Reviving our Hovercraft with a 2X Horsepower Engine Swap! (It Rips)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- We bought a 1986 Scat hovercraft off of Facebook marketplace for what we thought was a great price! Turns out, hovercrafts are speciality vehicles with speciality parts, like a skirt that is no longer available, and a Rotax 277cc 2 stroke ultralight engine, where parts are very expensive to replace. When we found out we were missing the proper expansion chamber for the original 277cc engine, we decided to swap engines to a Rotor 503 twin cylinder 2 stroke snowmobile engine! We nearly doubled the displacement and horsepower, and how the hovercraft rips!
Thanks for Watching!
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Now you just need more pitch on the props to make use of that power :)
And clean leaves
@@ToplessTattoo yeah might have to run the mower around and bag all that up haha
Definitely, they could get lift at way lower rpm and be more controllable.
You said it for everyone else on the channel ty
For sure. More wind!
Sad to see Chuck gone but he has a family to support, hopefully he has time to visit, love his humor
It's Charles lol not chuck.
Charles has been in every video since the announcement he left.
@@jerrywilcox9890 chuck is short for Charles
He was in the episode, he was on the right when they put the engine back in. It's like a where's Waldo except it's Charles. 😂
@@andrewgee241 obviously because the videos are posted out of order, these videos where probably made before he left
You both might not think it but this here hovercraft is definitely a great thing to have. They come in all sizes.. and this one in particular is absolutely a go cart without wheels. The faded paint is not faded paint .. !!!! It's actually in the fiberglass . A cut and polish will bring it back to shiny red . It's gel coat. It's mixed in with the fiber glass. What y'all need to realize is that to turn y'all need to have thrust pumping through those rudder's. Also to stop quick just throttle off. When you throttle off that is the brakes... It'll drop down straight away and stop really quick. Y'all need to sit down on the motor cycle type seat and when cornering lean over just like a motorcycle... So just get out there and don't be afraid to open it up.. because that's when you will have thrust pumping through to turn and hover... They do slide sideways when turning at speed but once you realize that you have to lean just like a motorcycle you will notice that the lean will lift up the outside edge and the inside edge your leaning towards will grip the ground or water . They race these things and personally I love them alot !!!! I don't own one but I know how to operate one.. just like riding a motorcycle !!! If you lean forward the nose will slow it down and the air will all go out the back of the skirt.. please PLEASE don't give up on it.. please just do some research,,ie look for hovercraft races on the W.W.W and y'all see WHY I love them so much... Remember gel coat will come up like new with a cut and polish.. I think it is "a great " advertising platform for CARS AND CAMERAS... It's got plenty of power now so you can add lighting etc .. take it out on a big open area and open it up !!!! Ride it like a motorcycle.. an hour or two you will realize just how fantastic this is.. thank you sincerely for all your time and effort to bring us this exciting content.. I truly love CARS AND CAMERAS . 100%. 10/10 in my book 👍 ❤❤❤
I’m assuming what you mean by cut and polish is “wet sand and buff”. I would use at least 600 grit wet/dry sand paper with warm water and Dawn dish soap mix.
Gel coat is just like paint, it’s a layer on the outside of the fibreglass. It can be polished just like paint using a cut and polish compound. And if it isn’t in very good condition then more can be purchased from either a specialised fibreglass store or even from a boat shop, it can be sprayed on, though it’s thicker than your normal paint and the spray gin needs to be cleaned out straight afterwards with acetone.
Time to put a little more pitch in the blades to push more air
Exactly what I was thinking
It looks like there are spots to attach more fan blades too.
Not only that it looks like the rutters are a bit too short
There's a fine line between to much pitch and to little. There's huge clubs that race these things and y'all need to investigate a wee bit because once you see them racing them you will see how there supposed to be ridden.. also the clubs will have all the secret little bits of knowledge .. like the perfect pitch.. (etc etc)
Yes but he had it set up with very little pitch with the little motor now the bigger engine can push a little bit more air so you may have to readjust his pitch
Watch videos of how pros race these things, lots of shifting your weight far to the side to steer tighter. Gotta send it around the Grand Prix of course. Quality stuff as always
You’ve all came along way since dad’s garage!!! LETS GO!!!
Enter and exit the water at full throttle for max lift. Makes transitions a whole lot smoother.
