Frank Acampora
Supreme Mariner
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2007
- Messages
- 12,004
A glimpse into the inner workings of the mind of Frank Acampora.
Last season I was in Cabelas and found this brand new Ballistic 13 X 21 for 200 dollars. It had 15 splines and the hub diameter looked correct so I said "what the hell" and bought it. NOW I needed to make it fit my 1979 Chrysler 140 engine. This will work with almost any late Chrysler and early Force engine.
The blade rake of this prop was too great and if just mounted on the shaft, the blade tips hit the exhaust snout. I have seen engines with the snout notched for clearance but that is just not an option for me. SO:
Looking at the photos, you can see that I was able to get about 1/8 inch clearance. I removed the anode (far left in last two photos). This is necessary with many aftermarket props. Then I clamped on a 1 1/8 inch stainless, split, shaft collar where the anode was. This early prop shaft has a slight land on it as it exits the gearcase so I slid the collar back to the land for more security and clamped it tight. However, if your shaft does not have a land, simply tighten the clamp right where the taper for the thrust collar ends. Tighten both screws evenly and as tight as you can get them with an allen wrench and you will never need to worry about it slipping.
The back of the Ballistic is closed so I used the collar as a thrust washer. Since the clamp was too far back, in my case I needed to add two flat washers (which I made) to space the prop out so it would not rub on the gearcase.
Now, I used the original thrust washer in the open front of the prop, a large flat washer, and the prop nut. Oh, Yes! My early shaft also has an extended tailcone mount so I used the stock tailcone. Force engines do not use a tailcone.
Ta-Da! One Ballistic prop with exhaust snout clearance. AND, the original thrust washer can be used on the shaft with the split collar in place if I want to change back to a stock prop on the water.
See: Don't let anyone tell you that there are no props for early Force engines. There is plenty of choice if you want to give it a little thought and do a little work.
Last season I was in Cabelas and found this brand new Ballistic 13 X 21 for 200 dollars. It had 15 splines and the hub diameter looked correct so I said "what the hell" and bought it. NOW I needed to make it fit my 1979 Chrysler 140 engine. This will work with almost any late Chrysler and early Force engine.
The blade rake of this prop was too great and if just mounted on the shaft, the blade tips hit the exhaust snout. I have seen engines with the snout notched for clearance but that is just not an option for me. SO:
Looking at the photos, you can see that I was able to get about 1/8 inch clearance. I removed the anode (far left in last two photos). This is necessary with many aftermarket props. Then I clamped on a 1 1/8 inch stainless, split, shaft collar where the anode was. This early prop shaft has a slight land on it as it exits the gearcase so I slid the collar back to the land for more security and clamped it tight. However, if your shaft does not have a land, simply tighten the clamp right where the taper for the thrust collar ends. Tighten both screws evenly and as tight as you can get them with an allen wrench and you will never need to worry about it slipping.
The back of the Ballistic is closed so I used the collar as a thrust washer. Since the clamp was too far back, in my case I needed to add two flat washers (which I made) to space the prop out so it would not rub on the gearcase.
Now, I used the original thrust washer in the open front of the prop, a large flat washer, and the prop nut. Oh, Yes! My early shaft also has an extended tailcone mount so I used the stock tailcone. Force engines do not use a tailcone.
Ta-Da! One Ballistic prop with exhaust snout clearance. AND, the original thrust washer can be used on the shaft with the split collar in place if I want to change back to a stock prop on the water.
See: Don't let anyone tell you that there are no props for early Force engines. There is plenty of choice if you want to give it a little thought and do a little work.
Well done FA.
