[icrashalot]

Hi Guys, I have an H-M 289 engine in my 16-foot Shiada inboard/outboard with a penta 270 outdrive. It's a good set up and I've just recently purchased the boat from a friend. I got it as a basket case, it was taken apart for painting and was never finished until recently. When I first got the boat I put it together only temporarily as I was going to finish it but first, I needed to know if it ran. After getting it together and running it, I took it out on the water and it ran okay but wasn't right, I came back home and made some changes, and then I went back out a few weeks later. This time it ran great with no issues, so I came home and tore it back apart to finish the paint. it was primer before. So while I had the motor out, I took the intake off and did some things, and put it back together. I did a hurry-up job(****ty) putting the intake back together only to have it detonate and mess the starter and ring gear up because the cylinders were full of water. I know stupid ass, hurry up ****ty work and I'm paying for it. But the positive side is I did the head gaskets and the whole top end so I got to see how little of time was put on this engine. It was super clean inside, with no sludge at all. But I must say I was disappointed to find it was pretty much all-stock except for the hi-rise Cobra intake manifold it has. Nothing special about the heads, the valves weren't oversized and you could fit a pencil between the valves. But other than that I like the motor,(especially since I am a Chevy man all the way) I know very little about fords. Now remember I said I knocked the starter out when it detonated on me? so I pulled the starter out to find that it takes a special starter for the Holman and Moody engine. It has a different gear or something because when we put a stock Ford starter in and tried it, it locked the starter up. It was bound up in there, so after 2 or 3 starters I found someone who was familiar with it and hooked us up. I went looking for the guy only to find out he retired and no one else knew anything about it. Now i want to change the ring gear to a stock one so I can use a stock starter. So that is where I am with this motor. I should be out there taking measurements instead of being here on this computer. Lol I got to go.
If anyone knows what I'm talking about here please feel free to jump in, I really need to know why they put a different starter and ring gear in these motors, and can I change it to a stock Ford OEM starter and ring gear? Thanks for letting me share. See-yea