akarocket

I am not getting the T's in the heater hoses. Why did you set it up that way?

texcat101

You are sharp!! I didn't think anyone was going to notice.

The mercruiser intake doesn't have the coolant bypass fitting that comes on the automotive vortec, and my water pump has the bypass plumbing so I plumbed a bypass loop to provide a small amount of coolant flow to prevent hot spots during warmup.
It appears my heater still gets enough flow to work ok.

akarocket

HA, I didn't think about the Mercruiser intake. I doubt too many boats are floating around with heater cores.

texcat101

Right! No power brakes either- I had to drill and tap the manifold for another large vacuum port.

I have been tuning on the MSII, it's really waking up! I think I am going to enjoy this setup for a while.

It may need 35's or larger??

Hayes

nice work! Thing looks amazing!

idayota

what was the original power rating of the mercruiser motor? where do you expect to be with it? any chance you'll get her on a dyno in the future?

texcat101

The 4.3 mercruiser is rated at 220 hp, with the MSII, headers, .030 over pistons and some custom headwork I hope to be around 250hp.

I have a friend that has a docking type dyno for his racing operation but there is no chance I am going to pull the engine just to find out what it turns.
I have been tuning the VE tables and it's really waking up but I will have to get the acceleration enrichment tuned before I know what It will do.

camo31_10.50

maybe i missed it...but...did you do all of the wiring by yourself..or did you buy a harness from somewhere...because im kinda changing my thoughts on a 350V8 and kinda want a 4.3 V6..i can get a carb'd one bored .060 over..with LOTS of other power adding goodies..for little less than $800..should be close to around 250hp the guy said..but its carb'd..i want EFI but i dont wanna have to go through all of the BS with all the damn wiring..i would rather have more of a plug n play type set up..lol

86toylet

Nice work.

Hey Camo31, wiring a chevy efi is easy. 5 wires and it runs, a few more and everything works.

camo31_10.50

thats what i figured...but since my dad and I have never done anything along the lines of swapping such a different motor..we dont know what to do..2 days ago we swapped motors in a geo metro..and it runs now..but..goin from a carb'd 22R to a EFI 4.3V6...that'll be a little bit more tricky..mechanical wise we can do..but we are not good with wiring..i can get a 199? Vortec V6 with e Aluminum intake manifold that says VORTEC and is all purty and stuff...only has little over 1,000 miles on..(donated to our auto shop from a wrecked 4wd jimmy) we have never used it for anything..and the teacher said he COULD let it go..(its kinda illegal) but i bet hew wouldnt let it go for cheap..and the Carb'd one i can get needs Heads and intake..i can get a set of stock heads with a High Rise 4bbl intake for it

texcat101

Hey camo31, Just swap it!
I have had alot of people ask why I chose to do the swap this way and mostly it was because I wanted to learn about programmable fuel and spark control systems.... I found a multiport injection system for cheap and said "I can do this" and researched until I got the big picture, then installed it and worked thru one system at a time.

Its been fun and worth it!!

camo31_10.50

lol..bad thing is..this is my daily driver..so it needs to be as simple a swap as possible...which is why i will stick to carb'd..lol..really nothing electronic to deal with..so it will be a faster swap..and if problems pop up..i know its not faulty wiring..LOL!!!might convert it one day though..convert it to EFI i mean

texcat101

Good choice since its a DD, you will love the v6 power and there is nothing wrong with having a carb as long as you don't do the high elevation trails.

camo31_10.50

yea..i dont do any high elevation trails..highest is MAYBE 1000FT...so yea..lol..i mainly want the added power for towing my 18ft nitro..cuz the 22R..does NOT LIKE DOING IT..lol..and im thinking maybe some disc brakes on my rear axle sometime soon..cuz it dont like stopping that much weight either

86toylet

FYI you don't need a megasquirt to do this swap. Electrical is easy.

texcat101

...x2!!

camo31_10.50

well..electrical aint that hard..but the fact that it would take longer to swap in an EFI vortec V6...no..i want to make this as short as possible..because of 1.im having to bum rides off of friends and grandparents to get to school and work..2. prom is coming up at the beginning of april..and i am NOT riding with anyone..im DRIVING..LOL!!!!! also graduation, summertime, it'd just be easier to do the swap with a Carb'd V6 than an EFI one..thats all..but like i said..i probably will convert it to EFI one day

86toylet

Good luck on your swap!

texcat101

I finished setting up the 4.30's and got it all rolling today, still needs some tuning but POWER is there!

Hayes

Well when you make it Colorado, let me know. We can hit up some trails and camp.