Got the starter this afternoon and pulled the cherry picker out to lift the rear of the engine. Got the old starter out and fit up the new one. Lowered the engine and  guess what was sitting on the hull? Yup, the bolt head. Needed to make a little modification, and this is just another instance where I needed a mill. Relieved the mounting block to clear a socket head (from the old starter... now I know why they did that), bolted it back up and it looks like it was made for it.
Got it re-assembled and decided to light it off to test it. HOLY SHIT! This thing spins FAST now..... like it's a 8:1 motor not 12:1. Woulda started easier if I had remembered to remove the scoop and collector covers first, but it was fun watching them shoot across the yard.
Just a few little things left to do before it gets wet. Should be 99% done Sunday afternoon. Oh, and it's time to start looking for a mill.....

Here's a better shot of the issue. Starts easy now. Tomorrow I put water to it and finish it up.

That's worth investing in a new top mount starter and a new plate.

That'd make servicing easier, but since the cranking issue is resolved I'll leave that upgrade to the next owner. Tomorrow is fun with fiberglass to finish the seat and my punch list is nearly clear.

Damn it Mike keep this one. lol

I'm catching a LOAD of crap about this boat from the management. She just has it in her head that once I have it set up and reliable that it'll be sold. Might be because I put the '31 on the back burner to get this done. I'm afraid this is one of those "pick your fight" deals.

The ride plate was set at 1* up and others familiar with tunnels mentioned it needs more, so I set it at 4* and we'll see how it works on it's maiden voyage.

4* is a lot.  We usually start those at 1.5* with ~4.5* being the maximum possible setting with no shims in either the shoe or ride plate.  Better to creep up on the aggressive hardware configuration.

Be safe,

Joe

P.S.  The suspense is killing me!

This is it's first run in open water. Kind of a snoozer, but didn't want to go balls out right away. Top speed was 50.9 (with a ton of pedal left). I've got a minor reversion issue to deal with and will be checking it out when we get back to Anaheim.
Rode wet with the ride plate at 2*, so that'll be changed next run. This was my first time driving a tunnel...... WAY different than a semi-V. Really stable at speed, turns flat compared to a V and felt great when it started packing air. Hit the gas at speed and it moves RIGHT NOW!

Thanks. What you can't see in the video is what happened just after the end. I slowed and turned left to make another pass up river. When I hit the gas to accelerate, it had dropped a cylinder. No pop, bang or anything sinister. Put it back on the trailer and parked it for the rest of the week.
I got into it yesterday back in Anaheim. Pulled the plugs (signs of reversion) and did a compression test with all cylinders between 215 and 235 so nothing catastrophic happened. Pulled the valve covers and inspected the rockers and springs with nothing out of the norm. Cleaned the plugs in the blaster, re-assembled everything and lit it off.  Was hitting on all 8 and sounded great. I knew this cam was a tad radical, so I'll be running the headers dry next time and stepping it up. Brought the ride plate up to 4* for the next tests as it wasn't lifting the bow and was riding a little wet. Pump is tight and is a blast to drive especially when it starts packing air. 

Sound like it's got some balls .... Are u really gonna sell it?
Yeah at least there was no damage done to motor... Probably better run headers dry


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Yep, it's still for sale. Winter's coming and I need to get the '31 done. The Canyon has delayed it and it's time to move on.

Sweet when's the next test date