I bought and air fuel ratio meter that I use both on my boat and 65 GTO. The manufacturer of the gauge stated for marine applications to not leave it permantely installed (use for tuning only) as the water in the exhaust will shorten O2 sensor life. I left it on my boat for 3-4 weeks last summer...
I would look at ignition components like cap rotor and plugs. or are these 4.5's distributor less. I know on the GM based 4.3/5.7 MPIs the crab cap distributor cap would cause similar symptoms
Not sure if you are still considering this - I used a whale tail on my 1991 Sea Ray 170/ 3.0 (under powered) boat. Certainly helped get it on plane at the expense of a little top end. Worked great until it broke my cavitation plate.
I repaired the plate and then used a 4 blade lower pitch prop...
yours is EFI not MPI correct? If it is efi with a throttle body look down the bores after it sits. Wonder if you see fuel dribble that floods it necessitating clearing with an open throttle? If that is the case get injectors rebuilt.
could be pulling air. If that were the case injectors would...
If the studs are breaking then something is wrong with the valve train geometry or parts mismatch. things I would look for is rocker to retainer contact and retainer to valve seal clearance, or coil bind.
as you move up into higher performance cam with higher lift and duration You need higher...
It is certainly easy enough to access and inspect.
describe the symptoms you are having? Is hot restart and issue? if so does opening the throttle help? Do you get black smoke when it finally starts? Wonder if injectors are leaking down and flooding it when off.
also might check inside of fuel...
Best way to hone in on props is either find a shop to work with you on try before you buy or be prepared to buy a bunch and then sell off what doesn't work. The same boat with two different owners and use patterns will prop it differently.
typically you get what you pay for in props, cheaper...
Tabs could be slowing your top speed, which is too often the focus as you cant got WOT much...
The prop you have assuming you have a 1.62 drive ratio and accurate numbers would 22% slip so yes you probably could benefit from a prop that has more grip. I dont think repitching the vengance would...
What not swap the 5.7 out of BR and into the sundeck? would be easier than modifying the interior , swap engines in the two would be relative drop in…
5.0 is a little light for that size loaded with people. Also get a lower pitch 4 blade for hole shot. what prop is on the sun deck now and what...
I see this exact thing with my edlebrock 1409 which is basically the same as your webber 4 bbl. Carb gets dry there is no fuel in it. The cranking is just to get fuel in it. The fuel pump runs off the starter until ignition is on then it goes through and oil pressure switch.
folks have wired...
This is a good plan. Get the engine maintained and get the tach fixed before you play with props.
See where your wot rpm lands and adjust from there.
I suspect depending you may be ok if its just the two of you. If you want to tow a skiier or tube you may want to drop down in pitch.
i had...
Would get a wrecker with a boom or call a crane company. We use a crane/rigging company through work so he gave me a good price, but his book prices for small cranes aren’t that much considering the project cost here. Was very quick and safe
Corrosion you see is typical of bravo 3 drives. I would make sure you have a mercathode, maybe two. My buddy who experienced similar corrosion added a second mercathode system with pucks on the transom.
For paint i would look at something like PPG DP90 epoxy primer. Great corrosion resistance...
Usually alarm is low engine oil pressure, low drive oil reservoir ( possible you just changed it) , or over temp, which can happen if on muffs and muffs block water intake holes in drive.
Just did mine last spring
Geta complete OEM bellows kit from merc will include the hose . I belive my 2003 vintage gen two drive had metal lube oil fitings so likely yours does too.
Not a bad time to replace bushings and seals on shift shaft in bell housing too, look at your shift cable too...
You want to make backer plates for the inside of mounting points . I used 1/2” ply about 5x8” basically biggest i could fit in mounting locations. Used fiberglass reinforced filler to fill the void between ply and hull. 3 years on nocracks. 12 hrs seems high for a shop, my dad and i did it in...
I had very good luck with michigan motorz when i repowered six years ago. Roger is one of the owners they took time to customize my partial engine package.