I own a 1981 17.5' open bow Stingray.
This boat came with Chevy 2.5 120 HP
The eingine and boat were abused over the years by previous owners.
I have redone the exterior but the engine lacks power.
I would like to do an Engine swap.
Can anyone tell me the most HP I can get without too much hastle.
I would like to try a 3.7-- is this a possibility?
or would a 3.7 be too much weight.
Boat is rated for 1000 pounds Engine and gasoline.
What about a 3.0 140 HP
WE want to be able to pull 3 tubes and still have 4 people in the boat
or would I be better off looking for a bigger boat?
I have only had this boat 1 season and have never been able to get it
over 30 mph which is with just me in the boat, usually 25 is tops with
other people in the boat.
The spec on this engine says 3900-4300 WOT but even down pitching the
prop only got me too 3100 rpm.

A 3.0 140 hp, should be a direct , no hassle bolt-in. But you're
wanting to pull three tubes with people on board? I'd say get a bigger
boat... with a 4.3 v-6 or a v-8


crystalguy wrote:
I own a 1981 17.5' open bow Stingray.
This boat came with Chevy 2.5 120 HP
The eingine and boat were abused over the years by previous owners.
I have redone the exterior but the engine lacks power.
I would like to do an Engine swap.
Can anyone tell me the most HP I can get without too much hastle.
I would like to try a 3.7-- is this a possibility?
or would a 3.7 be too much weight.
Boat is rated for 1000 pounds Engine and gasoline.
What about a 3.0 140 HP
WE want to be able to pull 3 tubes and still have 4 people in the boat
or would I be better off looking for a bigger boat?
I have only had this boat 1 season and have never been able to get it
over 30 mph which is with just me in the boat, usually 25 is tops with
other people in the boat.
The spec on this engine says 3900-4300 WOT but even down pitching the
prop only got me too 3100 rpm.

You won't notice much difference between the 120 and 140. You can probably
put the v6 in it but it will be more expensive than the boat is worth unless
you do a lot of it yourself and find a donor boat. Three tubes is a big
load. Unless they are one person tubes. I sometimes pull two big tubes
with my 5.7 and it takes a lot to get going with them. What you want is a
bigger boat.

"crystalguy" wrote in message
oups.com...
I own a 1981 17.5' open bow Stingray.
This boat came with Chevy 2.5 120 HP
The eingine and boat were abused over the years by previous owners.
I have redone the exterior but the engine lacks power.
I would like to do an Engine swap.
Can anyone tell me the most HP I can get without too much hastle.
I would like to try a 3.7-- is this a possibility?
or would a 3.7 be too much weight.
Boat is rated for 1000 pounds Engine and gasoline.
What about a 3.0 140 HP
WE want to be able to pull 3 tubes and still have 4 people in the boat
or would I be better off looking for a bigger boat?
I have only had this boat 1 season and have never been able to get it
over 30 mph which is with just me in the boat, usually 25 is tops with
other people in the boat.
The spec on this engine says 3900-4300 WOT but even down pitching the
prop only got me too 3100 rpm.

sell the boat and get something newer with a V8!

"crystalguy" wrote in message
oups.com...
I own a 1981 17.5' open bow Stingray.
This boat came with Chevy 2.5 120 HP
The eingine and boat were abused over the years by previous owners.
I have redone the exterior but the engine lacks power.
I would like to do an Engine swap.
Can anyone tell me the most HP I can get without too much hastle.
I would like to try a 3.7-- is this a possibility?
or would a 3.7 be too much weight.
Boat is rated for 1000 pounds Engine and gasoline.
What about a 3.0 140 HP
WE want to be able to pull 3 tubes and still have 4 people in the boat
or would I be better off looking for a bigger boat?
I have only had this boat 1 season and have never been able to get it
over 30 mph which is with just me in the boat, usually 25 is tops with
other people in the boat.
The spec on this engine says 3900-4300 WOT but even down pitching the
prop only got me too 3100 rpm.

