89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

[lil buggy]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

well i got conflicting stories,,,,todays does make the most sense tho. originally my mechanic said 5 hrs than oil change and next step. today he said 20 is break in oil change. makes more sense to me.
he said to just run her, she needs run! i guess i am nervous cause i wana break in right, for longevity of the powertrain. i still have to check here on iboats for proper breakin procedure of my mercruiser 5.7 . but everyones thoughts would be greatly appretiated, as always,,,,
i am hopeing to burn some more fuel tue afternoon, and maybe get some fishing in.

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

well i got conflicting stories,,,,todays does make the most sense tho. originally my mechanic said 5 hrs than oil change and next step. today he said 20 is break in oil change. makes more sense to me.
he said to just run her, she needs run! i guess i am nervous cause i wana break in right, for longevity of the powertrain. i still have to check here on iboats for proper breakin procedure of my mercruiser 5.7 . but everyones thoughts would be greatly appretiated, as always,,,,
i am hopeing to burn some more fuel tue afternoon, and maybe get some fishing in.

My first oil change was at 50 hours, It is also a mercruiser 5.7. Still have a cobra outdrive though,lol I'll let everyone try and figure that one out. hehehe

 

[lil buggy]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

thanks,
you got an odd combo there for sure(sounds like an expensive conversion).
i am a lil nervous running wot yet, but it sounds like i got the ok to get r on a plane and burn some fuel. i have heard a lot of stories,,, no wot at all,,,,, and not running consistently at any rpm. the responses are all over the board, ya know. lots invested and i dont wana f it up,,,, for the first time i'd like to read the directions,,,,bahahaha,,,,but seriously,,, how did you break in yours? and how many hours you got on her?
and once again, thanks in advance for the replies

 

[lil buggy]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

funny thing happened at the fuel dock yesterday,,,,, just before refuel, i removed the gas cap( i am always careful cause theres no chain) anyways i thought i had another turn to go,,, and plop:facepalm:. davey jones here it comes,,,,lol,,,,, funny part about it is i have a lil cable to save me from the fate i just suffered,, it is in the cabin right next to the cordless drill needed to make the hole in the caps ears,, lol. i have many lil projects left to do to protect me from myself,,,lol :facepalm:.

got an hour and a half on her last night wooo. she planes out nicely at around 2800 rpm i have been varying my rpm's every few min's
to help with the break in.

also,,, my temp guage wasn't working, i figured out (with my mechanic on the phone) and a lil testing that my sending unit was bad. so i will replace her this afternoon. also my belts squeel a little till it warms up, so i will also try and tighten them a lil today before another run.

i got a lil further on my rgb hide um pieces. i'll try and post how i got her done. the trim pieces did wonders for the space over the cabin doors as well as on the L seat,,,, you cant see the bulbs any more,,, just the glow,,,shaweett, i can stand the different colors now while driving, but red is still the best for night travel,,,,,,,, to be continued

hope everyones having some good luck.

 

[BSnB]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

Great to hear that you up and running lil buggy. I too have heard varying advice on how best to break in a motor. Not running it at a consistent RPM is one common recommendation. Good luck with that.

I'm looking forward to pictures!!!

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

thanks,
you got an odd combo there for sure(sounds like an expensive conversion).
i am a lil nervous running wot yet, but it sounds like i got the ok to get r on a plane and burn some fuel. i have heard a lot of stories,,, no wot at all,,,,, and not running consistently at any rpm. the responses are all over the board, ya know. lots invested and i dont wana f it up,,,, for the first time i'd like to read the directions,,,,bahahaha,,,,but seriously,,, how did you break in yours? and how many hours you got on her?
and once again, thanks in advance for the replies

I am by no means a mechanic, but have always been told to run it at different rpms throughout the range until she is fully broken in. It makes logical sence to me. My motor was rteplaced FINALLY with a good motor that was dressed with all new systems. My mechanic literally burned up two other motors trying to get the omc crap to work. The out drive is fine with the new motor, we basically have a whole new electrical set-up, carb etc etc. And the shift assist works fine with the omc cobra.

I have about 200 hours on mine now and couldn't be happier, it is a really powerful motor and is rated at 325 hp which is what I wanted. This old heavy needs all the hp it can get. The stock motor was only 260 hp. I am hoping for another mechanical problem free season. When I do need a new outdrive, I will probably do the sei conversion.

I broke mine in for 50 hours, but i was at all ranges after about 20 hours. Never let it sit at one rpm more than a minute or two, doesn't have to change alot, just up or down and I work it from idel to wot.

