The summer of 2004 - that’s how long it’s been since my V-King has seen any water. I used the boat to shoot photos of Andy Frost’s STV for a feature article, and it could barely idle since the injectors were so fouled from long term storage and lack of use. That was the third and last time it was used, and after that it was carefully detailed and returned to its spot in my garage, where it has been ever since. I doubt it would even start now, so the injectors will be removed next week and sent to Brucato Machine and Tool for cleaning and flow testing. I’ll run the boat for the injector test, then the powerhead will come off and likely be put to use on the STV for further testing, which will then be Helmut’s department.

:: X-Stream V-King at Alva - click on image to enlarge ::

Below is the powerhead that’s currently on the boat - a virgin Mercury Racing 2.4 liter EFI Bridgeport. It’s one of my all-time favorite racing engines, and also one of the best sounding. It’s currently equipped with a Jay Smith Racing Engines drag flywheel, Simon Motorsports alternator, and assembled using stainless-steel hardware. Slated for testing is a Brucato Pro Control Unit, which is a fully-adjustable fuel management system, and JSRE and SST intake spacer plates. After the engine is dialed in with these components, a Brucato Stackable Velocity System will be added for further performance analysis.

:: Mercury Racing Bridgeport EFI V6 - click on image to enlarge ::

Admittedly, I’m a little nervous about running the V-King. It’s been years since I’ve driven one of these over 100 MPH, and my current boat should be capable of running over speed that fairly easily. It’s extremely light, lacking a core and any foam flotation, and not fully set up for top speed runs yet. Finally, not an ideal test platform either, so these are the reasons we’ll likely perform top speed runs on the STV.

Still, I think I need to get away from the day-to-day Scream And Fly tasks and get myself in the cockpit again.