Obviously, non-GT40 related....
I have a 1988 Malibu Skier ski boat which is just a little gem. It has a Mercruiser "MIE 260" in it which is basically a marine version of a Chevy 350. The marine version has a few changes from the road version including different cams, hard fuel lines, bronze impeller on the WP, etc....but basically it's the same aside from these things. It also has "risers" which are essentially water jackets cooling around the exhaust manifold so as to keep things cool and not light the sides of the enclosure on fire (the "dog house" in which the engine sits in the middle of the boat).
I really like this boat because it's super simple, has a lot of balls, and looks great. Normally I just put put along with my kids at around 25-30mph. Max speed is right at 50mph (GPS). I'd like to get some more hp/tq out of this engine and have heard on another site that the chevy Vortec aluminum heads are a good upgraded head for this engine, both saving weight and adding a good 50-75 hp/tq over the stock iron heads. I'd also like to add an aluminum (low rise) inlet manifold to replace the steel manifold, the goat being to save weight.
Does anyone have any experience with these type of mods? Is this a bolt-on upgrade or am I going to need to do some machine work? I've heard the port shape is slightly different with the Vortec heads so there may be some porting work to be done. Any help is appreciated.
Ultimately, I'd like to be able to get 55+ mph out of her. I'm no speed demon on the lake but sometimes it's fun to put the hammer down (in a safe manner).
I have a 1988 Malibu Skier ski boat which is just a little gem. It has a Mercruiser "MIE 260" in it which is basically a marine version of a Chevy 350. The marine version has a few changes from the road version including different cams, hard fuel lines, bronze impeller on the WP, etc....but basically it's the same aside from these things. It also has "risers" which are essentially water jackets cooling around the exhaust manifold so as to keep things cool and not light the sides of the enclosure on fire (the "dog house" in which the engine sits in the middle of the boat).
I really like this boat because it's super simple, has a lot of balls, and looks great. Normally I just put put along with my kids at around 25-30mph. Max speed is right at 50mph (GPS). I'd like to get some more hp/tq out of this engine and have heard on another site that the chevy Vortec aluminum heads are a good upgraded head for this engine, both saving weight and adding a good 50-75 hp/tq over the stock iron heads. I'd also like to add an aluminum (low rise) inlet manifold to replace the steel manifold, the goat being to save weight.
Does anyone have any experience with these type of mods? Is this a bolt-on upgrade or am I going to need to do some machine work? I've heard the port shape is slightly different with the Vortec heads so there may be some porting work to be done. Any help is appreciated.
Ultimately, I'd like to be able to get 55+ mph out of her. I'm no speed demon on the lake but sometimes it's fun to put the hammer down (in a safe manner).