 

[lil buggy]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

thanks guys,,, thats what i am hearing also. varying, and trying too keep it above 1500 rpm has been fairly consistent.

glad too hear from you BSnB missed ya on here,,,

CC, 325hp,,,,,,ok so i am jealous of your whole rig,,, cept the cobra part,,lmao,,,,,, still wonderin,,, what if i camed it when it was apart. mine's stock 260hp that has been bored .20 over so i am sure i gained a lil hp but not sure how much. i can tell ya that it gets to plane around 2500 which in my book is fan fargin tastic,,,,,20 gal down so far before tonites cruise,,,,6- 6.5 hrs i am really stoked,, i do realize that was a easy riden tho,,,lol.

i got alot accomplished today,, i thought my temp guage wasnt working, did a few tests with the mechanic on the phone and it was pointing towards the sending unit being bad so today i tried with no avail to get that bugger out to take to the mechanic for replacement, so i just took all the hoses offf and took the section to the shop to be removed. he had the same problem,, so we ended up putting a new one in the other side,,,, once tightened down i had a lightbulb go off:facepalm:,, duh,,, there was no thermostat,,,lol.
so armed with a thermostat i went back and installed it,,, since i wasn't in the mood to splice that lil brown wire i just hooked it back up to the old sending unit, added new gaskets,,, and presto,,,,she's runnin at 140,,,,,shaweet
,,, almost forgot i scored a free shiny gas cap,,, right size first shot
while i was feeling great i decided to finalize the rgb install, all the wires are run correctly, soldered and heatshrunk. only downside is no more fingerprints for me( grabbed the hot end,,,not sure but i guess i was makin sure it was hot),,, bahaha
i took some pics but left the camera on the boat,, sorry, i'll post pics and how i hid my rgb's hopefully late tomorrow, but i can say, i see no bulbs at all and think it turned out great.

tonites cruise added an hour to the total so thats 7.5 but whos counting,,,lol
we helped some newer boaters get nestled in their summer home tonight. it always feels good to lend a hand, besides helping to spread a lil knowledge

hope you all had a good night, and have a great weekend.

the admirals busy friday so it looks like guys nite out,,,,,, blinky blinky,,,,,,,

 

[lil buggy]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

we had a great weekend up here.
we now have 10.5 hours on her,,, no issues, oil is still great,,, not burning any at all. and everythings still tight. only adjustment so far is i tightened the alternator belt. she does a great job cruising at 2500- 3000 rpm.. the waters clearing up, so the underwaters shine out around 10 feet behind the platform with a nice glow and no hotspots it is supersweet but not pic freindly,,lol.
we spent some time rafting this weekend and she serves well at holding 4 boats,,, so far, with the anchor. and the tv in the cabin makes for a good babysitter for the lil tots on the string, so us adults can clown around,,lol.
i know we have had some talk on this thread about the 3 sern rails height,,,

sorry they are older pics and posted before,, i dont have any new ones lately of them

and i decided too keep the height i have, the stern rail serves nicely as a bar lean from the platform,,, and with fishing lines out its really easy to duck under them to get to the next boats platform. the side rails are at a great, arm rest height, while sitting on the gunwhale. so i will make no changes to the set up except replacing the wood with better quality and a lil thicker wood. thanks for all the suggestions though, and please keep em coming

i hope everyone had a good weekend
all the best

 

[lil buggy]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

last night the admiral and i went for a sunset cruise, seeing as how i had 10.5 hours on the reman i decided to try wot in bursts.
not sure of the speed we got to but with alot of tweaking on the trim tabs( finally pulling all the way up)and some trim on the drive we got her up to 3500 rpm for a few minutes at a time,,, she wouldn't get above that tho. seems my throttle shifter drops back on the rpm's when burried,,, not sure what thats about,,,, any ideas?
my wot should be 4400 to 4800, i was realitively light with no fresh water added, 3/4's gas and the smallest dog,,lol.
i think i gotta go down a pitch or 2 to get it running to wot, once i add the water and a few more people my wot will deffinately suffer more,,, current prop has been tweaked by po and the pitch is scratched out so i am not sure of a starting point. i'll check the spare one tonight for pitch,, and who knows maybye i'll give it a try,,, gotta get a propwrench tho.

