Old tunnel. Brand new motor and setup. HALP!?

[Meatbasher]

I have an old Ebko Stinger tunnel hull that has been in my family since the 70s that I have completely rebuilt. Ground out all the rot. New transom. New balsa. Etc Etc. The rebuild thread is on here somewhere.

I have also gone through the motor and completely replaced all the wiring, rebuilt carbs, etc. The block is new and was broken in correctly. It ran. It blew through ignition boxes. It ran some more. It quit running. It now starts and runs but dies and just really runs like crap. It has just been your basic 1976 Merc 1500 that is 40 years old. She screams and is amazing sometimes. Other times she just won’t go at all. I could write paragraphs about the motor and my journey of not understanding it to now where I pretty much understand it.

I now also own a small pontoon with a lil Merc 60 on it that just fires up and runs, every time. Which has now made me start thinking about ditching the ol two stroke and getting a new Merc.

So now I am posting this question here just out of curiosity since there seems to be a good knowledge base. What would be, in your opinion, a decent go fast fun but not kill myself setup, for my boat?

I want a new motor. Reliability. Fun. Screams. Flying.

I;m currently looking at putting a new Merc 150 on it. Jack plate? Maybe? I dunno.

*Please do not tell me to go buy another boat or anything like that. I know how ridiculous this thing is and there is a story to long to tell here of why I won’t git rid of it.

Appreciate any constructive feedback and knowledge.

[David]

My 2 cents is that modern 4 strokes are too heavy. Your inline weighs around 300 lb. If I were spending your money I would beg Captain Insano (sp?) to make your motor reliable, or find John Tiger and get him to build you a V4 cross flow. Or someone as capable as those guys. Another slightly slower option would be to find the newest best condition Yamaha 90 3 cyl 2 stroke.

It’s tough if you prefer boating to wrenching and have old stuff.

[Carter Powell]

You won't be happy with anything less than what you have. I have been running old school tunnel boats since 1891 and know a few things about them. Not too many old guys like me left. If it were mine, and it is not, I would look for an early 2 liter Mercury 150 HP V-6. If you are not trying to kill yourself in it you will be amazed at how well that boat would run with that motor. If you need some verbal help with this just give me a call out here in Oregon at 541 570 0955 (my cell) and I will help you as best as I can.
Best wishes, Carter Powell