Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

[tater76]

So as a tinkerer at heart, I had a lightbulb idea the other day while staring at my two 55hp Chryslers. What if I run them in unison? The transom on my boat is rated for 150hp and has enough space, so???? What I am in need of now is control ideas, linkages, etc... anybody out there ever tried this? I know Jerry runs duals, but not the little guys like my 55's. Any help/ideas would be awesome.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

You will get dual thrust,not speed..Good for tubing and water skiing.Not for speed.
Dual shifters/cables control lead etc.LOTS of work.Uses lots more gas.
Now if you could get them set up with T/T you might get a bit more speed.

 

[tater76]

Re: Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

Thanks Jerry, I am not looking for more speed, but more umph for hauling people and gear. In your experience with the twins, is it worth the effort? I found the linkages for 75hp's that I could probably adapt, but are you saying I would need two seperate control boxes? Is that the way yours is set up?

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

Chrysler did make a dual control box. The problem is finding it. If you are serious, contact Franz at franzmarine@aol.com. If anyone would have one it would be him.

 

[RRitt]

Re: Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

bayliner trophy CC fishing boats ran a lot of dual force. you may not race home of one engine breaks. In fact due to propping and hull you couldn't always get up on plane and had to idle on home. But it sure beat drifting to mexico.

One nice thing about dual outboards is you can turn on a dime. one engine forward, the other engine reverse .... and the boat spins.

Is a force control box the same as chrysler? I would think so. Probably a lot easier to find if you describe it as a dual control.to fit Bayliner Trophy fishing boats.

 

[tater76]

Re: Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

I thought somebody would have seen a dual unit, thanks Frank. RRitt, I am not too sure about the Force and Chrysler control boxes. I would think they are very close at the least. I will do some more research, and let you guys know what I find, and thanks again for the input. Google was just not cutting it

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

Early Force boxes before 1994 and/or Mercury controls, were US Marine and did look different than Chrysler, BUT----the important thing is that they DID use the same cables and will work with twin Chrysler 55s, assuming the twin units (which I have not seen) are the same as the singles.

 

[tater76]

Re: Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

Thats what I thought Frank, I currently have one U.S. Marine control box for one motor. The twins are two identical 1973 55hp Chryslers model 555HF If I remember correctly. One was my ignition project you may remember, where I converted it to the more modern electronic ignition. I plan on doing the same to the other when I run across cheap parts. One thing that is concerning me though, is I would assume that these motors are going to have to be tuned perfectly in sync to get the best results? Is that syncing going to be more of a PITA to acheive and maintain than its worth? Again, this is all just an information gathering stage before I go buying parts and drilling more holes in the transom.

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

They are dual controls. You synch using throttle and tachs

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

I might have a set of dual controls.I'll try to look today.J

 

[tater76]

Re: Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

Awesome! Thanks Jerry

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

Got tied up and didn't get a chance to look.Will look for sure tomorrow.J

 

[tater76]

Re: Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

Thanks again Jerry. From the sounds of it, I better get out of ya what I can before our Aussie friends steal you for a month! Oh, and I picked up an 85hp Chrysler today for $100 and it runs! so I may pair it up with my other 85 on a bigger boat instead of the 55's.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

This shifter (got one more place to look,tomorrow) will work on the twin 85's>

 

[jason32038]

Re: Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

You're going to have to fork over some cash money to pull this off just in parts alone. Good luck man!

 

[tater76]

Re: Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

You know, I was thinking the same thing for a while. However, I have the engines, fuel tanks, a set of controls for each, and wiring harnesses for both. All I am thinking is how it would be nicer to have one controler for both motors. I think I could fabricate a linkage to copy the original setup that Force and Chrysler produced that hooks the motors together. If Jerry doesn't have a dual control unit for me I just may make a box that will hold both control boxes side by side. I think total investment will be under $100 bucks, but my time is what will add up as this is going to take some thinking and ingenuity on my part. I wonder if my teleflex steering will handle the added strain???

 

[jason32038]

Re: Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

When you scoot the one engine over to mount the other one the result will possibly be a long steering cable so you will probably need a shorter one. You might get lucky enough for the throttle and shift cables to still work on the drivers side engine if there isnt too much slack. Even if you use both controls you will need to get new or used shift and throttle cables on the left engine because they will be too short. Unless you mount them very close to eachother and mount that second control box further back. By the way i'm no expert im just shootin the S.

 

[tater76]

Re: Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

I thought of that probably just as you were typing LOL! I went out to take some measurements, and found that I should have just enough play so it would not bind. This is just from measuring and looking, but the real test will be when their mounted. I guess if it were too long I could possibly just run it to the farthest motor? It looked like I could, but hey??? As for the shift cables, both sets I have are for 20+ft boats, and this is a 16.5. The current one installed is actually looped to take up slack, so I should be ok on those.

 

[tater76]

Re: Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

Just an update, set my two 55hp chryslers side by side on the transom and clamped them. Then I set up a temporary homemade plywood dual control box (set both controls together inside). I cut a peice of all thread to fit between the motors, (but its looking flimsy). I have two ball joint end peices that will thread on either end of the peice then bolt to each engines front tab (the one with the three holes in it). The steering tube is mounted on the drivers side motor with plenty of slack. I am buttoning things up for a test run and getting nervous at he same time. The water is still icy here, so it may be another month before splashdown. That will give me enough time to tweak and perfect, plus upload pics of the process! More to come...

 

[iCam]

Re: Has anyone run dual Chryslers?

That sounds awesome! Got any pics?