I agree......lots of great deals on used boats if you take the time to look
for them.

--
Bill Kiene

Kiene's Fly Shop
Sacramento, CA, USA

Web site: www.kiene.com


"Lost In Space/Woodchuck" wrote in message
...
sell the boat and get something newer with a V8!

"crystalguy" wrote in message
oups.com...
I own a 1981 17.5' open bow Stingray.
This boat came with Chevy 2.5 120 HP
The eingine and boat were abused over the years by previous owners.
I have redone the exterior but the engine lacks power.
I would like to do an Engine swap.
Can anyone tell me the most HP I can get without too much hastle.
I would like to try a 3.7-- is this a possibility?
or would a 3.7 be too much weight.
Boat is rated for 1000 pounds Engine and gasoline.
What about a 3.0 140 HP
WE want to be able to pull 3 tubes and still have 4 people in the boat
or would I be better off looking for a bigger boat?
I have only had this boat 1 season and have never been able to get it
over 30 mph which is with just me in the boat, usually 25 is tops with
other people in the boat.
The spec on this engine says 3900-4300 WOT but even down pitching the
prop only got me too 3100 rpm.

True, and you're only going to get so much out of a chevy 4 cyl.

You want to do some pulling? find an equivilent in an outboard. lots
more torque, and you have more room inside the hull. But carry a
bigger wallet for more fuel.


Bill Kiene wrote:
I agree......lots of great deals on used boats if you take the time to look
for them.

--
Bill Kiene

Kiene's Fly Shop
Sacramento, CA, USA

Web site: www.kiene.com


"Lost In Space/Woodchuck" wrote in message
...
sell the boat and get something newer with a V8!

"crystalguy" wrote in message
oups.com...
I own a 1981 17.5' open bow Stingray.
This boat came with Chevy 2.5 120 HP
The eingine and boat were abused over the years by previous owners.
I have redone the exterior but the engine lacks power.
I would like to do an Engine swap.
Can anyone tell me the most HP I can get without too much hastle.
I would like to try a 3.7-- is this a possibility?
or would a 3.7 be too much weight.
Boat is rated for 1000 pounds Engine and gasoline.
What about a 3.0 140 HP
WE want to be able to pull 3 tubes and still have 4 people in the boat
or would I be better off looking for a bigger boat?
I have only had this boat 1 season and have never been able to get it
over 30 mph which is with just me in the boat, usually 25 is tops with
other people in the boat.
The spec on this engine says 3900-4300 WOT but even down pitching the
prop only got me too 3100 rpm.

I am very happy with my 4.3L 190 hp (carburated) in my 17' bowrider.
With 4 adults and 21" prop acceleration is just fine, and at 4600 rpm
top speed is 50mph. My family's long gone, so no wakeboards, skiers,
tubes, for me. But with a 19" prop, I'd guess the 4.3L/17' combination
would pull most anything along those lines, no trouble at all. And for
what its worth, the EFI version is 220 hp.

For the short term get someone to make sure it is runnning up to snuff.
And if it is then you need to lower the prop pitch until you can reach
the proper rpm range.

crystalguy wrote:
I own a 1981 17.5' open bow Stingray.
This boat came with Chevy 2.5 120 HP
The eingine and boat were abused over the years by previous owners.
I have redone the exterior but the engine lacks power.
I would like to do an Engine swap.
Can anyone tell me the most HP I can get without too much hastle.
I would like to try a 3.7-- is this a possibility?
or would a 3.7 be too much weight.
Boat is rated for 1000 pounds Engine and gasoline.
What about a 3.0 140 HP
WE want to be able to pull 3 tubes and still have 4 people in the boat
or would I be better off looking for a bigger boat?
I have only had this boat 1 season and have never been able to get it
over 30 mph which is with just me in the boat, usually 25 is tops with
other people in the boat.
The spec on this engine says 3900-4300 WOT but even down pitching the
prop only got me too 3100 rpm.