New J Engine?

[aojesus]

research

When the topic of a cheaper entry level class came up a year or two ago we realized immediately that we needed to do our homework. Carl and I were in constant communication and he would relay messages with Tony. We have been doing research since day one.

I talked with my Briggs supplier from the start and showed him plans for a minimost. He and his tech team, one of which is a Briggs racing guy, offered the suggestions about playing with the rev limiter, e.t.c. When they saw the pictures of the minimost they told me they (supplier and his son) who combined weigh around 600lbs use thier Briggs on a 12' boat for fishing all the time. They have tried all sorts of modifications and have used it for three seasons in the Florida heat with no problems.

They also told me it is hard to find very many used ones because they are inexpensive and dependable.

We will be leaving our Briggs motors stock here in Region 5 AOF country to keep it simple, safe, and affordable for the beginners.

[14-H]

**
Please post pics of the block with the rod hangin' out the side

I'll put it on the bench right next to the OMC and the few hot rods I have that are in that state when I take the picture. Ed.

[14-H]

Praof

Tony: Glad to see you recovered. I hope you left a tip for housekeeping. Actually, Joey Z did most of the clean up while you were galavanting around with your new acquaintances. Jerk! ***smiles**** Eddie.

[14-H]

*** this sounds like it would be an excellent project for Racing Outboards to take on. I bet they could pop out conversion kits for cheap, and have $1000 J motors that could be purchased ready to race on the internet. ***.

Ryan: The whole B&S engine costs less than the freakin' gearcase on a Hot Rod or OMC.

Kinda' reminds me of the famous Rodney Dangerfield line: "Smells, my dingy's biggger than your whole boat; drop anchor, I'm comin' in."

Now I'm really sounding like Ron Hill. Ed.

[ricochet112]

I'll put it on the bench right next to the OMC and the few hot rods I have that are in that state when I take the picture. Ed.

Touché

But with needles bearings on a 2cycle engines iron rod , and NO bearings on a Briggs aluminum rod, there's no comparison on durability and the RPM's they will turn before failure.

As long as everyone realizes it's a disposable motor, then ENJOY!

The reason not many are found for sale used is, not many have been sold in the first place.

The $650 price is misleading, it HAS to be without shipping, dealer cost is $680. Every one I have seen on the internet have been $750-$800 shipping included. But that price difference is insignificant considering what we are currently paying for a race motor.

PS, do you think the B&S foot will handle running on water (as in "you mean I have to check the gear oil?") like an OMC/Sidewinder foot can? The Briggs gearcase does have a nice sized tapered Timken on the forward gear though.

[ricochet112]

Ryan: The whole B&S engine costs less than the freakin' gearcase on a Hot Rod or OMC.

Kinda' reminds me of the famous Rodney Dangerfield line: "Smells, my dingy's biggger than your whole boat; drop anchor, I'm comin' in."

Now I'm really sounding like Ron Hill. Ed.

NO, you only used 47 words, not 470!!!!

[propnuts]

I say why the hell not

I have been working on the HARM J project for the last 2 years, and we just started our 12th boat a couple weeks ago. My number 1 concern all along has been WHERE THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO FIND 12 J MOTORS? I still don't know the answer to that, but we're still building boats. This sounds like a possibility for the new, young, light kids. In the mean time, anbody know where we can buy a bunch of OMC's or Mercs cheap? Tony

[seanp3]

Tony - I agree

Whats there to loose. The cheaper way to get into this sport the better. Won't really know how this motor will hold up unless you give it a chance. Maybe the bushings will hold up better than anticipated since these critters don't produce the kind of torque the larger motors produce. As far as the lower speeds go, maybe a smaller course can be setup at one end of the regular course so it wouldn't take as long to run a heat and keep things moving along.

[Dr. Thunder]

I have been working on the HARM J project for the last 2 years, and we just started our 12th boat a couple weeks ago. My number 1 concern all along has been WHERE THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO FIND 12 J MOTORS? I still don't know the answer to that, but we're still building boats. This sounds like a possibility for the new, young, light kids. In the mean time, anbody know where we can buy a bunch of OMC's or Mercs cheap? Tony

Tony, from an earlier post ...

