Thread:

525 upgrade

I gotta keep up with the Joneses. I have a buddy getting most likely a Howard or Eliminator 28 deck with a Merc 600. I'll be damned if he's gonna blow by me. I've got a 28 Conquest Topcat II with the Merc 525. I was thinking of adding a Whipple with just enough boost to be a little faster than his boat. Right now I'm seeing 70, full load in the summer.

What do you suggest, how much to do it right, all the best.

PM me your thoughts.

Thanks

Duane

Dude you won't be happy until you sht can the 525 and upgrade to the TPI, trust me I started out with the TPI 848, and wasn't satisfied until I got the biggest and the badest TPI, it only took 3 mo. WTF trust me you want to be the big dog, drop the coin and enjoy.

Originally Posted by Bohica

I gotta keep up with the Joneses. I have a buddy getting most likely a Howard or Eliminator 28 deck with a Merc 600. I'll be damned if he's gonna blow by me. I've got a 28 Conquest Topcat II with the Merc 525. I was thinking of adding a Whipple with just enough boost to be a little faster than his boat. Right now I'm seeing 70, full load in the summer.

What do you suggest, how much to do it right, all the best.

PM me your thoughts.

Thanks

Duane

Buy the Howard like he will do!

I was going to do something similar. Mach 26/HP500. Even bought a Whipple. But started adding up everything I would need for a reliabile build and it didn't pencil out, for me anyway.

Figure at least $30K but probably closer to $40K with blower, motor work, heads, drive, etc. If you don't have dual ram full hyd steering, add another $5K or so.

Originally Posted by Bohica

I gotta keep up with the Joneses. I have a buddy getting most likely a Howard or Eliminator 28 deck with a Merc 600. I'll be damned if he's gonna blow by me. I've got a 28 Conquest Topcat II with the Merc 525. I was thinking of adding a Whipple with just enough boost to be a little faster than his boat. Right now I'm seeing 70, full load in the summer.

What do you suggest, how much to do it right, all the best.

PM me your thoughts.

Thanks

Duane

Duane,

I am out in Havasu testing right now, but I would be happy to help you. You do have options......................you can Whipple your 525 or we can sell your 525 and get you running a new engine for about the same price. Like I said, lots of options. I will be in touch. Don't worry, I can get that Conquest running just right for you. He will wish he bought more than a 600

Just my .02-

Trade the Conquest to Gene (if he will take it)..get a new Howard Sportdeck with a TPI 5.0/1000 hp motor........the difference may be the price to do the upgrade right ($30K) plus another $30K..finance the $30K difference and have a payment of $250 a month for a new boat that will kick the crap out of most boats on the water and will hold it's value......that's the way we roll, right!

This is not a dress rehearsal, the curtain is up and the show is in the 3rd act.....you only live once!!!

I would find new friends with slower boats

Originally Posted by Cole Trickle

I would find new friends with slower boats

I like that idea

Originally Posted by OutCole'd

That's why you hang with Dave..... I knew there had to be a reason, I just couldn't figure out what it was.

Is that why you hang out with me?

Sadly Daves 20 year old dinosaur with 500 hours is faster than my 64 mph tug

I have never had a customer spend more than $20K on a 525 upgrade with me, and that included a fully polished kit with some drive work, sea strainer/ custom pick up and dumps/all the nicest hoses/fittings and a lab finished prop. But keep in mind, I will not do the job unless the boat has full hydraulic steering and it can handle the power, so If a guy came to me with a single ram Bravo X drive(not xr) and needed to do an XR upgrade with full hyd steering and more, he would come real close to that $30K mark if everything else he purchased was top of the line. The very least expensive 525 upgrade I have done was $15K all in, just fyi. It is a tedious job to do, and it is not a whole lot of fun with the motor in the boat, but easily doable.