Yes more throttle equals more air out the back and the bottom
@@timb9212 don’t think he needed you to explain his comment
@@teaganthornbrue did it anyway
Awesome move Ike! But I want to tell you as a friend and native Buffalonian, and connoisseur of 2 strokes and snowmobiles, that you may want to use that oiler. They offer far superior oiling to the crank which would be HIGHLY beneficial to long periods wot operation. Ontop of that it is jetted for straight gas not premix you are leaning out the mixture! Not good for 2 smokers!! If you dont want to use the oiler because of yhe extra room it will take, at least put bigger jets in it so.its not running lean wide open! Love you guys!!
And surprise, they burned down the engine because of exactly what you said.
Was that Charles lurking in the background trying to hide from the camera?!😂😂
Working on something else
charles is always lurking.
he's just a lurker🤷♂️
I wonder if making extensions for the rudders would help the turning
Take it hovercraft racing 😊
This brings a whole new meaning to off reading for you guys. When I was a kid they would bring in this dude with a hover craft every summer. Thing was the place they brought it was this waiting pool so there wasn't much to see him do other than do a couple dough nuts. Either way that was cool and they haven't done that event in over a decade. Hover crafts has to make a comeback. Please help make that happen!!!
I can only imagine what the neighbors, or anyone driving down that road, think! Great stuff. Good luck Charles.
I can’t be the only one who’s absolutely loving the hovercraft and seeing you guys work on it !!!
Add two more rudders at the edges of the fan shroud - total of four, and the full hight of the fan.
Do some research and see if making the rudders longer (in the air flow) will add anything as well. Just a thought. Enjoy that machine! Thanks for the content.
I was pretty impressed by Ike driving in the tight area of the yard! It’s not easy! ❤
Have a river trip. I've had hovercraft, with rotax engines, a 377 and 503 twin carb. Great fun! Went down the Upper Bann river in Northern Ireland from Portadown to Lough Neagh. I'm not sure if you were over the hump while on the water. The craft creates lots of spray and does not go very fast if it's below hump and still acts as a displacement craft rather than an air cushion vehicle. There are look up tables for the fan so that you can have the engine loaded correctly for the number of blades and the pitch angle of the blades. Enjoyed your 2 videos. Thanks
17:53 what a great toy for your guy's hard work over the years! Please stay safe! 🙏 love yall
Now let’s see you getting it looking as good as it runs!!! Great job guys. Can’t wait to see what’s next!
Add some extensions to thos 22:24 e rudder blades to full height & tweak those blades a degree or two & lean forwards more over the bars when on the throttle it'll be race craft heaven😂😂😂😂😂
I put a VW engine in one of these. It's like driving a giant air hockey puck! Kudos!!! What a blast!
This was one of my favorite videos. I know it was such a good feeling for y'all when u got it going
I know NOTHING about hovercraft. Now I know nothing plus something. As Always, May God Bless you and yours! 😇
They make allot of noise once started...+2.
@@bryduhbikeguy Righto! And catch leaves!
As Always, May God Bless you and yours! 😇
You need more pitch and surface area on the fan blades, plus larger surface area on both rudder blades, and then put some ballast in the bow to help her run more level, meaning you won`t be dragging the stern through the water. She rode more level on the hard land surface, but steerage was poor. Definitely try more surface area on the rudder blades. Maybe attach some extension strips down the rear edges of the rudder blades?. Great vid guys, good to see a couple of good old boys having so much fun.
Still needs more prop pitch! No matter how much hp you put on it, it's never going to get the speeds that it can reach. Like I said in my last post I had the exact one with a 35hp Rotax and with 1 person ran 45mph, mine ran faster at half throttle than yours. I also know from experience that to many rpm's can break the blades or strip or break the drive belt by over reving the engine.
Good luck!!
So cool, built a hovercraft when i was young and wanted one again ever since. Did seem down on power for the size of engine but as someone said props may need adjusting and i was taught to think of it kinda like a motorcycle you have to use power and lean to get it to turn.
Either way have lots of fun and be safe :)
Agreed with the added pitch.....the second thing noticed is in the water you can see the balance of the machine is tail heavy which lifts the front and blows air from the skirt out the front like an air brake...the added pitch may force the front down but i don't know if it will be enough for engine weight compensation it may require 5-10lbs of lead at the very tip of the craft for max leverage. Looks fun..... definitely needs more load on the motor
🤣🤣🤣 Its a ride-able Leaf Blower !!! Some hot laps on the Grand Pre would be cool to see in that thing. This is awesome!!