1987 ASR OMC 143 participants ... 86 participants in 1997
1989 ASH OMC 165 participants ... 97 participants in 1999

There must be at least about 68 motors out there somewhere ...

[Cameraboy]

I have been working on the HARM J project for the last 2 years, and we just started our 12th boat a couple weeks ago. My number 1 concern all along has been WHERE THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO FIND 12 J MOTORS? I still don't know the answer to that, but we're still building boats. This sounds like a possibility for the new, young, light kids. In the mean time, anbody know where we can buy a bunch of OMC's or Mercs cheap? Tony

Like Dr Thunder implied, and has been discussed on another thread, they are either in garages or back on fishing boats. You and I both know people in Region 10 who need to race them or sell them. Cheap OMC/Merc race motors - ain't gonna happen; supply and demand, my friend.

[14-H]

***WHERE THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO FIND 12 J MOTORS? ***

APBA has them ready to ship. 586-773-9700; Racing Outboards has the gearcases. APBA can give you the number for that.

[ryan_4z]

You better read more, ignorance isn't bliss.

You are focusing on the wrong part of this. The actual powerhead is irrelevent. It's the posibility of putting together a simple, cheap J motor. Kind of like a Kia, you don't fix it when it breaks, it's cheaper to buy a new one.

[ricochet112]

You are focusing on the wrong part of this. The actual powerhead is irrelevent. It's the posibility of putting together a simple, cheap J motor. Kind of like a Kia, you don't fix it when it breaks, it's cheaper to buy a new one.

That was the only point I was trying to get across. It's a disposable motor. If you throw a rod or blow up a foot, the cost to repair it will exceed 50% of the cost of the motor.

Buy another and now you have spare parts, probably the same spare parts you'll never use, but spares just the same.

[T Chance]

You are focusing on the wrong part of this. The actual powerhead is irrelevent. It's the posibility of putting together a simple, cheap J motor. Kind of like a Kia, you don't fix it when it breaks, it's cheaper to buy a new one.

As the owner of a 2007 Kia (only because GM stopped building the Chevette) I feel like I should jump in. Back in the '70's I built a bunch of J Hydros. I called them disposable boats. I would go to the local building center and buy damaged paneling for $1.00/sheet. I'd put the finished v-groove side in and the mahogany side out They looked good, and they were cheap. We bought a bunch of new surplus leftover 60-J's for $225.00 each plus a few used KG or KF-5's and the kids went racing. Here are some of the kids that got their start in those boats: Three of mine, Paul, Terry and Lynne; Tim Seebold, Mike Seebold, Tom Brinkman, Eddie Thirlby, Scott Hall, Pete Nydhal; plus there were others. The kids grew up, we used the boats for firewood and I don't know what happened to the motors although I still do have one 60'J. By-the-way the best we saw on a Keller speedometer was 42 mph. The bottom line is the kids raced and it didn't cost a fortune.

Now I have a Grandson coming of age and I don't know if I want to put him in a 25 mph Minimost with a Briggs and Stratton, when his Mother ran the real thing. The OMC J/A is a much better option although it costs a lot more money. I like the NBRA Novice class that permits any 15 hp fishing motor on a ten foot hydro.

I wonder too about the Minimost. It seems there could be a better spec boat. I'm sure that with all of the contemporary designers/builders that there would be a better choice than obsolete plans from Mechanic Illustrated.

[Abbott Racing]

We tried this venture a number of years ago in CBF (mini-most project) we had it down to some simple rules any motor under 10hp, stock prop, mini-most hull and of course the proper APBA/CBF safety gear.

Sadly we were voted down as the groups thought that the Water mouse was the boat of the future so they voted to go with that project instead of the mini-most.

We went the mini-most hull because it is simple to build, is a great parent child project na dthe boat is a whole lot of fun to drive. I personally have one that we did in marine ply, painted it up like a vintage racer and slapped on an old Mercury rocket that we bought at a garage sale for $25.00. The boat will run in the mid 20's is an abolute blast to run. Although it is not the fleetest of looking boats it is a fun project, so my hats off to the folks for going with this I think it is a great way to encourage new folks. And if they don't like racing after trying it, they make a great toy for the cottage!