looking for a Mercury 2.4 brigdeport or 2.5l EFI 20" shaft

[STOKER909]

That's right I am looking for a 2.4 race bridgeport or 2.5 liter efi merc in a 20" shaft configuration. Anybody on the west coast know where one is?

[STOKER909]

nice! I cannot even spell bridgeport!

[Towndrunk]

What do you have now?

[STOKER909]

I currently have a Merc Black Max 2.4l 200hp 84' model

[Towndrunk]

Why not just get a drop on power head? Everything fits and it'll be cheaper. Rebuild yours. It's really easy.

[STOKER909]

I have considered that but I want more reliable power out of it if possible.

[Towndrunk]

Go to a 2.5 then. Forget the 2.4s. Just get a drop on powerhead.

[HavasuDreamin']

You can't just drop a 2.5L powerhead on a 2.4L midsection. My advice, is that if you are serious about wanting more power, buy a complete 2.5L EFI engine.
Good Luck.

[Towndrunk]

You can't just drop a 2.5L powerhead on a 2.4L midsection. My advice, is that if you are serious about wanting more power, buy a complete 2.5L EFI engine.
Good Luck.
You're smoking too much crack dude. :crossx: I do it all the time. Have you ever worked on one? hELL MY 2.5 NITROUS MOTOR IS SITTING ON A 2.4 MID WITH A 2.4 bridgeport exhaust adapter. Plus, it has an old inline lower unit on it! Better buy a manual. :rolleyes:

[Tom Brown]

...it has an old inline lower unit on it!
Those don't bolt up, do they? :idea:
I was under the impression you had to remove the front studs to get them to fit.... but then I smoke quite a bit of crack.

[Towndrunk]

You do have t change the studs on the housing and the shift shaft is off just a teeny bit but it works good enough for my drag boat.
Getting back to the 2.4 to 2.5 they are a direct bolt up. For extreme performance you might want to have the exhaust housing milled very minor but hey. I didn't even do that with the bridgeport housing. I didn't do it on my Allison either. Just like 99 percent of the tuners out there. Snake oil. :)

[STOKER909]

Good stuff! I had no idea that I could just put on a carbureted 2.5L powerhead! how many rpm's do they turn, and what kind of power and torque are they putting out?
Please, do tell more!!!

[Towndrunk]

Depends on which one you get but the diff in the 2, horse power for horse power are distinct. You can also put an EFI on it as long as you get a complete drop on. You will have to buy a fuel pump but they are sometimes included with a complete drop on. I tell you these things because I have done them , not been told It could or couldn't be done.
Go to S&F and look under the motors section. There are some people to stay away from but with a little research you can figure them out. Also look at the number of posts. If you need more help you can email me at
dragally@yahoo.com

[STOKER909]

Hey, Thanks alot for the info. Are there ever any good sellers on Ebay, or would you stay away from powerheads on there? BTW, how much could I expect a powerhead of this caliber you speak of to set me back?

[Towndrunk]

It's all relative man. Stay away from Blackbird rebuilders. Ebay? I don't know it depends. Finding one of these powerheads is not as easy as putting one on!
Cost could be anywhere from 3 to 7 K. What kind of boat is it going on?

[Tom Brown]

