97 (early) Sundancer 290DA 454ci L29 Bravo 3

[HawkX66]

Love them big bore Chevrolet's! That's a thing of beauty right there!

Thanks!

 

[HawkX66]

She's starting to look like an engine...

 

[joeyleggz]

She's starting to look like an engine...

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Good lube on the cam!!

 

[HawkX66]

Good lube on the cam!!

Yessah! Stalube For the assembly and Super Slick on the cam. Good stuff. I used it on the 454 in my 69 Camaro also.
Knocking it out a little at a time when I can make the time. Pistons are up next.

 

[joeyleggz]

Yessah! Stalube For the assembly and Super Slick on the cam. Good stuff. I used it on the 454 in my 69 Camaro also.
Knocking it out a little at a time when I can make the time. Pistons are up next.

I’ll tell you a little story back when I had my 270 amberjack I popped one of my motors , 4.3 V6 . I bought a remanufactured long block from a supposed reputable company called Rapido marine in Florida . we swapped over components did the 2000 RPM breaking and proceeded to sea trial the boat for the 10 hour break and I didn’t get 500 yards from the dock before the motor spun a bearing. Sooooo back to the dock we went called the company , was told to pull the motor and pack it up to ship it back to them for inspection. of course he says he’s never seen anything like this before and he proceeded to ship us out Another remanufactured motor this time when we received it many weeks later we tore this motor down And proceeded to use “ultra slick “ under the bearing caps ,cam etc. needless to say we believe that he did not properly lubricate these parts prior to shipping out my motor, I was not gonna fall for that again . In the end everything turned out fine, almost 2 years out of that motor before super storm Sandy finished her off . Moral of the story is you can never go wrong with Lots of “ultra slick”LOL

 

[HawkX66]

I’ll tell you a little story back when I had my 270 amberjack I popped one of my motors , 4.3 V6 . I bought a remanufactured long block from a supposed reputable company called Rapido marine in Florida . we swapped over components did the 2000 RPM breaking and proceeded to sea trial the boat for the 10 hour break and I didn’t get 500 yards from the dock before the motor spun a bearing. Sooooo back to the dock we went called the company , was told to pull the motor and pack it up to ship it back to them for inspection. of course he says he’s never seen anything like this before and he proceeded to ship us out Another remanufactured motor this time when we received it many weeks later we tore this motor down And proceeded to use “ultra slick “ under the bearing caps ,cam etc. needless to say we believe that he did not properly lubricate these parts prior to shipping out my motor, I was not gonna fall for that again . In the end everything turned out fine, almost 2 years out of that motor before super storm Sandy finished her off . Moral of the story is you can never go wrong with Lots of “ultra slick”LOL

What a PITA to have to pull the motor again and ship it over something so easy. It amazes me when companies will cut corners to save a buck. Imagine what that ended up costing him. A lot of guys will just use 30 wt oil or something to lube bearings, but that can drain off after a while. The real engine assembly lube is on there until you run the motor.

 

[HawkX66]

Decided to take a few minutes and re-bed my large front deck hatch. I get a lot of condensation on it and it drips sometimes. The seal was old and hard so I'm hoping it was just leaking a little. I pulled the whole frame out and used LifeCalk to rebed it. I used the Taylor gasket. So far so good. Hopefully it dries enough before it rains next. I forgot it takes one to three days to dry tack free... The wood all looked dry, so any water that might have come in came through the gasket, not the frame. The two smaller hatches are next.
Sorry the pics aren't too exciting...

 

[HawkX66]

Topped off my compass fluid today among a few other things. I wish I had the syringe I used today when I rebuilt it. It made it easy.
It's been raining pretty hard. It was nice to see not a single drop of water entered through my hatch that I just resealed.

 

[HawkX66]

Getting ready to button up my engine. The short block is complete and so are the heads. Everything has gone together very smoothly. I should be able to dress it and start installing it this week.
Last summer my Sea Doo GTX di decided to eat the compressor piston. I finally fixed it Sunday. I would have done it sooner, but I bought the boat and have been spending my time on that.
Here's a few current pics of the 454 and the Sea Doo before and after...

 

[HawkX66]

Not too much completed, but I was able to install the oil pan and degree the cam. So far so good. Heads are on deck... Should be pretty quick to install them and the intake. Then it's on to dressing the rest of the engine. I just realized I didn't have the knock sensor and oil switch that I thought I ordered, so I ordered them last night.

 

[HawkX66]

Motor is finished. I just need to blast and paint the brackets then I can fire it up on the engine test stand before installing it back in the boat.
I ended up putting a Mag cam in it. That with the extra point of compression and the better heads means the boat should have some pretty decent power.

 

[Stray Current]

Been awfully quiet in here...

 

[HawkX66]

Been awfully quiet in here...

