Hello from the last frontier and the shortest boat'n season on the planet...to make matters worse I'm a lake boat speed freek that lives in a river boat dominated state...I've had to learn outdrives inside and out by trial and error since no one here knows anything about them...I've lived on Top Ramen to support my addiction....I don't fish anymore unless I'm troll'n at 60 and use'n a bowlingball for a sinker....I don't pull tubes or boards anymore 'cause they slow me down.....I wait ever so patiently on shore of the nearest lake (75 miles away) untill late in the evening when the jet skis and tubers are fast asleep and the lake turns to glass under the midnight sun, then and only then it all comes together, not a thought about shiping costs, fuel costs, babys momma demanding that I stop messing with that "damn boat" and come inside out of the 60 bellow zero darkness......It's me, the lake and my misstress fire'n up...the rummble of the V8 brings pure unadalterated bias...after 9 months the time has come once again! Now feel my pain, last season May 31st I hit the lake for the first run of the season...she fires up instantly...then....a gyser of water blasting up thru the carb...*%^$@*& MOTHER OF EVERYTHING THAT IS HOLY...A CRACKED BLOCK! Needless to say I was crest fallen, inconsolable is an understatement....within a week I sold EVERYTHING I could to finance my new 4 bolt 350..polised everything, high volumed all I could...trick high rise dual palne, new carb, tuned aluminum manifolds..yadda..yadda..yadda...FIRE'D her up...and blah, at near top end she'd sputter and chug...BUBBLES in clear fuel filter! Spent the next month changing everything involved...still...same...problem! As I sat near bald now with tuffs of hair clenched in my fists unable to find the pin hole size leak that MUST be there I had a light bulb moment..AH HAAAA I yelled and jump'd up from my gloom, no doubt looking like The MADMAN I was so aptley named by co-workers...an epiphany had arose out of desperation...plumbers tape...no....plumbers compound, EUREEKA! Teflon compound, and lots of it STAT! I coated every nook and craney from tank on back...TWICE! It freak'n worked but..........my boat'n season....gone...the geese were head'n south and so was my only means of mental salvation untill.....NOW! In two weeks the lake will open and I will be there.....maybe....because for some strange reason WE became pregnant last year and in October the only thing to surpass my love for my boat came screaming into my life...my first girl child..DAMN shes cute! Well the coffers where once again depleated of my hoard of boat tweek'n swag! NOW we swing to TODAY, boats in shop get'n dyno'd (cause I gotta know) my outdrive gear ratio is whack but I'm ready for that with a jump in prop pitch, no biggie....the mill gets plenty of air in but...OUT with the exaust? Not so good as I'm still use'n *shudder* mercruiser riser into outdrive! E-bay deal on OTT water cooled headers fell thru....so I'm proposing (damn, took me long enough to get to the actuall question..and by the way, if your still with me, you my friend know and feel and bleed what I bleed WATER...so) I'm going to order up some 6 inch riser spacers and slap on theses sweet 3 foot long 5 inch diameter chrome pipes OTT....do you foresee any flaws in my thinking?
:jawdrop: Whoa...what an epic first post, but there ya have it!
feel free to e-mail me at any time as this is my work computer and e-mail would be that much quicker...hell here's my cell 907-978-3325...time is the one thing I don't have....well that and money...oh wait there is also the good looks issue too...ok, ok....but time is the paramont issue as getting anything ship'd here is an adventure in itself...as dogsleds only go so fast!
Regards to all: Mike
p.s. paragraphs? never herd of 'em!
What year is the exhaust. If it's a center riser, buy the big bock risers. They flow way better than the small block ones, and I think the output size is larger. Good luck up there, my wife was just there last week and said it's beautiful . Definately one of the places I'd like to get to.
Gugs
Well Mike, I 've both driven to and flown to your great State. I could spend alot more time there fishing, camping, traveling.....Kenai is terrific..... I sympathize with your addiction though, (we all have it..) to water. Toughest part is your LLOOOONNNGGG winters. Can you be more specific about what exactly your motor has had done to it, specifically what components, compression, cam...etc and the gear head gurus here will pipe up and give you their opinions.
MIKE MIKE MIKE, tsk tsk. I lived there 30 years. Worked for Cokers, Perf. Machine, ADB,....and Nabors Alaska. Moved about 6 years ago.
MOVE! I detect the advanced stages of cabin fever, possibly with trips to Mountian View? I used to virtually sleep in the garage, on the bow of the Miller I had up there, dreaming of clear driveways and no rust, waiting for Big Lake to melt.
I beg you, move before it is too late. You can still visit, go king fishing w/ friends in their boats, or halibut fishing.
Know this, NorCal is an afternoon flight to Anch.
I have had my fast boats in the water for the past 2 months. Fished all winter in the slow boat.
Leave Big Lake to Jimmy Shake and Brian Soppy and come down to boat heaven!
Tommy
Thank you, thank you one and all for the warm reception.
Now:
GUGS102; looking at 2nd gen sb chev (around 1985)...and yes, center risers. The tip for better flow from the bb is very appreaciated!
Fired Up; Be warned...ya might fall in love with this place and end up stuck here..BEWARE!
thatguy; MY BROTHER! Indeed escape is formost on my mind...destination, yet to be determind. Looks like you definitley know your way around a mill...where ya turn'n metal into hi-pro goodies? I have it even worse then you imagined as I live in FAIRBANKS...butt pucker'n cold winters with only Birch lake for my addiction in the summer and forest fires during most of that....hell, even Anchorage is look'n good!
Once again...Thanks all!
Mike
Oh My, You poor basta*d. Spent more than one winter in places like Galena, Nome, Barrow. Fairbanks is hell on earth for 8-9 months. -50 is not uncommon.
Twist off oil pump drives from frozen oil. It is the only place I have been where I had to THAW GLYCOL inside before using it. I feel your pain.
Upside? 85-90 Deg. days in the summer, at least for a couple weeks.
Welcome Brother
yep...indeed BUTTPUCKERING COLD! I live in a low lie'n area and my thermometer bottomed out at -65 this winter...ya know, that just ain't right!
I watch e-bay and alot of on-line classifieds and it seems like people just GIVE hot boats away down there....lots of "keep'n up with the Jones's" action down there...must be nice!
So, what ya run'n?
Well here's a little bit of my world....broke as hell but richer then I deserve in many ways!
You'd be surprised what ya can get on E-bay
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Meet KAMI: She allready has her own pair of Carhart overalls...a pink tool belt and a 1995 LT1 Z28
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Meet ME: Babys taste like sunshine!
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Meet Babys Momma: 1/4 eskimo 100% Lake Freek
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Meet Boy #4: Cody and his x-mas presant that took him 5 trips outside to notice...well, the world needs pump jockys somewhere...we hope. Also it gives ya a lil' taste of winter. It was only like -20 bellow zero that day.
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OK: Here's the real deal....my first love! And it actully pertains to the origanal question!
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Looks like plenty of space for a...well, a spacer!
Mike,
Here is my boats.
73 Eliminator V-Drive, 427 BBC. (purple) Has gone over 100, but I havn't gone that fast yet with it.
79 Miller Jet. 502 BBC, New motor (not in pics) has brodix heads, V-RamII w/ 2 660's. Went 56 mph w/ junked out motor. Should be into the 80's now, maybe. Will have it back together in a couple weeks.
Also have a 2000 glastron play boat w/ 4cyl. mercruiser. Thats the fishing boat, and tubing.
Pack them up and head south. I have never paid more than 7K for any hot rod boat down here. A $8,000.00 boat up there is a $4500.00 fixer upper down here.
Tommy
PS- I don't know how to make pics pop up.
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