787 vs. Merc pwered speedsters

[Colt S.]

As some of you know, my brother is looking to purchase a New to him Speedster.

I told him that the advice I got was to stick with the Twin 787's '98-'99

He wanted to know: "whats so bad about the Merc 4.3L V6 package"

His buddy is a mechanic at a local chevy dealer ship. He's got my brother all hopped up on performance mods for that motor. Says he can make over 300hp on the deal. More if he pony's up money for a supercharger.:lol:

To tell the truth, I see the merc models allot more for sale.
What do you guys think??

 

[ocod]

Its his cash..............

 

[Colt S.]

I keep trying to tell him, Its going to cost enough already. lol

 

[RFoster130]

Heres the deal, the mercs are fine and can be very reliable. As long as he plans to work on it himself. Most sea doo dealers consider it the bastard child and wont work on it. Most mercury dealers wont work on it either. The downside for me is the fact that if i blowup a rotax motor i can have a rebuilt motor for under 1000. A new merc can cost 4000+.

 

[Gamerse]

He wanted to know: "whats so bad about the Merc 4.3L V6 package"

His buddy is a mechanic at a local chevy dealer ship. He's got my brother all hopped up on performance mods for that motor. Says he can make over 300hp on the deal. More if he pony's up money for a supercharger.:lol:

To tell the truth, I see the merc models allot more for sale.
What do you guys think??

Your brothers uninformed friend is confusing the Mercury 240 two stroke vertical V6 with the Mercruiser 4.3L chevrolet V6.

I was all kinds of confused when he said supercharger..... It took me a second to grasp what a chevrolet mechanic would be thinking....

These are not "old iron duke" engines. Also, from what I have read, the Merc M2 is special, and is the only powerhead that will bolt in for replacement. No real bolt on hop-ups that I know of. I'm sure he could drop a few grand off with a mercury powerhead builder for an extra
10-20hp....

If he wants performance hop ups or tuning, he should just buy an actual jet-boat or V-drive. The seadoo products are about maxed out from the factory. His buddy could work on a Mantaray or cheetah, or any of the thousands of clone river jetboats with "marine" car engines...

:cheers:
Ernest

 

[Phildoo]

Parts are 3X expensive. Plus nobody will work on them.

 

[Colt S.]

The mechanic knows what motor it is. its the same V6 that was popular in the S10 pickup. There are a few different centrifugal superchargers available. The 4.3 V6 is a 350 with two cylinders chopped off. Allot of the performance parts for a 350 work. pistons, rods, roller rockers & valves. There is a stroker crank available also.

I think he should keep it simple, but you know young guys.

 

[Gamerse]

O.K. your mechanic may know all about the "iron duke" 4.3L Mercruiser which is a chevrolet, it is not the two stroke 240 that is in the Seadoo boats. Here is visual refrence.

Seadoo challenger with Mercury 240 two stroke. ^

4.3L 4 stroke, "iron duke" chevrolet engine that has been superchraged or turbocharged from the factory to motivate such classics as the Grand National, Gran Prix, and GMC Typhoon.

Your bud's mechanic is way off. It may be easier to convince your brother if he knows this.

 

[Phildoo]

Stick with the 787's. Just cuz your brother wants one, doesn't mean he will find one. They are hard to come by. There seems to be a lot more of the 96-97 for sale vs the 98-99.

 

[bigJake]

Chester's signature line sums it up best: "Speed is very expensive. How fast do you want to spend?"

 

[wildone72]

I know it is a long way off but I have seen a few 98-99 speedsters around Atlanta for sale.

 

[Colt S.]

O.K. your mechanic may know all about the "iron duke" 4.3L Mercruiser which is a chevrolet, it is not the two stroke 240 that is in the Seadoo boats. Here is visual refrence.

Seadoo challenger with Mercury 240 two stroke. ^

4.3L 4 stroke, "iron duke" chevrolet engine that has been superchraged or turbocharged from the factory to motivate such classics as the Grand National, Gran Prix, and GMC Typhoon.

Your bud's mechanic is way off. It may be easier to convince your brother if he knows this.

So. It is different. Its two stroke, Not four. OK! that's going to help me allot. I can tell him that and it will stop allot of the arguing.

We found one in the Miami area ('99 twin 787). Looks clean on the photos. but shit, its a 3 day drive away. The dude wants about 1500 more that my brother has to spend. I think he is going to have to just wait for the right stuff to come up local. I guess.

I want to say thanks to everyone that posted. Thanks for all your help and suggestions. My brother could have really fu-bar'ed on that one.
-Colt.

 

[Colt S.]

Your brothers uninformed friend is confusing the Mercury 240 two stroke vertical V6 with the Mercruiser 4.3L chevrolet V6.

I was all kinds of confused when he said supercharger..... It took me a second to grasp what a chevrolet mechanic would be thinking....

These are not "old iron duke" engines. Also, from what I have read, the Merc M2 is special, and is the only powerhead that will bolt in for replacement. No real bolt on hop-ups that I know of. I'm sure he could drop a few grand off with a mercury powerhead builder for an extra
10-20hp....

If he wants performance hop ups or tuning, he should just buy an actual jet-boat or V-drive. The seadoo products are about maxed out from the factory. His buddy could work on a Mantaray or cheetah, or any of the thousands of clone river jetboats with "marine" car engines...

:cheers:
Ernest

Hey man. sorry. I miss read this post. thanks for your help.

That picture in your avatar. Is that your boat?? I have always wanted to do that with my boat. Where is that @??

 

[Gamerse]

Hey man. sorry. I miss read this post. thanks for your help.

That picture in your avatar. Is that your boat?? I have always wanted to do that with my boat. Where is that @??

That my friend is two fine women and some big random wave. Its is one of my favorite boats though, the 2001+ sporster LE 130hp 951. I do amateur hour adobe photoshop when I'm bored. I think I'm going to put a cockpit on a challenger next....

:cheers:
Ernest

 

[wildone72]

Check Atlanta Cragslist. A few here for sale. No salt water.

 

[Colt S.]

That my friend is two fine women and some big random wave. Its is one of my favorite boats though, the 2001+ sporster LE 130hp 951. I do amateur hour adobe photoshop when I'm bored. I think I'm going to put a cockpit on a challenger next....

:cheers:
Ernest

its fake. lol. Nice photo shop work.
Shit. I see the guys on surf films like Riding Giants and Step In To Liquid getting towed in by ski. It looks like the ski operator is having just as much fun as the guy surfing. I want to find a big ass wave and shoot the tube with my Challenger. I have seen guys do it in SoCal with small inflatables. Zodiac and the like.