If only it would be so quiet out here I'd be out on the water lol Had a bunch of projects that had to come first.
I finished plumbing my compressor yesterday so I'm ready to blast the brackets now. Once I do that things should start falling into place a lot faster. I hope...
I was planning on having my new garage built by now, but the wood prices have gone nuts of course. I was quoted $47k for the $20k worth of concrete work. Uh, next... When you see all the contractors driving around in $70k F350s it might not be the best time either. I put the plan on hold for a while. In the mean time I decided to wire and plumb the small 24x20 garage that came with our house so I can at least use my tools...

 

[Stray Current]

If only it would be so quiet out here I'd be out on the water lol Had a bunch of projects that had to come first.
I finished plumbing my compressor yesterday so I'm ready to blast the brackets now. Once I do that things should start falling into place a lot faster. I hope...
I was planning on having my new garage built by now, but the wood prices have gone nuts of course. I was quoted $47k for the $20k worth of concrete work. Uh, next... When you see all the contractors driving around in $70k F350s it might not be the best time either. I put the plan on hold for a while. In the mean time I decided to wire and plumb the small 24x20 garage that came with our house so I can at least use my tools...

I know the feeling well, I have 2.5 weeks left at my job and then it’s the mad scramble to pack up the house and finish all the projects to get it listed. My wife is already at her new job living in our rental in Florida. I haven’t touched my boat other than to check on it in a month!

I would have been in the water by now, all I have left is the once-over, bottom and drive paint and a detailing.

I’m looking forward to seeing pictures of yours in the water.

 

[HawkX66]

I know the feeling well, I have 2.5 weeks left at my job and then it’s the mad scramble to pack up the house and finish all the projects to get it listed. My wife is already at her new job living in our rental in Florida. I haven’t touched my boat other than to check on it in a month!

I would have been in the water by now, all I have left is the once-over, bottom and drive paint and a detailing.

I’m looking forward to seeing pictures of yours in the water.

I did do something for the boat at least. I just received my chain order. 150' from MarineNow. I'll add that to the OE chain that came with my boat.
I know that mad scramble you're running. We did it in 2014 and again in 2018. My oldest says he's still recuperating lol Hopefully we're staying put with our current home as a home base now.
Glad to hear yours is so close to splashing. Great feeling I'm sure. Florida will be a perfect fit for it. Thanks for checking in. Hopefully I'll have some update pics in the next few weeks. Safe travels!

 

[HawkX66]

Finally made some boat time. I was able to media blast and paint all my accessory brackets and pulleys today. I started dry fitting everything including the fresh water cooling kit. Man there is a lot going on on the front of this motor...
It looks like I'm going to have to relocate the power steering cooler.

 

[HawkX66]

Straightened out a few of the hoses. For the price of these kits it should be plug n play, but it's not. The instructions are terrible too. Pics are like they've been photocopied too many times. Luckily you can download clear ones off Monitor's site. At least the system looks like it's nice quality.
Almost ready to tear it all back off for final assembly. I'm going to have to leave the exhaust manifolds off to install the engine unfortunately. I wish I could leave it assembled. Even then I'll have to slide it in sideways and turn it. Wasn't too bad coming out like that.

 

[Garintheair]

Straightened out a few of the hoses. For the price of these kits it should be plug n play, but it's not. The instructions are terrible too. Pics are like they've been photocopied too many times. Luckily you can download clear ones off Monitor's site. At least the system looks like it's nice quality.
Almost ready to tear it all back off for final assembly. I'm going to have to leave the exhaust manifolds off to install the engine unfortunately. I wish I could leave it assembled. Even then I'll have to slide it in sideways and turn it. Wasn't too bad coming out like that.

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That looks great!

Why do you need to leave the exhaust manifolds off? I have twin 4.3's and' although mine is a 1995, it looks like the same hull as yours. I think that Sea Ray changed the design mid 1997 but I could be mistaken.

 

[HawkX66]

That looks great!

Why do you need to leave the exhaust manifolds off? I have twin 4.3's and' although mine is a 1995, it looks like the same hull as yours. I think that Sea Ray changed the design mid 1997 but I could be mistaken.

Thanks!
You're right. Your boat hull is the same as mine except for the engine mounts obviously. Mine is an early 97. Big difference between the size of a V6 and a big block 454. When it's installed there's only a few inches between the water pump pulley and the fuel tank. Veddy tight fit... If the designers opened the hatch perimeter just a few more inches to the rear it wouldn't be a problem. There's plenty of room too.

 

[Garintheair]

Thanks!
You're right. Your boat hull is the same as mine except for the engine mounts obviously. Mine is an early 97. Big difference between the size of a V6 and a big block 454. When it's installed there's only a few inches between the water pump pulley and the fuel tank. Veddy tight fit... If the designers opened the hatch perimeter just a few more inches to the rear it wouldn't be a problem. There's plenty of room too.

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I can stand between the pulleys and the fuel tank...with the engines running! I looked at a couple of earlier 290's with big blocks but I didn't pay too much attention to the clearance.

Having said that, I wish that I could fit big blocks into my boat!!