1994 Magnum 350 w/ Thunderbolt on-distributor Ignition System: MSD Upgrade?

[Diranged]

I've recently inherited a 1994 Crownline 210 Cuddy Cabin boat from my father.. its always had *just* enough power to pull someone up and out of the water on a wakeboard/skis if they were good -- but not much more than that. I'm looking at what simple upgrades I can do to the boat to get 5-15% more power out of it without ruining gas mileage or the reliability of the boat.

I was looking into upgrading the ignition system. Thoughts? I noticed that this motor has a slightly more advanced ignition system than a generic carborated 350 motor normally does, so I'm not sure if I'll really get much out of it?

I posted over in the MSD ignition forums and here's what they recommended:
8222 high vibration coil
MSD 6460 Box

Does that seem like it will work out?

 

[Don S]

Re: 1994 Magnum 350 w/ Thunderbolt on-distributor Ignition System: MSD Upgrade?

You already have Thunderbolt IV electronic ignition. Changing to the MSD will not be an upgrade and you will gain nothing. The TB4 system is a top of the line setup.
If you have a 2bbl carb, changing the intake and carb to 4bbl is about the cheapest thing you could do.

 

[achris]

Re: 1994 Magnum 350 w/ Thunderbolt on-distributor Ignition System: MSD Upgrade?

260hp 350cid in a 21' cuddy, and you have 'just enough'. Me thinks something seriously wrong here. I have a 20' cuddy and with the old 180hp V6 it would sit up and beg if I floored the throttle.

I think the quickest and cheapest way you're going to get the boat to perform towing skiers is to drop down a size or 2 on the prop.... What revs does the engine reach at full throttle now? (Should be 4400-4800)

Chris......

 

[carcraze]

Re: 1994 Magnum 350 w/ Thunderbolt on-distributor Ignition System: MSD Upgrade?

I am with Chris I had an older 25' sleekcraft with an old 351 ford in it pre-alpha and it would pull up skiers all day long. The ford was around 250 hp 4 BBL and not a problem coming out of the water even without tabs.

 

[Diranged]

Re: 1994 Magnum 350 w/ Thunderbolt on-distributor Ignition System: MSD Upgrade?

Thanks for the feedback. I suspected that the ignition system may already be better-than-expected based on the way its layed out.. I'll leave it alone for now. As for the carb/intake manifold -- can you suggest decent ones? I really am more of a fuel-injected guy, so carbs/intake manifolds scare me.
(really, just that I don't know what to look for when picking one)

I intend on replacing the prop.. right now its got a 4-blade prop thats been damaged and then "repaired" (aka, used plyers to fix some damage..). I'm also not sure of which one I should get yet...

I havnt had the boat out in the water in almost 2 years now since it broke.. so I can't really give you an accurate max-rpm or performance numbers. Hopefully in about 2 weeks we'll have it back in the water and I can get better information then. Thanks for the advice, for the time being I'll hold off on any changes until I get it all running again.

(Just spent $1200 fixing a misc stuff already.. not feeling wealthy right now!)

Off to put the motor back in the boat!

 

[achris]

Re: 1994 Magnum 350 w/ Thunderbolt on-distributor Ignition System: MSD Upgrade?

Thanks for the feedback. I suspected that the ignition system may already be better-than-expected based on the way its layed out.. I'll leave it alone for now. As for the carb/intake manifold -- can you suggest decent ones? I really am more of a fuel-injected guy, so carbs/intake manifolds scare me.
(really, just that I don't know what to look for when picking one)
...

A 350 Magnum already has a 4bbl carb and an uprated manifold.... and if you're using anything other than a Merc stainless steel prop you'll be losing a lot of power in propeller inefficiency...

 

[zbnutcase]

Re: 1994 Magnum 350 w/ Thunderbolt on-distributor Ignition System: MSD Upgrade?

The only time you see an "improvement" on a igniton upgrade is when there was a problem to begin with. TB-IV has enough power to make your straight hairs curly and your curly ones straight!

 

[funk6294]

Re: 1994 Magnum 350 w/ Thunderbolt on-distributor Ignition System: MSD Upgrade?

Seeing as you have a damaged prop, I would start with a new prop and go from there. Trying to add power to mask a damaged prop is an exprensive band-aid.

 

[Diranged]

Re: 1994 Magnum 350 w/ Thunderbolt on-distributor Ignition System: MSD Upgrade?

Well, took a few hours.. (5?) but the motor and interior are back in and its alive! Right now I cant say for sure who made the prop thats on it -- is there any way to check that?

Other than that, it seems that I've lost the flame arrester (air filter?) -- is there a better aftermarket one I should get, or just order the stock part from somewhere for a ton of $$$ I'm sure..

Figure in about 2 weeks we'll take her out and see how she runs.. will have more data about her performance then!

 

[achris]

Re: 1994 Magnum 350 w/ Thunderbolt on-distributor Ignition System: MSD Upgrade?

Flame arrestor is, ouch!!, $105, part # -805298A1.

Chris.......

 

[cannonford57]

Re: 1994 Magnum 350 w/ Thunderbolt on-distributor Ignition System: MSD Upgrade?

that flame arrester deal is stout for sure but any decent boat shop should have used stuff reasonable....and its not a breather but a flame arrester...important difference on a boat....hope it helps