Hey guys, Still original power Twin 470's circa 1986... probably have in the neighborhood of 3000 hours per engine, most of which is trolling hours at 800-1000 rpm on Lake Ontario. I have a pair of stainless props, cruise at 3400-3500 rpm and about 24-25 knots, I believe top rpm is about 4400 and would be pushing 35 knots, but these engines have been babied pretty well. At cruise I'm pushing 6.5-7 gph per engine. I've encountered the typical 470 quirks, but nothing special. That being said, I will be faced with the repower questions anytime and due to cost I will probably drop in rebuilt 470 blocks rather than a big block V8, though it would be very nice, I just cannot stomach the cost to reconfigure and repower.
As far as the hardtop, the install is not that bad, with two people it can be completed in a weekend.