Ford PCM Engine on 96 Ski Nautique

I am about to but a 1996 Ski Nautique with this engine.
Can anybody tell me the exact type and HP rating of this engine?

ThX

It's a Ford 351, I'm not certain of the exact horsepower but it should be between 260-285 which is plenty for those size boats.

According to the owner is should have 295 HP...

Is it fuel injected maybe?

We have a 96 Ski, and it has the Ford 351 5.8 liter, it's fuel injected and has 310 horsepower. If it's carburated it may have a little less HP. Great boat for skiing and wakeboarding, but I will warn you, you have to put a small car in the back to get a decent wake. On the upside, it drives like a Porsche. Do you have any pics?

you can check the advertisement at:

http://www.vaarkrant.nl/skiboten/493061/Ski_Nautique_1996.html

How do you put more weight at the back because there are seats with the fueltank under it...?

Standard FORD 351
It IS NOT there 310 HP PROBOSS GT-40

Base motor was 240 HP. With the POWERPLUS transmission at 1.26 to 1 you are probably at 260 HP Carbed

Wow.. netherlands wakeboarders are getting crowded in here

I do know it is less than 285 ponies.

In 1996 I believe the base motor was the carbed motor with GT-40 heads, it made 285hp, named the ProBoss, great motor. Like TK said, it's not the same as the GT-40 motor, the GT-40 has the plenum on top with the throttle body on the side. In 1994 they made one year of a holley pro-injection based motor, it made 310hp. The carbed motors without the red valve covers have standard heads and a smaller carb, they are the 260hp variety, also plenty of power in a ski nautique. They may have offerred three motors in the 1993-96 years? My buddy had a 1993 with the ProBoss, it was 285hp, and looked just like the one in your pic. The GT-40 makes a bit more power on top and it is a little easier to start but in many ways I prefer the responsiveness of the carb, in marina situations the carb is more predictable than the 1996 GT-40 injection.

Go for it.

That is not a ProBoss motor as the Proboss had waste spark ignition. Hence how I know it makes less than 285 HP.

The ignition changed over the years, so did the names of the motors.

I believe the combination of GT-40 heads, bigger carb, and 3.5" exhaust risers yielded 285HP, this motor looks exactly like the 285 that was in my buddies 1993. I thought they called his motor the Pro-Boss but I could be wrong. His didn't have the individual coils.

On the other hand maybe they started putting the red aluminum valve covers on the 260HP motor in the mid/late 90's?

Either way, it's enough motor for that boat.

GT-40 and Pro Boss share the same heads. If the heads are marked "GT" and have 3 raised slash marks at the front of the head then it is the higher horsepower motor. For Pro Boss, CC info says 285 HP and PCM material quotes "over 300 horsepower"....
Either way...plenty...

Mikeski,

Do you have any more room in your head? The level of detail you have across a wide variety of subjects is kind of frightening.

hijack complete.

Thats a 285hp motor. It has the 3.5" risers, so it also likely has the GT40 heads. The distributorless ignition yall are referring to is know as the Pro-tec ignition. They stopped making it in 1995 i think. Mine has that system and i know you cant get parts for it.

Also, the slash marks on the GT40 heads are at the BACK of the motor

Regardless of the rated HP, it will have lots of torque for your needs. Spare parts can be obtained from skidim.com.

If it's been in seawater, expect some problems related to corrosion. These boats were designed for freshwater.

Fatsacs in the back will kick up the wake. Welcome Netherlands!

Thanks for all the answers!

Lets hope for a sunny summer this year in cold Holland...!

btw Where can you put the fatsacks because there are 3 seats at the back?

Best wake I can get out of it is to take out the back seat, put a fat seat there, 2 sacks either side of the motor, and a some sort of weight up front. We have the Pro Boss and it's more than enough power.