Triple deuces

"A friend of mine was telling

"A friend of mine was telling me today that I can get an intake manifold for my 165 L6 that mounts three, two barrel carbs to it. Each one would feed two cylinders. Have any of you guys ever heard of this?"

"Sounds like the old 389 tri-p

"Sounds like the old 389 tri-power Pontiac GTO's and similar. I think Dodge had a similar setup for the 340 V-8. You will be in a whole new league for gas consumption!
If you are looking for more power (and who isn't?) why not just repower with a small block V-8? That can easily get you up to 350 hp, and a whole lot more if you really want to go way out.
I have just repowered my boat with a Merc 6.2 MAG MPI SBC, which I hope will be a good combination of power when you want it, and decent cruise efficiency because of the EFI. It is rated at 350 crank hp, which should result in about 320 shaft hp. Time will tell if this was a good decision.
Rod"

"Ahhh, Tripple Carbs
It woul

"Ahhh, Tripple Carbs
It would be probably more economical if you just paid a friend to stand over the top of your 165 and pour a bucket of fuel into the existing carb when you floor it.

Tripples can provide all sorts of drama's with synchronising and keeping them that way.
Rods right, if your looking for more bang for your buck you should think about an upgrade to one of those engines with the funny V shaped blocks.
Or you could just move your 165 over and add another one next to it.
Cheers
Peter C"

"It amazes me how many people

"It amazes me how many people think more carbs equals more gas burned. Unless it's running rich, a motor will suck in the same amount of gas through one or fifty carbs. More air will flow in with more/ bigger carbs (to a point), and that means more gas burned, but no where near what some people think.

The critics are correct in that you'll have far more carb problems with three vs. one carb, however.

Jeff"

Dead right as per usual Jeff b

Dead right as per usual Jeff but my point is that unless multiple carburetta systems are well maintained and synchronised properly they will generally cause your your fuel consumption to go through the roof.

The average Joe boat owner has very little concept of balancing/synchronising multiple carburetta systems and so why not use the KISS system and "Keep It Simple Stupid"

Given equal opportunities and money was not an option what would you do jeff fit the carbs to the 165 or upgrade the engine to a nicely suited V8 with a single carb ?

"I'm not neccessarily look

"I'm not neccessarily looking to put three carbs on my motor, I just hadn't ever heard of something like that. It sounded interesting though. And yes, I will always be looking for more power, at the right price of course. If money grew on trees I definetely wouldn't have just a 6 cylinder in my boat, that's for sure. Just for the heck of it though, let's talk about putting a v-8 in. First of all, would my little 17 footer be able to hold the weight difference between a L6 and a V-8? Although that inline 6 is pretty heavy to begin with. And how would I modify the mounts?"

"A 17 footer might be a touch

"A 17 footer might be a touch small for the V-8, but it depends on how much freeboard you have at the stern. The small block V-8s are not that heavy really. I replaced by V-6 with a 6.2 V-8 and added less than 100 lbs net weight. In fact I don't notice my boat sitting any lower in the water at all. But there is a huge performance difference. I went from 180 hp to 350.
In terms of fit, the back engine mounts will fit right up to your current Alpha transom plate and bolt right on. They are all the same. The drive shaft splines are all the same. In fact the Bravo engine mounts fit an Alpha transom, and the shaft splines are the same. Any new engine will likely come with new front mounts (mine did) that bolt right to the main engine side rails in your engine bay. You can check all the dimensions with the drawings available on Merc's website, or I can give them to you if you like. You will need to change the current exhaust downpipe to a V-8 Y pipe. Again, no big deal, it will bolt right up to your Alpha transom plate. Or do like I did, go side exit exhausts. They sound great.
Rod"

"I bet your boat sits up and b

"I bet your boat sits up and barks now when you hit the loud pedal Rod, thats a big jump in HP
Cheers
Peter C"

for us 'old timers'tri

for us 'old timers'tripower was a very common thing back in the 40's&50's pontiac had a real hot one synching was a big headache

"Peter;
I think the new 6.2 i

"Peter;
I think the new 6.2 is going to be great; right now I only have about 4 hours on it, so taking it easy trying to do a good job of breaking it in (not down!). Not babying it, but no WOT starts, and nothing over 3500 RPM so far.
Rod"

"I don't have the alpha ou

"I don't have the alpha outdrive. I think mine is the MR or pre-alpha. Would a v-8 still mount on to the rear mounts? I guess I would also have to step up to a more beefed up outdrive, like a Bravo maybe?
Truthfully, I doubt I'll be doing any of this, at least not with this boat. It's an old 1976 Somerset from Somerset Kentucky. It's a nice older boat with nice lines, not like some of those other boats i've seen from that period. Some of them look like Hogs. If I ever decide to step up to a bigger motor it'll probably be with a different boat. Fun to dream though."

"Mr Props
Headache is right !

"Mr Props
Headache is right !!!!!!!
I spent many years working on multiple systems, using many different types of Carbs but the one thing they all had in common was that for the first 30 minutes after you balanced/sync them they were brilliant and from there it would slowly go downhill.
The only way you could ever keep them well balanced/sync for any great period was if it was a brand new setup with brand new carbs, linkages and filters.
Grahame
Its fun to dream and who doesn't at some time, but the disscusion is worth it as there could be another grahame somewhere else who is considering the same option and has been reading the posts.
I can definitly agree with you about the nice lines, most of the new stuff doesnt interest me to much, I love the lines and style of 60,s to 80's designs they generaly dont just look like a hunk of plastic.
Have a great weekend guys
Cheers and Happy boating from the land down under.
Peter C"