40/44 tech and buy sell swap

[proprider]

Very nice!!

Very, very nice Alan...I sure do like the way that you, and Doug Kay think things out. You can bet, that those of us that enjoy learning the art of engine building, are enjoying the postings and photos that you and your brother have shared.
Keep up the excellent work, and please continue to share the knowledge!
Joe Schweickert 2-H

[Guest]

Keeping are sport alive

Thanks Joe for the very kind words. David, Doug and myself along with a whole host of other folks are working hard to grow our boat racing sport. We are building replacement parts that allow all of us to get the parts that are required to rebuild, build new or repair the engine that we have used for years. Shortly, we will have new drive shafts for both the B and C Mercs built to the original specs. Our goal is to have parts for all of us that race and for folks looking to start in the sport. Our website http://aeroliner-boats.com show most of the parts we manufacture along with some of our restoration projects. We also have about 20,000 Mercury parts in stock from my old Mercury dealership and from other sources that David and I have acquired over the years.

Not long ago David and I acquired an unmolested original 20-H. We have very carfully documented its condition and David has prepared a source book that we will publish shortly. We have been playing with Mercury 20-H engines since I bought my first one in 1955 and of note I still have it. We have talked with the Snell brothers and will have photos of the original 20-H conversion prototype in it.

For anyone that would like to get into MOD racing with the 4 cylinder Mercury I can only say that they are a great engine to work with. Parts are still available, both new and used so the classes are fun to race in. Remember that nothing sounds sweeter than a full field of Mercs with pipes.

Alan

[Dave M]

Great Job

You guys do good work with the welding and machining, looks nice.

As for parts and what not, it is good to see someone else confirm that parts are not hard to find for the Mod engines, both Merc and OMC. Most are available new. The rest well, you guys have it figured out. I hope a gearbox project comes to fruition soon.

Remember, if we keep the costs fown it will reduce the barrier to entry for new racers. So far I am seeing these are much less than their stock counterparts.

Dave Scott, thanks for the tower project, the price of $200.00 is very fair for those that want to finish it up. I think a tower should be under $500.00 total for their intended purpose in MOD. There is no need for real fancy under the Merc 44.

[Guest]

New project

Thanks for the kind words Dave. Well to be truthful I am in discussion with a couple people on what way to go with a new gearbox. The first option is to digitize my last new D gearbox and see if we can get it hoged out of a block of 6061T651 Alum. With today's NC machines it might be possible. Second was to design a whole new dual pinion gearbox that can be used for both MOD and Pro.. The idea would be to produce a unit that would live a long time without having to replace gears but retain a small frontal area. If there really is a need and enough folks want them then I will seriously consider going forward.

Now back to the MOD engines. For anyone that is considering a MOD program I am posting the Harry Brinkman port design from his notes. Doug Kay follows this profile for all my 40 and 44 engines and is setup to do it right. There are varations you can use when setting port height so that you can set the RPM range and courses that you run on.

Alan
Aeroliner Boat

[blueskyracer]

I must say this is all great information and hopefully it will inspire folks to get into the class. Also note it will not be as cheap as a stock class but these babies sound like race boats cause they have PIPES so it is worth it. Also these motors require a little larger boat which also make for a less choppy ride than a A-C stock craft.

[Guest]

Building a MOD 44

We are finishing up the work on a spare Mercury 44XS powerhead and needed some parts. The ideal engine is a Mercury 450 from the 80's. We were able to get a donner engine for $100 in less then a few days looking. The powerhead would be ideal to make into a mod engine. One note of caution. If at all possible find a engine from a fresh water area in that it will be far better to use.
Here are a couple photos of my last D foot I have. The Mercury 44S used this housing. The process that made the casting for the unit was a lost foam casting process which did not produce the highest quality casting. My intent would be to copy this item and true up the dimensions on it. We would also build a shaved sided unit for MOD and stock housing for 44XS. Right now David an I make shafts, cones, water pump cartridge, and back up ring for the D's. Prop shafts might have to be made soon. Gears are available so all we really need is a housing. I would like to know if there is a real need to build one.
Alan

[form-e one]

just curious if your 444 motor legal in form-e in apba,,, with the carb restrictions or???...just curious,,, great machine work,, deff....

[Guest]

Tx444dk

Yes the four carb 444 is a legal APBA FE engine. It gives away a lot to the OMC loopers but hopefully we will get to run it more this year and actually compete with them. We ran it up in Hillsdale MI in an APBA event last fall but fuel system problems pleged us all weekend. Turned out the plastic fuel line got hard and we sucked in a little water in that the clamp didn't tighten properly. No restrictor plates are required. We use snowmobile Tilitson carbs with the fuel pumps removed. Oh well thats racing and testing.

Alan

[Guest]

Brinkman Down Housing

Found a photo of my 3 holer on a brinkman tower. Lots of work needed to get it ready.
Alan

[sam]

just curious if your 444 motor legal in form-e in apba,,, with the carb restrictions or???...just curious,,, great machine work,, deff....

There are no carb restrictions in the rules for 44's in 850

In 850, the only restrictions on 44's are: no supercharger, the bore and stroke must be stock (within overbore tolerance) and the block must appear to be a 44 Merc

What Alan has done is a beautiful example of what is well within the rules crazy in the good way

[Guest]

Tx444dk

Thank's Sam,
Well I have been known to be on the FAR side when it come to trying to improve on the great engines Carl K designed. Doug Kay is really the idea man and from there we start a discussion. Being able to see where the limit is for performance is part of this great family sport. My oldest son started racing last year and did quite good. Now his girl and boy both want to race so seems like I need to figure out how to carry more boats in the trailer. I am planning on getting to Jesep GA and run the TX444DK. If my prop set gets back might see a couple more MPH with a little luck. Hopefully we will have the C and D MOD's there also.

Alan

[form-e one]

aeroliner,,, i know you do great work,,, was wondering if ya could post a menu of sorts of everything ya can do for us boaters machine work etc parts ya make for us,,,maybe a price list????..... wish others wood do same give us all a chance to use your great service,,,,

[Guest]

Form-e one question

Form-e one has asked for a description of all the services that Doug Kay and Aeroliner can provide. For parts that we currently make we have them priced on our website. Go to Aeroliner-boats.com and you will find it there. I will also make up a list of services that are available from Doug Kay in the next few days. A lot of the photos that I post are intended to share what we have learned and what can be done. Thanks for asking.

Alan
Aeroliner Boat

[Kevin McAfee]

Alan thanks for sharing the info and pictures of the motors, that is some neat stuff. I am thankful to be able to meet you guys and race against you. I know your son is enjoying himself racing some of the history making boats and motors in the USA. Good luck in GA and hope to see you soon.

Kevin

[blueskyracer]

Alan thanks for sharing the info and pictures of the motors, that is some neat stuff. I am thankful to be able to meet you guys and race against you. I know your son is enjoying himself racing some of the history making boats and motors in the USA. Good luck in GA and hope to see you soon.

Kevin

I must agree that Alan is saving my bacon with help on fuel tanks and is just so easy to correspond with. If anybody needs help in this class he is putting it all out there for folks to use and he can get just about anything you need for parts.