current hours 12,,,,wooooo

thanks in advance

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

last night the admiral and i went for a sunset cruise, seeing as how i had 10.5 hours on the reman i decided to try wot in bursts.
not sure of the speed we got to but with alot of tweaking on the trim tabs( finally pulling all the way up)and some trim on the drive we got her up to 3500 rpm for a few minutes at a time,,, she wouldn't get above that tho. seems my throttle shifter drops back on the rpm's when burried,,, not sure what thats about,,,, any ideas?
my wot should be 4400 to 4800, i was realitively light with no fresh water added, 3/4's gas and the smallest dog,,lol.
i think i gotta go down a pitch or 2 to get it running to wot, once i add the water and a few more people my wot will deffinately suffer more,,, current prop has been tweaked by po and the pitch is scratched out so i am not sure of a starting point. i'll check the spare one tonight for pitch,, and who knows maybye i'll give it a try,,, gotta get a propwrench tho.

current hours 12,,,,wooooo

thanks in advance

Man, I would have your mechanic come down and make sure she is running right at higher rpms before I started messing with props. He should really come out with you once broken in and do a once over anyway. Atleast give him a call and see what he says. Glad to here your getting some water time though.

 

[lil buggy]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

thanks man,
i stopped by the mechanics today, and discussed above issues with him. he thought run the 17 pitch and see what she does and we then have a baseline to go from. he also wasn't worried about the adjustment on the throttle control. i also talked with a dealer that said the 17 should be a great starting point as well.
so back to the boat i went,,, changed prop with the spare than had to pic up the admiral. we stopped by the house to take care of the dogs and we are headed right back out to test the 17. i'll post results tonite when we get in

also at 20 hrs the mechanic will change my oil and look everything over while in my slip. i am sure i can get him to come out if i am still having issues, but so far so good everythings tight and she purrs like a kitten.

thanks Budd, and i agree the time on the water is sweet, i love every min of it.
you gonna join us slackers and get her wet for the holiday?

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

Good to here your mechanic and you are on the same page. Around here that can be difficult. I will be splashing in the morning and have a free dock for a month or so. The boat is soooooooooo ready and so am I! Ohh and I just ordered all new leds for the boat. 60 lights per meter.

 

[lil buggy]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

just got home from tonights cruise,,,
and i gotta take a min and thank the admiral! seems like every trip she gets more involved,,,

so we got another 1.5 hors on her to push the total to 13.5.
the 17 in pitch spare prop pushed up to 4200 rpm, now remember the only thing that changed besides the prop is about 90lbs more dog and not sure how much less gas.
so if my knowledge is correct or to test it further,,,
currently 17 pitch 3 blade gives me 4200 rpm @ wot" current conditions"
,,,,,,a 17pitch 4 blade would give me 150 to 200 rpm resulting in wot of 4350 or 4400"current conditions"
and a 15 pitch 3 blade would give me 300 to 400 rpm resulting in wot of 4500 or 4600"current conditions"
and a 15 pitch 4 blade would give me 450 to 500 rpm resulting in wot of 4650 or 4700"current conditions"
optimum rpm range for my 5.7 mercruiser is 4400 - 4800 rpm
so i am leaning onward to a 15 pitch 4 blade prop using my calculations as a guide, considering a heftier load " fresh water is almost a bathtub",,lol
whadyathink?

almost forgot,,,, we fished for a lil while and got into some cats,,,i love me some catfishen,,, they predictably come outa the deep holes at dusk to eat my spam"favorite cat bait"
i am certainly enjoying the time on the water. another great day in the books
and i absolutely love all the nite lites

 

[lil buggy]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

Good to here your mechanic and you are on the same page. Around here that can be difficult. I will be splashing in the morning and have a free dock for a month or so. The boat is soooooooooo ready and so am I! Ohh and I just ordered all new leds for the boat. 60 lights per meter.

its about time you join us slackers
congrats Budd i am super stoked for the both of us,,,, hope you have a great holiday and thanks for your service.

as far as the rgb's go shish 60? that will be one sweet glow.
i have had a lil trouble with the clips we both bought,,,,, seems i had a few pinched a lil bit on the end( tried to tuck them to tight), anyways i repositioned them a lil and no more flickering when people are jumpin round on the seats,,,bahahaha,,,, blinky blinky,,,baha.
also those mosquitos cant see the red but the blue that matches my underwaters:facepalm:. unless theres a breeze of coarse

 

[BSnB]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

I just had to drop in to find out how things were going and I'm glad to see that your break in period is going well!! I'm anxious to see the pictures of your lights now that you've finished the trim shield. You also promised lighted rooster tail pics and I'm still unenLIGHTened! :facepalm: (Sorry for the bad pun).

I envy you being so close to your marina that you can get out almost daily.

Did somebody say CATFISHIN'!!!!! Go get 'em!!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

Glad you're getting some fishing time in! Envious! Good news about both the break-in & the props.

