First let me say that I'm new to Mud Motors and have never driven one (I did ride in a GD this past duck season and knew I had to have one). I will be picking up my new GT 1860 w/35GTR next week. I had the boat rigged out with all kinds of "options" to accomodate The fishing and hunting I plan on doing with the rig. And I should add that I won't be doing much "mud running" as shown in all the videos. My attraction to the MM boats and motors was the shallow water capabilities over a muddy bottom, which is where I will be hunting and fishing most of the time.
Now, I did not do any Mods to the motor. I visit this site every day along with the GT site and it seems as though most of you guys have some form of Mod done to your motor. What is the purpose of these mods? Surely they are not neccessary or a MUST. Is it just to get more speed, is it for load carrying purposes, or just to be able to sling more mud around than the other guy? Are there more mechanical issues with a mod motor or more issues without mods. I guess my question is do I really need to mod my motor for it to get me from point A to point B reliably.

Depends on what kind of load you plan to carry and if you can be satisfied with the performance of stock HP. I'd bet that those folks with modded motors make up only a small percentage of the motors out there.

IMO I would run a stock motor. I know of way to many folks with modded motors and 98% of them are always jacking with it or having some kind of problem. And most of them have 60 hrs or less on the motor. I ran a stock PD and put a lil over 170 hrs on it in less than 2 yrs and never had a problem....find a modded motor that has done that.

Like stated this is just my opinion, but give me reliability any day of the week over a few extra MPH.

Not to mention the big hole it leave in your wallet!

But it sure is fun waving when your passing people up!!!

I plan on a Stage-1 someday. I need a little more HP than I have now to haul a good hunting load. I struggle getting on plane loaded down and as long as I am not in the thick stuff I can, eventually. But trying to get on plane in thick hyacinths which we are over run with it tuff. I have no problems with a lighter load but more HP than needed is the way to go IMO. Maybe its just me but I don't see alot more problems out of modded motors.

Load carrying for me. Its nice to still do 30mph with ease being loaded.

i dont think anyone has blown anything significant(sp) with stage 1.

alot of us have long runs mine 17miles, and going up current with a load 3 guys decoys blind 17 mph up river sucks, so its nice to run that and still be in mid/high 20's

After Hoyt down at Gator-Tail did a little .. sumthin' sumthin' on mines .....


That's when the casecasket stop leakin' !!!!

Mod's aint nessessary unless you wants to be "Modern" !!!!



P.S. ~ Gots 'bout 280hrs on mines with 'bout 100 of 'em with the miner mods with nothin' but hard butt runnin' and I ain't had No Problems !!

price you pay to play,

I think theres a superet secret out. .....shssss!!!

I'm on my second 35 briggs and both of them had issues under 50 hours stock,my case gasket also leaked before I did the mods.The problems were all minor except the first motor had a blown diaphram in the fuel pump and would not stay running.

Got the mods for hauling loads and I had spare cash.I'm happy with it but I knew that getting the mods voided my warranty from briggs.That is something you have to think about if money is an issue.If you are going to the GT customer appreciation day you can ride/run in someones modded rig and you will be able to see the differance right away.If I was you I would get the rig and run it a while and load it up and see how she runs.If you are only going to use the boat a few times a year and don't have a far run I would leave it stock.A stock motor is going to get you where you want to go just not as fast.

Honestly I believe the #1 reason guys get mods is to compensate for a small penis.

The one Mod I would recommend for you to check out (given where you live and I expect where you will be running) is a Stainless Steel muffler. The stock muffler will get you from point A to point B but the internals are not built very solid and it has a tendency to break baffles causing a heck of a racket. If you look at the stock muffler design on a 35, the header pipes are below the muffler so if any of the tack welds break loose the junk can end up in your cylinders. If you are running the salt and brackish water the stock muffler will be a rust pile in no time.

As for the rest- its up to you depending on the load carrying, accelleration, hole shot you want/need. Hope that helps.

mods and 500$ mufflers are cool, but u don't need them. alot of folks run rigs that would need a 90hp outboard to run right., that's why they need the mods.

i'd take dual stockers over 1 maypop engine anyday.

if i had the scratch i'd buy a seperate powerhead and let hoyt hop it up just for playdays and the summer, i wouldn't trust it for hunting season.

Stock muffler after 35 hours out of the box cost me a new block and rebuild of the motor. The baffling broke off and during transit pieces made its way back into the exhaust port. Next time she started she destroyed the heads. Had it been out of warranty it would have been a very expensive repair. Any load on a stock motor with an "average" load over a long haul is a long ride back to the launch. I have modes in the mail with hopes of running more than 18mph with 3 guys and a gear. If it cost a little more and I can bring my crew with me a little quicker then money well spent. Times spent in the blind are where it's at whether it cost you a few beers in the garage tweaking things up or not. I'll take that over twice the travel time and a rebuilt block any day.

I did mods to push a big boat and heavy loads, it did work well for me.
Next time I am doing duals.

JD

I started off with a 23GT on a 1544 G3 boat, that motor was impressive handled like a champ and was good for the boat size. I got an opportunity to sell it half way through last duck season and it hurt to do so but I have heard from a wise man to never pass up a chance to sell a boat. Luckily I have a good podnuh that let me run his 1846 GTB with a 35 GTR and it was a powerhouse (all stock) especially over my 23 GT. BUT, when I ordered mine I had the a stage 1 kit installed and the difference is beyond words. I will admit you don't fly down any canal at breakneck speeds with the stage 1 but WITH A LOAD you will outrun the competition and to me that is worth it.

I always hunt with friends and to lose 8-10 mph cause you want to run 3 people and gear just aint cool to me so I went with mods that would allow me to run 30+ mph loaded. We spend so much money on hunting to begin with I don't see the big fuss over cost to mod out a motor. Dont get me wrong i'm not ballin out of control or anything but I know what is worth my money to me and 22 mph down the calumet to the wax just aint gonna happen EVER AGAIN

maybe you should have spent the money ON your pee pee rather than on your motor!

one of the two best country albums of the past few years

the other is Mescalito by Ryan Bingham

JJ @ the Texas Club in Baton Rouge June 5th. I'll be there.

Just got the phone call---

Jamey Johnson at Chevy's in Hammond April 23rd.

Went there Sat. night to see Jimmy Wayne and was bullshitin with the owner tellin him he needed to book Jamey Johnson... so he did.

Yall come up to my neck of the woods!

I had more issues with a stock motor than my modded motor. I have almost 200 hours sence Hoyt did my mods and i really beleive i have a better motor now than before. Hell i ran it full of water for atleast a week last year and had a srew from my carb go trough my head and still run the scared up piston. Hell i find my self running all the time with the engine trimmed down and still running 30 at 3700 rpms. If you ever run one get your wallet ready. Keep the rpm's to a minimum and it will last.

I am pulling mine appart tommorrow and sending it to extreme V twins for some upgrades. The only reason I am doing it is for load carrying ability. These motors just dont do well with a big load(3or 4 guys and gear). I am running their muffler right know and I bought that because mine rusted right off at around 180 hours.

Oh and mine is stock and its leaking oil, Been doing that since 150 hours. I have also had plenty of small problems with the stock Briggs. You need to have some mechanical abilitys to own one of these motors, or live next to a mechanic who can do it for you.

Would never trade my rig for an outboard setup but mudmotors are alot more trouble stock or not.