Allison sporty on an STV

[rock]

I bought a sportmaster from a friend that had " Allison mods " done to it. Looks to me they altered the skeg and torque tab plus filled in one of the water pickup holes. Never tried it on my Drag but I have run it on my xb2002 and it works fine. Sold the drag and bought an STV mod vp and was curious if the STV will have any handling issues with the modified sporty. Thanks
Rock

[Wolverine]

I have a Sportmaster with the Allison mods on my Mirage. It handles just fine, no different than the stock Sportmaster.

[rock]

Thanks Rob. That's what I was hoping to hear.
Rock

[stvhelm]

I drove a stv w/300x that had the ally mod sportmaster. handles great

[Dutch]

Helmut also drove my STV euro with the drag when it had a
allison sporty. It handled great, even at 120.:)

[rock]

I have a CLE and the sporty. I want the sporty on the STV and the CLE on the Ally. The Allison only runs about 90 and the STV should run well into the 120s. My thought was the faster boat should have the sportmaster. Thanks for the replies.
Rock

[Sam Baker]

Yep...you're on the right track. Does the Sporty skeg have a welded in torque tab or has the thickness just been ground away? The only concern with the Sportmasters is the alloy is different than on the CLEs and they can lose a skeg if they have been cut and had a torque tab welded in. Doesn't happen on every one of course, but we saw a rash of them so started to just do the grinding of the thickness instead of actually having them cut and welded. They still ran well so we just stuck with that.

[Casey]

Sam back some years ago on your old site you had a do it yourself type guide to modifying a sportmaster. I followed it and I'm sure others would like also. You should put something together and post it.

[Sam Baker]

I'll try to either dig it up or I've got a close friend with a sporty that has the mod. My CLE also has it.

[woodduck]

My 15" sporty has the allison mods and when I ran it on the Euro it ran good, better than a stock CLE but I noticed last week that a crack has developed just above the notch above the radiused torque tab, it is about 3/8's long so I'm thinking that it is buggered now. The crack runs down diagonally to the front of the skeg, at the moment.149772

[Sam Baker]

Yep, that's how they start...sometimes they just take off the whole skeg about 1/2" from the bottom of the bullet.

If you get it fixed now and welded, it would be fine most likely for a 200/225 on a regular boat. They seem to last if you have a good quality welder, but I wouldn't run it way high on a transom over 100 MPH.

[woodduck]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Only noticed it when we bolted it to a 12" mid to check for clearance on the back of the Patriot. The CLE I have is one of those snake eye/modvp ones, might have to send it out and get it modified, it starts to feel unstable at 95.

I have a 200 case and a Xr case, both modded for Ally's with bobs cones/lwp ups, how would they go on the Euro?

Sorry to hijack Rock!

[DSP1]

Simon - thats exactly where they start to crack - at the back right where the torque tamer finishes off.

The one I did at Mildura took about 90% of the skeg off.

If you're thinking of welding - your wasting your time !!!

[rock]

Now I am concerned. This unit looks like it has been welded. Due to this conversation I am now thinking I might be better off leaving the sporty on the slow boat. I have never ran a CLE on an STV. Seems to be kinda short for high speeds. Might be better to cone an XR6 or a stock 200.
What has been done to this thing? Obviously the closed hole and the torque tab. Why? Anything else you can see from the pic? Thanks again for the replies.
Rock

[Dutch]

the cle will blow out on the stv around 105

[woodduck]

Nah, won't be running it Darren, it will end up in the pile with my broken mid, looper pistons with holes in em, bridgy block, more pistons! Hehe, scrap .


Simon - thats exactly where they start to crack - at the back right where the torque tamer finishes off.

The one I did at Mildura took about 90% of the skeg off.

If you're thinking of welding - your wasting your time !!!

[woodduck]

Dutch, what about a CLE with a titus cone on it, did'nt Roark design the STV with a CLE in mind?


the cle will blow out on the stv around 105

[Dutch]

they will run fine with the cone. look at the speeds we are getting today.
almost any joe can bolt an engine on a stv and go 120. I be Roark never
expected that.

