Lite all star unlimited

[ozbryan]

Anyone know that paint codes for the 84 boat?

 

[ozbryan]

Is this a 8407 hull or 7612?

 

[Mike McKnight]

Well there were two. One is the 8407 and the other is the 7612. The one you pictured is the 8407. I read a story on those boats once but it escapes me right now. I know the 8407 was unique because the turbine was a GE T-64 with like 4000HP I believe. It had a lot of difficulties and it took them 4 races before they qualified. The other was a piston boat. I have some info at my office I'll see if there are some paint codes

 

[Hydro Junkie]

Part of the problem with the GE T-64, according to many, was how it was installed in the boat. The engine was partially starved of air, due to the engine being installed "backwards". With the exhaust being routed forward, the upward exhaust was supposedly pushing the boat down while the rearward facing intake was trying to pull air out of a partial vacuum caused by the air flow around the cowling.

There could be some basis of fact in at least part of this as, two years later, the 8407, running as the Miss Budweiser T-1,with the engine replaced by the Lycombing T-55 installed with the intake forward, took the season high points championship. IIRC, the Bud team has issues running either T-1 or T-2 with a rear intake style "salt water" cowl as well. It was tried and, due to getting beat by at least the Miller, was not used again

 

[ozbryan]

Thanks guys really appreciate it.

The 8407 ran as a bud boat for 3 years also. The MHR shows one as (orange) any pictures of these boats out there?

 

[Mike McKnight]

Bryan there are no codes listed that I can find. The colors listed are Navy Blue, White, Red and Gold. The Lite 8407 was listed as the Lite All Star and the 7612 was the Lite All Star II both owned by RB Taylor according to their press kit. The Bud Boats you speak of were 86-88 prior to the T2 being built as the 8701. It has deep recesses in the transom. Here is a shot of it from '87. In '86 the cowl was mostly white with red striping.

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[ozbryan]

Thanks mike very interesting.

Fyi the boat in the picture is for sale if anyone is interested. Its a thunderboat reproduction hull.

 

[Gale54]

The main trouble with the Lite all star was the hull itself. When RB Taylor Ordered it from Jim Lucero it was to be powered by a Rolls Royce Merlin. It was to be a copy of the 83 Atlas just as the Executone was. So the hull was very light and ready for said Merlin. After delivery of the boat RB decided to go turbine ( some kinda deal with GE) and they put the extremely lightweight and powerful GE T64 engine in. The reason the engine was place in backwards was to utilize the already built in gearbox that the engine already had.

So problem 1. Way to much power to weight ratio. The boat wanted to fly and Tom could not slow it down enough to keep the engine from going into ground idle. 2. Only one set of gears for gear box, until GE engineers brought some to Madison Race. First time boat qualified in 1984. 3. the engine over torqued in Tri Cities and broke all the motor mounts. 4. Electronics became a problem because the boat spent so much time in the air the over rev limiter shut the engine down. To say how Tom D'eath even kept the boat on the water along with the willingness to stay with the project is beyond me.