Thoughts on carbon fiber reeds 88 Mag II 150?

Evening everyone,

So I gave up on repowering and am having my Mag II rebuilt. While apart doing a few other things like the 200 tuner, solid motor mounts, some port work, etc. My builder will install carbon reeds if I want but he is partial to the steel reeds in these older Mercs. Different motor he would absolutely recommend carbon fiber but on mine he finds that the steels rarely fail and seat better.

I completely trust my builder but while it’s apart interested to know some thoughts on if should I go ahead and switch the reeds? For reference additional cost is the reeds themselves and then 1 hour labor for the lapping and install.


Thanks!
Willie

His reasoning is a little odd. Go with fiber reeds. I've run TDR, CCM, and Boyesen and have had great success with all of them. My most recent set I got from CCM and Stan Carson down there went out of his way to get me set up right, had an issue with my reed cages, so I know first hand their customer service is second to none. Can't go wrong with any of those reeds though.

Spend that money cutting the heads if you wanna see a difference. I doubt you will even notice that other work.

Sorry did not include that in my original post - heads are already cut to 145#, have the steel caged bearings, oil injection deleted, advance module removed and re-timed, and have the “good” divider plate. Idea of putting on a horizontal front and 200 carbs interests me but not doing that at this time.

So really just interested in thoughts on the reeds themselves but sincerely appreciate the advice!

Thanks,
Willie

what boat is all this being done for ? gearcase you running ? been happier with a 2.5 200 powerhead to modify those vertical 2.4 are very restricted , im with BULLETT ^^^^^ even for the safety factor if nothing else , hope you got the old xr2 /200 bell tuner for it , dont forget the jets :eek: , report back and good luck JOE

I'd definitely replace the reeds if you're going to this much effort. I prefer, install (and sell) the TDR reeds.

Thanks Don! Really not that much extra effort or labor hours since the motor is tore apart for the rebuild anyways. Just trying to have done all of the things that make sense to do while it is apart, based on the input here I'm going to go ahead and do the reeds while it is apart. I've used the TDRs from you in the past as well and if my builder doesn't have them I will order from you. Motor was 30lbs low on #6, all the sleeves turned with #6 horribly turned. Plus #6 had gotten hot at some point before I bought it last year. Really can't believe how well it still ran, jumped my boat on plane in 2-3 seconds and ran up to 60 which was slower than it should be but still not bad.

Joe - I am having the 200 bell tuner installed and the carbs are being re-done as well, my builder without a doubt knows what he is doing especially on these older Mercs so all will be done right (even a few posts on BBC about him from a few years back and his super stock offshore boat).

Boat is an 89 Gambler 183 that I bought last year for literally next to nothing. I had been boatless for a few years, have had and loved Gamblers in the past (amongst other brands), was looking for something to restore so I bought it (I love a fun project). I moved to the lower with the bigger bullet with the 8 hole pickups and 1.87 gears. Added a 10' Bob's hydraulic since this boat likes more set back along with Seastar hydraulic steering and the water scoops from Mercury to increase water psi. Didn't look like this when I got it, plenty of hours of labor on it but again I just really enjoy working on older stuff and bringing it back. I know some people would just upgrade the motor, but I just couldn't find what I wanted for a price I was willing to pay and I would have ended up with someone else's used motor, and I just like doing it/having it done.

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Thanks again everyone!
Willie

looks nice ,that tuner may hurt it a lil on hole shot , i sold a complete 95 200 efi less gearcase last week with one bad boreable hole for 500 slick engine not a scratch even in decals, you aughta see what ive got, emaculate 92 205 CHAMPION DC SKI never had fish in it all original , transom bad of course , not a crack in it , unlimited HP rated V6 had 300 promax for it sold it too, report back with progress

Yeah that was kind of the problem when trying to repower. Boat is only rated for a 175, found lots of 200s and 150s but if I was going to repower really wanted that 175 and really really wanted a pro max or super mag 175. But good 175s at a decent price were pretty tough to find. I’m not one to overpower, at least not by putting an actual 200+ on the boat LOL, so decided on the rebuild. Time will tell if I made the right decision but at least this one is worth a heck of a lot more rebuilt than it was blown if I change my mind down the road.

1995 xr6 :thumb up2:

Have had the boat back for a while now but hadn’t had a nice weekend where I wasn’t busy to get her out. Well actually I took it out about a month ago but wasn’t happy with the water pressure so I pulled it right back out. Builder did some grinding on the lower, ditched the scoops and plugged the top water intake holes. Finally had nice weather yesterday, and after helping a buddy with some much needed trailer work for his boat, I managed to dump mine in for a little more than an hour.

WOW is all I can say and I can’t even open her up for another 7 hours. Water pressure issue was fixed, boat jumped on plane at half throttle quicker than it did before with the pedal mashed (like 2 seconds and on plane). Throttle is very crisp and responsive. The steering was such an improvement between the solid mounts and hydraulic steering, and while the hydraulic plate didn’t get much use was nice to be able to bury it in a turn and keep the water pressure up. And of course with the drilled exhaust it sounds pretty darn mean too LOL.

Will post back once I get through the break-in. 7 more hours of the break-in procedure and then 2 more before sustained wide open throttle to go. Hoping for a good weekend soon to get that knocked out so I can see how it really does.


Willie

:thumb up2:

Not gona like that tuner on a gambler, though the compression may make up for the loss on the bottom end.