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  1. Member Nikon Man's Avatar
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    #21
    Quote Originally Posted by plbass View Post
    Nice work. Enjoyed following the repairs and how you approached them.
    Thanks Paul, appreciate the kind words.
    Gary



    Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.......

    S.W. Ohio

  2. Sprint Boats Moderator Bassmeister's Avatar
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    #22
    Paul is a good 'un.....I meet up with him and a lot others at the Northern Rally each year....You should consider joining in sometime Gary....

  3. Member Nikon Man's Avatar
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    #23
    Quote Originally Posted by Bassmeister View Post
    Paul is a good 'un.....I meet up with him and a lot others at the Northern Rally each year....You should consider joining in sometime Gary....
    I'll give that some consideration for 2021, thanks Michael
    Gary



    Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.......

    S.W. Ohio

  4. Member Nikon Man's Avatar
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    #24
    Ok folks, here's where I'm at on the restoration/build of my 280 PRO:

    Bought a 2000 Merc 175HP/EFI (blown motor & no lower unit), currently in the rebuild process. Needs a crank, one rod, new sleeve on #3 and some block welding and port work which I'm doing right now.
    * Complete rebuild kit ordered from Pro Marine, everything from new pistons to every gasket needed.
    * 8" Bob's Action Hyd. Jack Plate on order from a BBC Sponsor "Hydrilla Gear", height gauge and dual helm stick controls
    * Complete SeaStar Pro Steering system
    * Found a 2005 XR6 1.87R Lower Unit, I'm currently rebuilding (waiting on parts & fixing some slight corrosion pitting)
    * Merc 2.5/200HP Tuner added to the parts pile
    * Bob's Solid Alum. Motor Mounts
    * 20" Mid & Swivel Section is currently at Chapman Racing being cut to a 15" with Offshore Exhaust....
    * Chapman Racing is also doing my heads, will need to be runnning 93+ premium fuel....
    * CCM Fiber Reeds & spacers added to the parts pile
    * Lapping the reed cages prior to adding new CCM Reeds.
    * New Merc 4000 control box as I'm going from Yami to Merc
    * New wiring harness, dash to motor
    * And of course I'll be adding an "EZ FOOT Billet Racing Throttle" to control the beast.....

    So there you have it, my winter project is starting to come together. I will entertain you all with pics as the build progress:

    MID ON THE WAY TO CHAPMAN RACING:




    ROD BEARING FAILURE, BLOCK REPAIR IN PROGRESS:










    Last edited by Nikon Man; 08-18-2020 at 05:39 AM.
    Gary



    Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.......

    S.W. Ohio

  5. Member Nikon Man's Avatar
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    #25
    Update 8/24/2020:

    I finally finished all the welding in the block, now it's just a matter of grinding everything down smooth again.

    T-H Marine Nose Cone arrived and welded it to the empty XR-6 case. It's not a lower water nose cone as those could interfere with the short mid. I'll probably build a water pickup tube for the transom (if needed). Still waiting on parts to finish the case rebuild. Driveshaft is at Chapman Racing getting cut for the 15" Mid that they're also working on for me.

    Last edited by Nikon Man; 08-24-2020 at 06:32 AM.
    Gary



    Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.......

    S.W. Ohio

  6. Sprint Boats Moderator Bassmeister's Avatar
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    #26
    The nosecone on my 250 has the low water pickups but I'm running a magnum case so it really helps divert the water around that honking big case. 1" below the pad and good water pressure. That and the Bravo 1 prop let's me carry all that weight and still run in low to mid 70's....The Sprint is a good fishing rig and a decent runner....mabye one day I will raise it some more ....but I'm pretty happy where it is..... Looks good Gary.

  7. Member Nikon Man's Avatar
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    #27
    Quote Originally Posted by Bassmeister View Post
    The nosecone on my 250 has the low water pickups but I'm running a magnum case so it really helps divert the water around that honking big case. 1" below the pad and good water pressure. That and the Bravo 1 prop let's me carry all that weight and still run in low to mid 70's....The Sprint is a good fishing rig and a decent runner....mabye one day I will raise it some more ....but I'm pretty happy where it is..... Looks good Gary.

    Thanks for the info. I spoke to Michael Chapman at Chapman Racing and he said the the low water pickup's tend to hit, they have to cut a Bob's down 3 1/2" to get it to clear. I figure there wasn't much sense in spending $200 for a nose cone w/low water pickup when I'd be cutting off a $100 worth of it........
    Gary



    Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.......

    S.W. Ohio

  8. Sprint Boats Moderator Bassmeister's Avatar
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    #28
    with that 15" mid she's gunna be sporty !!

  9. Member Nikon Man's Avatar
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    #29
    Finally done with welding on the nose cone and torque tab, body working everything to blend it in and 3 coats of paint yesterday. Looks like allot of orange peel, but it's still wet, hasn't laid out yet. It's smooth as glass now after drying over night.

    Driveshaft is currently being cut and resplined for the 15" Mid so L/Unit reassembly is up next once I get the shaft back.

    Last edited by Nikon Man; 09-05-2020 at 06:05 AM.
    Gary



    Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.......

    S.W. Ohio

  10. Member Nikon Man's Avatar
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    #30
    Just thought I'd check back in, project has been set aside for awhile while life got in the way......... All the block welding is finally done (what a PITA to get to on some of those welds , had to become a contortionist with my Tig Torch) and all welds are now dressed, block is going out for a new sleeve & bore job this weekend. Portions of the welding process were kinda difficult to get to, so I ran the Tig Torch while a buddy fed in the filler rod from the opposite side of the block , it worked !

    So if all goes well, I'll be starting the build next week. Just an FYI, while I had everything apart I decided to just put the base gaskets on the block, exhaust adapter etc. checking for port matching..............WOW, the ports were way smaller and offset more than the gaskets so obviously out came the Dykem layout fluid and scribe to layout the correct port sizes followed by a die grinder and some carbide bits. All ports are now as none restrictive as possible. It probably doesn't amount to much if any gain in HP, but hey, why not, it's apart, it's there in front of me, I have the time, tools and resources...........no brainer not to do it......

    Hope to be getting my (backordered) BOB's 8" Hyd. Jackplate, dual stick helm control, and height gauge I ordered here on BBC from a supporting vendor (HYDRILLA ). Just picked up a prop to start with, Merc Rev. 4/25P that's been repitched to 26P with lots of cup. Next to a Bravo I, the REV 4 is the second best prop I've ever tried and run on my boats.
    Last edited by Nikon Man; 09-12-2020 at 05:39 AM.
    Gary



    Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.......

    S.W. Ohio

  11. Sprint Boats Moderator Bassmeister's Avatar
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    #31
    I love my Bravo I props.

  12. Member Nikon Man's Avatar
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    #32
    Quote Originally Posted by Bassmeister View Post
    I love my Bravo I props.

    Totally agree, Bravo I prop's are the best all around props. I've run a Rev 4 before and liked it allot and besides for the money I paid for the Rev 4 (it was run one time, $200, not a mark on it), new they sell for $675 , so I'm coming out way, way ahead if I decide to resell it down the road.
    Gary



    Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.......

    S.W. Ohio

  13. Member Nikon Man's Avatar
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    #33
    Progress being made..............
    Gary



    Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.......

    S.W. Ohio

  14. Sprint Boats Moderator Bassmeister's Avatar
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    #34

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