new to jets and need advice

[uselessgrant]

hello all i have a 1973 cheetah 16ft v bottom w 455 olds and a berkley jb i'm thinking of going to a zz383 gm crate motor. I believe from the dyno chart of this motor that i should do just fine for my needs.. 60 to 70mph range i know i will have to change a lot but in the long run it should be worth it. this is a small boat and i don't want to get too crazy plus i need all the room i can get interior mods dont matter becuase its all gone. this is a complete resto job thanks for your replies! :)

[BAE_557]

Send a Privte Message to Fleetimus, I believe he has the same type of hull and has tried a few modifications here and there.

[fleetimus]

Does it look like this?????
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/4155boat_6268-med.jpg
http://www.hotboatpics.com/pics/data/500/12820Short_Shot.jpg
Give me a call in the evenings.
530 320-0549
Tim

[uselessgrant]

yes it does but mine has a metal frame wind shield and a shorter snout on front

[uselessgrant]

it also has a higher gunwhale behind driver and looks deeper everywhere. exhaust is thu hull and closed engine compartment

[uselessgrant]

i have some pics but cant figure out how to get them here.

[gforceauto]

my advice is sell it and run like hell it can get very very expensive. i started with about the same and 20,000 later its done. Save yourself alot of time and bs and buy one that is allready finished for 5000 instaed of doing what i did. if your hell bent " like i was" and want to build it just go with a short block, with a little head work and a good marine cam.....

[uselessgrant]

real boats are like jeeps and trucks...the're built not bought :hammer2:

[beerjet]

I'm gonna have to agree to a certain extent with gforce. I had a day cruiser I wanted to build up and was advised not to do to the extreme amounts of money it would cost. I held off workin on the boat and in no time I found my hallett for a smokin price . It's not my dream boat but it's got all the equipment I want and it's 100% turnkey. Details later.
You should at least look around before you start to spend to much.
After all lookin dont cost anything.
-beerjet-

[TJS]

I do not post here much, but be prepared to spend about 20K like gforce said. I have an excel spread sheet with tabs for seperate parts of the boat..etc. Right now I am up to 19k including the cost of the Nordic itself and I am not even ready yet. I did also change the head and camshaft combo after the rebuild of my 454. I did resell the parts as well to try and offset the cost of other parts...ha ya right. Good luck.
T.J.
www.tjsperformance.com

[Cas]

it would be much less expensive to just buy Fleet's boat for $3,000 and another couple of hundred to go get it. It's one hell of a good running boat!

[taylormanss]

go over to texas***boats.com, they will help ya out with your project,unlike these guys over here!

[beerjet]

I guess telling him not to spend 20k at least on a 4k boat isn't helpfull enough. :confused:
-beerjet-

[AngryJosh]

From what I've heard you might want to consider a big block. I've heard that small blocks dont do well in jetboats. But yours is 16ft, so maybe it will work...just look into it

[Jetaholic]

I guess telling him not to spend 20k at least on a 4k boat isn't helpfull enough. :confused:
-beerjet-
Well I think the reason he bought the boat that he did was for the purpose of having a project. Same reason I bought my boat.
"Matter of fact, we should all donate money..." LOL j/k

[beerjet]

Well I think the reason he bought the boat that he did was for the purpose of having a project. Same reason I bought my boat.
"Matter of fact, we should all donate money..." LOL j/k
I guess if you have a perticular boat in mind , that would be diffrent.
Good luck and keep at least me posted.
I aint donating money until he sinks that focker . :crossx:
-beerjet-

[QuickJet]

real boats are like jeeps and trucks...the're built not bought :hammer2:
Even when "bought" they still have to be "built".
From what I've heard you might want to consider a big block. I've heard that small blocks dont do well in jetboats. But yours is 16ft, so maybe it will work...just look into it
Exactly. Don't waist your time with a small block. The BBC will take up the same amount of room as the Olds and will give you more power to enjoy. Parts are readily available (much less than a crate engine deal) and your boat will be worth more in the long run.

[Cas]

geez, it's a friggin 16' Cheetah, a splash of the Tahiti 16, deep entry boat. You're telling him to go big block to put more power to it. The boat was designed to do 55 maybe 60 and safe to about 65. Even with that, if it hits a wave wrong with that deep entry somebody is going for a swim (in the least).
Forget the go fast mentality and put a 400 hp SBC with a matched impeller in it and run 65 all day long with that light little boat. That's providing you can get your hands on all the parts needed for the conversion very inexpensively. If not, rebuild the Olds and have a great time in it.

[old rigger]

cas is exactly right. a sbc will push this little tahiti clone 65mph, or more ,all day long. that's a perfect engine for that boat. anyone that tells you that you need a big block and you'll drop 20k in that boat is on crack. just build your engine, choose a cam wisely, build your pump correctly, and have fun.
uselessgrant, your boat should look pretty much like this little blue tahiti. the windshields are still being made by the way, incase you need one. 'bout 400 bucks less frame i think.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/flyin-t/Hzp4vc7IpHuV2hrDXJKfWK1wfMCt.jpg
this picture of dick clark dates from 1967, same bottom as your cheetah.
he was running a bbc and the very first droop made for the berkeley. anything over 70-75 mph and things happen fast when you get off the gas, that deep entry just digs in and goes where it wants to go.
this boat would make violent right hand turns after it tripped the lights. it was so bad that the other drag racers, mostly in flatbottom v-drives, wouldn't race him unless they were in the left lane because they didn't want to be sharing a lane with at the end of the track.
Others have made the little 16 go faster, mostly in outboards where you don't have to deal with bow steer as much, but what's the point. the boat was made to ride great, and go 60-65 all day long...with a bow tank.
79.44 in 1967 with no pump hardware to speak of and a factory dual carbed engine...most jets don't run that hard 30 years later. lol :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/flyin-t/clarktahiti.jpg

[uselessgrant]

OLD RIGGER!!! THAT THING IS CARBON COPY OF MY CHEETAH!!! only mine has a few more shiny parts on the bow and cateye nav lights.. i need that w/s frame.. my glass is good frame bent in the gap between w/s and hull on each side..