEN waterskiers at once.Comment
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Re: Hey Mike Mccagh, this ones for you!!
Seems I recall a boat with LT5 powerplant, towed by a ZR1, around some of the shows in 1990 to 1995. I didn't pay a lot of attention to much beyond the engine(s). IIRC the boat trailer had the same kind of wheels as the tow vehicle.TerryComment
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Re: Hey Mike Mccagh, this ones for you!!
Justin,
--------Find your way to the DONZI Registry and we will answer your question there. For starters, what year is the boat, how is it powered now and what drive does it have? One of the best power upgrades is the Mercruiser 500EFI. Makes for a nice 80mph-ish ride. DONZIS run fast on torque not horsepower. Thats why they like 502s so much.........Bill SComment
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Re: Hey Mike Mccagh, this ones for you!!
It is a 1998 with the 7.4 EFI with only 310 H.P.....I need more!!Comment
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Re: Hey Mike Mccagh, this ones for you!!
Oh yeah, it has a Bravo driveComment
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i have build a lot of boat engines and the
only thing that makes them go faster is a blower. i have build several 510 to 540 cu in BBC with 8-71 and 10-71 blowers and they make 700 to 800 HP on pump gas and push the boats to 100+ MPH. any other way of making power in a boat is a waste of money and time as i have tried them all. a boat is a BIG dyno and the blower make lots of torque to push it thru the water. hull design is also very very important in the boats top speedComment
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you will need a water cooled out drive when you
get the the big power numbers.Comment
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Re: you will need a water cooled out drive when yo
Justin,
---------I would agree with Clem up to a point. Blowers are another (very successful) way of developing more torque. But once you develop the kind of horsepower that he is talking about everything on your DONZI would have to be upgraded.The Bravo wouldnt be near enough. You would pop it in short order. Stronger drives are expensive. A better lower unit, maybe an Imco shorty, would be a step up as the more streamlined lower will give you 6 to 10 mph all by itself. Your present steering system would have to go. You would need an all hydraulic external double ram system for precise steering. Chine walk on a 22 Classic at high speed is a scary thing and usually appears because of imprecise steering.
---------There is one documented 22 Classic that was built (yes, with a blower) to run in the mid to high 90s. It was one wild ride and it was built by a DONZI test driver for himself. Most often the faster 22s are 502s or 540s with a single Holley or injected, upgraded exhaust, steering, etc. They are running from 75 to 85 at the outside.The owners seem to love them. There is one guy from Conneticut who has modified his X18 DONZI to the point where he has been GPSed at close to 120mph. Let me tell you that he is one very careful fella. I have seen him run and it is a sight to behold. He runs an Arneson surface-piercing drive with no transmission and about (I believe) 900hp. He has taken a boat that was designed in 1964/5 to run some where around 60 max!!!!!! There are at least two 22 Classics being put together right now with stand off Arneson drives and a goodly amount of horsepower. Hey! all it takes is money.........Bill S
---------Private message me if you are interested in a few more pointers.Comment
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Re: you will need a water cooled out drive when yo
Are there any superchargers that just are bolt on to this stock 7.4 EFI and don't require any internal major mods? I don't want to go too fast but just faster than the 65 m.p.h. mark, maybe 75 m.p.h.Comment
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Re: you will need a water cooled out drive when yo
Justin,
--------Yup! There are a number of them............Bill SComment
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