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  1. #16
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    Trial and error for sure but stock belt and no tensioner. Just a lot of as the British say "fettling". Motor had to pass inspection. Did pass several times. With the loose belts the timing was not stable. When you put a timing light on it you would see a blurry arch instead of a fixed point. So I didn't really know where my timing was. Made me crazy so I had to fix it. I am guessing Mercury was getting to the end of the run for that ignition drive and the vendor was getting sloppy with QC. I know that later 500s had flywheel ignition but I never saw one.
    Quote Originally Posted by WaterZebra View Post
    Let me guess.....trial and error of a lot of smaller belts or an idler arm?

  2. #17
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    Belt Issues

    Quote Originally Posted by 2us70 View Post
    Trial and error for sure but stock belt and no tensioner. Just a lot of as the British say "fettling". Motor had to pass inspection. Did pass several times. With the loose belts the timing was not stable. When you put a timing light on it you would see a blurry arch instead of a fixed point. So I didn't really know where my timing was. Made me crazy so I had to fix it. I am guessing Mercury was getting to the end of the run for that ignition drive and the vendor was getting sloppy with QC. I know that later 500s had flywheel ignition but I never saw one.
    Belts stretch over time and thermal cycling too. Did inspection include looking for an OEM belt P/N? One of the reasons I finally quit racing was when someone was DQ'd for running an aged impeller in a water pump. Stock classes were a joke. There was always an extra edge for the racers who threw money and effort at a performance problem. However, as with the Texas tri-hulls, an engine claimer rule seemed to eliminate that problem sometimes. I was never sure that testing should have been allowed except on race days. Most racers could not afford the time and effort to do testing during the week. A totally different picture for factory race teams however.

  3. #18
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    I tried several new belts and they were all the same. You had to run parts with the right # for the motor you had. For example the fuel pumps on the 500 made a little too much pressure for the floats on the Tilotsen carbs on some boats. Bakelite check valves from old motors usually solved the problem. Instant DQ on inspection in later motors. Another couple of months of testing and fettling to fix that one. My job as a Fire Fighter allowed me the time to dial in my stuff. I also benefitted from knowledge picked up along the way from some real smart old racers. I always sold my old race motors to guys who used them for fishing. Most of them soldiered on for years after that.

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  5. #19
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    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Picture%20007.jpg 
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ID:	474211Found this picture in my files when I was just changing to a new computer. You may notice a similarity to my posts of my McCall. When I went to John McCall to order a new v-bottom to replace my McCall tunnel this boat was sitting on the floor in his shop. At the time it was the SE kilo record holder with Bobby Drewery driving. I liked the look of this boat so I asked John to build me one only as a v-bottom. Best racing decision I ever made.

  6. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by 2us70 View Post
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Picture%20007.jpg 
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ID:	474211Found this picture in my files when I was just changing to a new computer. You may notice a similarity to my posts of my McCall. When I went to John McCall to order a new v-bottom to replace my McCall tunnel this boat was sitting on the floor in his shop. At the time it was the SE kilo record holder with Bobby Drewery driving. I liked the look of this boat so I asked John to build me one only as a v-bottom. Best racing decision I ever made.
    the boat that was on the floor became mine. i rigged one of my 25hp tohatsu engines on it. with the first prop i tried, i got that sucker running 57mph on my keller speedo. needless to say, i slowed all the locals down that were running in the 60's. then i put the same engine on one of john's duck boats. it would run 43 with me & the wife on board with the standard aluminum prop. i used that rig to take care of the mid 50mph local rigs.
    The "Wheel Man" of the Sunshine Syndicate

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  8. #21
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    Jim. I was talking with one of my competitors a few months ago. He was talking about how fast he was running in 1970. After you fixed my damaged prop that summer I was running an honest 58+. That was fast enough to beat several 62 mph boats at Nationals that summer. I don't know if I ever told you that when I got that prop back from you it was more than 1/2 a mph better than before I trashed it.
    Last edited by 2us70; 09-29-2020 at 09:24 PM.

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