 

[lil buggy]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

I just had to drop in to find out how things were going and I'm glad to see that your break in period is going well!! I'm anxious to see the pictures of your lights now that you've finished the trim shield. You also promised lighted rooster tail pics and I'm still unenLIGHTened! :facepalm: (Sorry for the bad pun).

I envy you being so close to your marina that you can get out almost daily.

Did somebody say CATFISHIN'!!!!! Go get 'em!!

thanks for stoppin by,,,, i dont have the finished pics of the rgb's yet, sorry.
15 hours on her now,,,, wooooo all is well.
we were catfishen while raften the last few days and managed to get a few big uns every nite,,, the shovelheads are hard to bring up in 20 ft of water,,, but the admiral got er done, ,, she got a 30 incher last night,,, wooooo.
the water on the ohio is clearing up nicely, the underwaters shine out about 12 ft now and is supersweet but not too pic friendly:facepalm:.
my bro shot video but i cant seem to get it to upload,,,,,e mail is a pita,,,lol.

i am taking the camera today and promise an update late tonight or tomorrow am if we sleep over again,,,
thanks for following,,, and did you get out on the big lake yet?

Glad you're getting some fishing time in! Envious! Good news about both the break-in & the props.

thanks man,,,, i hope for progress on yours as well. before the warden gets too mad,,,,lmao,,, bahaha


i hope everyone has a great weekend,

 

[lil buggy]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

ok lets see if it works,,,

nope,,,
but heres a pic

photobucket wont let me just upload a video,,,,,,, without the whole album. anyone know how to do that please let me know. 1st vid attempt here for me.

got another 2 hours on her yesterday.
when coming back to the dock i noticed my power( volts) dropping off to 10,,, i switched to the other battery,,, with the same result. thank gosh we were close,,,, i had just enough juice to get back to the dock. once tied up i investigated and as i was hopeing,,, it was my alternater belt was snapped,, i was happy to see that it was just the belt for sure. i also noticed that the only other belt was twisted so i guess that when the alternator belt snapped it made an appearance in the other belts path. it looks like i'll have to take that belt off anyway to get the alternator belt on. i have a spare,,, (but a lil smaller) that was in the boat, but i think i have enough adjustment room on the bracket to make it work. just a note that about 6 running hours ago i had to tighten the alternator belt cause it was squeeling and was loose.

any advice would be greatly appretiated
for all you service guys out there i gotta thank you for your service,
and i remember this memorial day that freedom isn't free.
again thanks

 

[lil buggy]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

got the belts off yesterday, i ended up replacing the power steering belt as well so that gives me 2 spares and i got another right sized, alternator belt plus a spare. got everything tightened down and she's back in business. while the hatch was open we drained the winterized pink water, added new clear(non stinky,,,lol) water to the system and flushed it all out.
while we were in "get r done" mode, i unsnapped the "dog hair catching" carpet in the cockpit (not sure if i'll put it back in, like the white nonskid everywhere). anyway, i broke out the deck cleaner and brush and cleaned out the cockpit and got all the catfish blood off the motor cover lid and swim platform,,, i couldn't stop there, so back out to the front of the boat i went,,,, rescrubbed the topside upfront, then coated everything with the woody's spray wax(followed directions,,,bahaha"wife read em",,,,lmao).
got a coat of 303 on all the vinyl then it was time to play.
we got another hour on her last night(brings us to 18,,,,wooooooo),, stayed close, and rafted up with friends,although no one caught anything,,, we did swim,,,,,and grilled some hamburgers(small propagne grill) on the swimplatform,,, shaweet

couple spots i could use some help on.
first; my anchor chain was coated with some sort of "dip it", robbery sticky, holding sand, and leaving nasty sticky greasy snot on anything it touches,,grrrrrrrrr. i think my answer is to replace it with a stainless anchor chain rode,,, whadya think?

secondly; my top of the L seat has some nasties in the veins of the vinyl, i have tried everything i have i think to get it out. armor all, 303, and even acetone(followed by 303 of coarse),heck i even tried the deck cleaner on it. the only thing that makes any improvement was the magic erasers that take forever to get down to the grunge between the veins(stayed away from stitches with that stuff),,,
i thought of maybe useing a compound with my lil buffer(polisher) but it makes me nervouse.
any advice on how to deal with it would be greatly appretiated.

 

[lil buggy]

Re: 89 Fiesta Vee 250 setbacks, projects, and upgrades!

no video,,,,,but here is some more pics of the rgb's and underwaters together at the dock

not sure if you can tell,,,,,, but these are after the lil L moulding is hideing the lights,, so no direct glare.
i thought i had the "making of" in the camera ,,,,,, but i was mistaken,,,lol