One problem with dropping a 260/280 onto a fishing mid is that you'll probably have to trim it up to get it to start. It's not glamorous. They really seem to need the offsore mid.
Another problem is that the high performance engines have a single trim ram that holds the engine in place, both up and down. The fishing engine has a single ram for tilt and two pin rams for trim. The fishing system allows the engine to kick up, if you hit something. 2.5l HP engines have a mountain of torque and you can run some really big wheels. Sooner or later, you'll be running along at 90+ mph and have to get out of the gas for some reason.... that big wheel will drag like hell, the engine will kick up... and you'll go from being perfectly balanced on the pad with everything in balance to cutting the throttle and skidding across the water like a tobogan with the engine kicked up. That's when bow steer happens... and that's not a lot of fun.
That's exactly the situation I'm in right now and why I just picked up an offshore mid.
I'll also mention that while the 2.5l will bolt right up to a 2.4 or 2.0 mid, the 2.5l EFI won't fit under the old style clamshell cowl very easily. I've heard it can be done and I know a couple of people who've done it but it will take some effort and your horn will be right up against the front of the clamshells causing your engine to starve for air. Also, there's no place to mount the rear clamshell hinges on a 2.5 EFI, but they can be fabbed up.
.... consider getting an entire assembly, perhaps minus the gear case.
Oh yeah... the gear cases for the high performance engines are different too. They look mostly the same but they have a heavy duty bearing carrier. If you want to reuse your gear case, you might want to get the HD bearing carrier from Wayne Taylor. That's what I did. I've been mostly using an old fishing engine case that I put a Bob's cone and Wayne's HD carrier in. It has lived through two seasons now although I'm not a guy who puts a lot of hours on each season.
As far as Scream & Fly goes, there are some really beautiful people on there who are fully trust worthy. There are also some scum sucking maggots. The problem is, it's tough to tell them apart. High post count is not a certain sign of a good guy. If you get screwed and you post a complaint, it will get deleted. If you persist, you will be banned and your IP address blocked. Help yourself to Scream & Fly if you wish but I wouldn't buy prop nut from there. At least with eBay, you have some recourse. There is probably a lower percentage of good guys on eBay than there are on Scream & Fly but at least you have some recourse with eBay. Not much, but some.
Oh yeah... fix that 200. It's not difficult, as TD says, and you'll need it when you discover the 280 you were told is low hour and never open has rebuilt with Wiseco pistons and it seems to be having a ring locating pin problem that will cost you a bunch of machine work, a plate job, and 6 fresh Mahle pistons.
The 260/280 engines can be reliable, but only if they've been worked on by someone who knows what they're doing. If you put a steel sleeve and cast Wiseco in there, it's no longer a high performance engine and will blow up if you try to rev it like a high performance engine. I would suggest that if you're not a decent engine guy, keep it stock.
I think I'll go spread my joy in another forum for a while.... :D

[Towndrunk]

Here ya go. Check it out.
http://forums.screamandfly.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103546

[timebomb1]

Stoker.
Like Tom said fix the 200. Start by either upgrading the carbs with at least wh22's. Then get rid of the airbox assy. Maybe with some velocity stacks. Then if you really want to mess with the hole shot, pull the powerhead, remove the tuner plate and pull the water liner out of the midsection, drill some relief holes into the cavation plate and get rid of the thru hub prop. I have a midsection that is already drilled and had the liner removed, I can take some pictures of the relief holes and email them to you.
Oh yeah, did I mention I happen to have the wh22 carbs/velocity stacks already set up on a 5 petal reed front section that I am willing to part with.
Sorry to hi-jack this thread but,
Towndrunk what is the benefit of a inline six lower? Is the gearcase smaller??
Tom Brown did you get the parts yet...???
Gary

[STOKER909]

You guys are awesome! Thanks for all the input. I have been told that the black max 200 is only reliable if it is not messed with. I heard heads can cause problems even if race gas is used, but yeah I do have a stock airbox on it but I am not certain of the reeds, and what is this about different carbs?
I talked to Eric Simon at Simon motorsports several times in the past year and he totally recommends against modifying the 200 Black max with heads or internals and just everything in general on that motor. Other than running High perf heads that require using AV/high octane gas where can the best gains for the buck be made? By the way I was told that the Engine that is on my Stoker is stock other than the Exhaust ports that were drilled through into the top of the lower unit and bottom of the mid section by the late "Dick Scherrer" years ago. It sounds absolutely wicked!!

[STOKER909]

"Then if you really want to mess with the hole shot, pull the powerhead, remove the tuner plate and pull the water liner out of the midsection, drill some relief holes into the cavation plate and get rid of the thru hub prop. I have a midsection that is already drilled and had the liner removed, I can take some pictures of the relief holes and email them to you. "
Apparently my engine had this done by Dick Scherrer years ago.

[STOKER909]

"Oh yeah, did I mention I happen to have the wh22 carbs/velocity stacks already set up on a 5 petal reed front section that I am willing to part with."
Would this bolt right up to my 200?

[Towndrunk]

If you go thru the trouble of changing your reeds and carbs you want to get a horizontal 7 pedal front half. Unless of course it's a 5 pedal rubber coated sport cage. Good for about 200 rpm's over the 5 pedal.

[timebomb1]

They came off a 2.4, 200 hp motor. So yep, direct bolt on. Gary