Motor help

[Acommanderguy]

Hey guys I dont post over here much, but I am hoping some of you might be able to help me out. We just bought my brother a 78 team hawian jet boat. we have all his hardware (gauges, bezels, bimini, etc..) on order. Now we are down to the motor. I've been told many different things. we want to put just a stock 454 motor in it. I have the bell housing starter 650 holly carb, and a manifold. My qiestions is this. Can I buy a 454 and just modify the cooling system? or do I have to buy some tricked out marine blah blah brass this brass that double timing chaining. crap? I have been told that a stock 454 would work just fine. I thought maybe putting a biger oil pan on it a high speed oil pick up and that would work. any suggestions? we are also on a budget.

[SmokinLowriderSS]

The motor isn't your biggest problem but is the engine covered? An enclosed engine bay/bilge causes you to have to run USCG compliant electrical accessories (starter, Alternator, Carb, Spark Arrestor, Fuel Pump).
No major changes needed to boat a 454. (an Olds 455 is a far different story) I been running the stock oil pump and pan for 27 years. I WOULD at least have the pickup permenantly afixed to the pump (welded or bracketed). Put a good windage tray in. Build the bottom end for long stints of 5k+RPM and it will live forever (or nearly so). Not hard (or expensive) for a 454 up to about 450 HP.
That said on oil, run a jet hard and the oil will get hot, very hot. Some folks run coolers. You decide about your usages. Huge 10Qt pans don't stop the oil heating, they just slow it down. A 140deg cool engine can STILL get 300 deg oil after a long hard run. I don't run a cooler and run synthetic, and don't do 20 mile WFO blasts, 2 to 3 milers are common for me.
The main marine corrosion risks are from long-term sitting on the water, weeks and months at a time, not all day or an afternoon, or a weekend.
Put in a PREMIUM double-roller timing chain, mine is an all-billet one from Comp Cams. You'll be spinning the heck out of it, buy a good one one time, not 2 pieces of junk. Select a cam to make it's power from 4,000 to 5500 RPM and you'll have a great runner. Get your powerband too high and you'll have to go to a small impeller to reach it, sacrificing acceleration. (there is another thread in here of a guy with 680 HP who I can outrun with my 400 because he can't wind past 4,400 RPM to get to his muscle)
Hou HAVE to run a marine fuel pump (IMO) just to be smart. (a lot of folks run electrics, I've had 1 mech fuel pump failure in 27 years, 3 years ago, I'm staying mech. It flows plenty for my needs, including N2O) The weep-hole has a fitting that has to be plumbed up to the top of the carb with clear tubing to prevent a broken diaphram fuel leak from puddling below your engine and making any fuel-bomb fumes. Marine alts & starters have screens in them to prevent any sparks inside from causing a mass fume explosion outside them (if you allow fumes to build up in the engine bay). There are diagrams for cooling water plumbing in a lot of places. DO NOT restrict water flow OUT of your engine block, restrict what comes IN. A jet will try to pump a lot of water into your block and will overpressure it if you let it. How many sets of head gaskets do you wanna buy? Those are what go to allow water in when you make a milkshake inside the engine.
If you decide to run headers, cooling water changes. If you run INJECTED headers (instead of jacketed) then even more issues crop up others are far more qualified than me to advise on. Water into your headers at idle WILL find it's way into the cylinders from reversion, BAD.
That's my 2-cents worth of thoughts for now, send the check to ........... :D

[Acommanderguy]

thanks for the info. I sent u a pm

[FASTRAT]

Anthony...
just my .02 cents....look for a crate 454 or 502 & put it in there...they have all the gd parts in them...roller cam...dbl chain etc...add a 10 qt pan...add a gd ign...if u like the manif u have...run it or chng to a gd hi-po one & run a 850cfm carb out of the box...454/502's run excellent with that carb...there are alot of people on here who run this combo & have no trouble...any more ???...just ask...every1 on here is very helpful
fastrat