More power means you need to add blade pitch
They would have had that plan in mind before buying the new engine. Part of the process is running as-is to see where you stand.
Busco Beach for sure, it would be fun to put a long YANKUM kinetic recovery rope (maybe 2 or 3 together) on a center post and do fast circles. It would be fun to try
That'd be great in the winter rescuing folks on or through thin ice. Good work!
I just seen Charles in the shadows ducking and bucking lol. I’m happy to see him. Best luck to you fellas in life. Thank you for the great content.
I've ridden a few of those a couple of times, even blew up a motor.
A few tips I might offer you guys.
1. Weight is important for control. You may have noticed that the hovercraft turns if you don't have your weight centered. Take advantage of that and sort of shift your weight like on a snomobile or ATV.
2. You might want to look to see if you can find a few more blades to add to the fan.
3. When on the water, you need enough speed to get over the hump of water in front of you, just like a planing boat. Just like said boat, once you get over it, it'll get a lot faster.
4. You guys noticed that shutting off the throttle on land can involve an abrupt halt, it's kind of worse in the water. The skirt and the bow can dig in.
I'm sure you guys will get the motor fixed, have fun with it!!!
Pretty cool leaf blower 😂
Those skidoo/Rotax snowmobile fan cooled engines are great, they are reliable and powerful for what they are, and the colder it is the more power they make they like it around 10°f...I got a 2003 ski doo 380 fan cooled and I can move along at 55mph fine (I've hit 70 before) and it gets up top speed quick
Awesome. You know when you have a gap like that, take a old rod from a arc (stick) welder if you have some and knock the flux off it. place it in the gap and weld across it with the mig to bridge the gap. Just a thought, cool content thank you!
When I saw Charles sneaking around in the background behind the hovercraft at 8 minutes and 30 seconds I almost yelled out "hey Charles"!! right through my phone screen. 😂 It was weird. You guys need to put a big Mr Hankey underneath the scat logo😂
That snippet of Isaac at the end is pretty funny. Love it.
I knew a guy in Green Bay Wisconsin who had a Scat Dealership and Brought 2 out to the river not far from my house. When they were Brand New they ran Exactly like that one does NOW! That old engine was Plane wore out! I hope you guys did no do too much damage when you ran it with NO Aircleaners on it's maiden Voyage.....
I have around 200 hours flying behind a 503 Dual Carb on a flightstar UL Great power there
That thing is cool as a fan!
I love the new video format, content etc. but I really missed the build footage of the engine mounting, etc. I would watch the longer video but I know I can't speak for all others. Long time subscriber. Rock on!
Great work guys, and though you guys already did so much to get that thing up and moving again, you might want to consider swapping out that gas motor for a high power electric and increasing the rudder size for a lot more responsiveness and steering control, plus it'll save your ears and be less weight overall.
Cutting the pipe shorter would shift the powerband higher in the rpm range which would only add more power if the porting can support it. ****One thing to take in to consideration is if you plug the injection pump and mix your oil in the gas then the engine will run LEANER as a result because some of what should have been gas is now oil.**** A lean 2 stroke is a fine line, either a bat out of hell or a melted pile.
From an aircraft perspective: You are loosing some "Steering Authority" by having the exhaust change the angle of air coming off the fins. In other words don't let your exhaust blow a different direction than your fins are turning. Strait back, or down would be best. Love you guys! Great content!
I would love to see this thing out at Busco with a sweet WW2 style fighter plane paint job.
Wow that thing looks fun. I wonder if larger rudders in back would make it steer better? Be interesting to see what they did with the version 2.
Now the thing just needs a powerwash and paint job. Such an awesome toy. The new motor fit like a glove and really did the trick!
How thoughtful of the airboat to turn the camera for you to face you 16:25
*Cleetus Mcfarland heavy breathing intensifies*
Cleet just bought a 6 figure helicopter, don’t think he cares… 😂
Helicopter, Hovercraft, Both big fans. Same Same, but different!
lol referencing cleeters flying over the handlebars.
They didn’t ls swap it so he don’t care lol
Cleet is humble!!! He loves Cars and Cameras!!!!