[Michael Dixon]

Rock I agree to leave the sportmaster on the slower boat. I've run a cle in the one twenty's but i agree they have handling problems.. Put a nose cone on it and you'll be set. make sure to keep it centered with prop shaft. Some run them lower (mainly for v bottoms) Will give ill handling traits especially on a light boat. dixon

[rock]

Thanks Mike. It is a very light boat. Do they lower the cone to keep skeg in the water and move the prop shaft higher?
Rock

[Michael Dixon]

I think thats the reason? It works well on v bottoms and heavier stv's. Light boats want it centered. It'll drive much better with the cle and nose cone than with the sportmaster. I found out recently with a steckbauer that was lowered. Boat was all but impossible to drive and was eratic at best. I think that it might would help a heavier boat ?? Like over 650 lb hull?

[rock]

Maybe a heavier hull rides more on the gear case hence the prop shaft being higher helps. Probably has the opposite effect on a light hull and creates unwanted drag. This was a lot easier back in the old days (early eighties) when very few were doing this and you just built as much horspower as you could and slapped it on a Hydrostream. Now ya actually gotta think.
Rock

[Sam Baker]

I agree with Mr. Dixon re: nosecone location. I drove a case with a "low cone" on my Allison - it would "hunt" at high speed and oscillate violently when you let off - the weirdest thing I ever drove.

[bigtis]

Now I am concerned. This unit looks like it has been welded. Due to this conversation I am now thinking I might be better off leaving the sporty on the slow boat. I have never ran a CLE on an STV. Seems to be kinda short for high speeds. Might be better to cone an XR6 or a stock 200.
What has been done to this thing? Obviously the closed hole and the torque tab. Why? Anything else you can see from the pic? Thanks again for the replies.
Rock
Rock was that thing Heliarced. My sporty looks almost exactly like that, and I love it. No problems yet and I have been running it over 100 for a while. I'm running it on my XR2002. This post has my gonad hairs standing straight up. My weld looks perfect. I read up top that it helps to have an EXCELLENT welder do the job. will that be the ticket to keeping it safe?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rock]

I know the guy I bought it from pretty good and he has nothing that isn't top notch. I am sure he researched it well before he did anything. The work on the case is very nice. Unit works well and boat handles good. My only concern is where the welds are. Too many stories about breakage and even though it hasn't happened to me I am sure it must have happened to others or there wouldn't be as many stories. For now I will leave the sporty on the Ally and run the CLE on the STV. The Allison is getting an xs motor and will likely not run over 95 or so and the STV has an old worn out 260 so until motor is built for next year the CLE will suffice for now. Thanks to everyone for the replies and info. Very much appreciated.
Rock

[peedeerooster]

If you continue to run the case with the crack, it will break the skeg. I had a CLE with a Bob's nose cone on a Mirage in 1996 and the crack wound up running the length of the skeg and it brock off at 110mph. I was very lucky. Don't run the cracked case at high speed. It is an accident waiting to happen. Get a new case, it is not worth it, trust me.

[rock]

Don't know where you got the idea one of my cases was cracked. The welding being refered to is a common Allison modification, not a repair. I couldn't imagine trying to run a gear case with a crack in it.
Rock

[bigtis]

well rock, my skeg broke off starting from the top of the ally torue tab. right around 100mph:nonod:. almost like hooking. yesterday evening making setup adjustments it just snapped off. wanted to share this wit ya and see how yours is doing. dammit man, and dat dere was my favorite lower unit.

[6Killer]

the cle will blow out on the stv around 105

A friend of mine, Dwayne Carlock, from Lake Charles LA went 128 on radar in 1993 with a nitrous 260 on a 2 seat inline STV using a 32P cleaver and a stock CLE. This is the blue/white boat that was tested in Hot Boat that year. Watched it do it.

[rock]

I put the cle on the STV and ran it last weekend. Motor is set too low and with the drag ram I couldn't get enough trim to fly the thing. Still turned a 24 Yamaha drag 9500. Raised the motor 3/4 above pad and installed wedges this past week but haven't got it wet yet. This should get me close enough to the correct set-up that I'll know more about the cle. Boat felt good before I raised it up, just a bit sluggish.
Rock