Wow I did not think you guys would get it up and running... Looks cool for sure
yall are the main reason i buy old stuff to rebuilt u enjoy it way more when u work your ass off
Excellent video John , Issac you guys did super on this small hovercraft vechile and engine help lots more to ! Yes have races with and be so cool !
Awesome ❤ you guys did it. These obtuse machines work best as ice machines for ice fishing.
Awesome! What about bigger fins on the back for steering would that help it turn better?
nope.
Moterbike Mike here, DUDES DO NOT RIDE ON YOUR KNEES you'll go over the bars very easy. Stay seated and lean accordingly to the situation. Ride safe brothers
That would be a blast out on a frozen lake
I was thinking the same thing. Don't have to worry about thin ice at all with that thing. Would be great for super late season ice fishing.
You need to use this for leaf blowing. Race against a leaf blower for clearing an field
Seeing the directional stability it's a good job hover cars never became a reality, looks massive fun though😊.
John is so scared all the time Lol. Issac is like no problem it’s fun lol
For reals. Sometimes you just gotta send it. They have plenty of pads. I have a feeling he probably had some bad accident in his past and has minor ptsd.
@@fortyfukinsevenhe got dropped on his head a lot as a baby 🤯
Y'all should have been watching from the beginning when John was double the size that he is now and he was absolutely scared to death of anything if anybody even moved quickly John would jump. The first time I seen them years ago I said Lord how did Isaac and John even meet their two completely different people this will never work
Idk I've seen John rip pretty hard lol, he's not scared he's just cautious. Probably has avoided a lot of damage/injury because of it
He is a pretty boy. He just likes to hold the camera lol
One of your more interesting projects, these last few years, for sure. 👍 I'd try to keep away from rocky dirt areas, and stick with grassy areas, or the water. In Britain, when they race, they keep em on the grass, mostly, and usually only cross very narrow bodies of water, so they can keep the momentum up, all the way around the course.
Very cool indeed Isaac. I knew that if you got the hp boost you would get it moving. Awesome job.
If you guys want to jack up the excitement factor by a hundred fold, put some wings on the Scat and turn it into a flair craft. They're cheap and easy to make and that thing will literally fly 5 feet off the water! Lots of videos on You Tube.
Do it do it do it. Like an ukrainiplane
@@kevinleee3408 Ekranoplan, but "ukrainiplane" is the funniest thing I've read all day. LOL Thanks for that. 😆
Wow! That's one hell of a serious leaf blower! It sounds like she needs a little bit more pitch to them blades now that you have more than enough HP to turn the fan? Good luck guys.
I thought you had put camo on the guard till I realised it was leaves 🤣
It like a different vehicle with the engine swap , great job 👍
Perfect for getting to ikes place if it floods again( 🤞hopefully he won’t need it though)
I've missed these style videos alot, just you and Ike working on stuff. Resubbed
I have 3 of these scats (scat 2's) and they are by far my most favorite toys.
That's quite the leaf blower you feller's got there. Like a few have mentioned blade pitch will increase control as well as full fan control blades should increase control, theories to test . But cut and polish with a biike seat and a front counter weight for engine difference in weight will provide a more sit back and enjoy position and learn how much lean/ throttle needed to carve those "aiir waves ".
Wrap the exhaust, put more pitch in the blades and have some fun
In the 90s there were huge hovercrafts going from France to UK and back as regular charter capable bringing 400 people and 50 cars.
conversion was more like 18-20 hp (15 + 3-5 cause wrong expansion chamber lol) to 52, but awesome vid, nice to see the thing motoring around again
To get the best you need to change the pulleys to suit the 503c.
Then adjust the pitch and use an anemometer to set max thrust.
My scat 2 has a 503 with a gearbox to the fan and it shifts! Even uphill!
Great video, much more fun to this old stuff being resurrected than unboxing of Chinese crap.
Shortening the pipe is going to make that motor spin at a higher rpm. Especially 4 inches. I wrote this before finishing the video. Highly likely that thing melted down because of the pipe modification. I would add that length back into the header and obviously check your main jets. Cool video!
Shortening the pipe would just shift the powerband higher in the rpm range (obviously not ideal but wouldn't kill it), jetting is the reason it melted.
@@bigdaddy12122 They would need to raise the exhaust port for that change take place. I don't think it will kill it either. I do agree with you just trying to keep it simple. It's going to raise the rpm the motor makes power at. Without raising the exhaust part it's only going to hurt it
@@bigdaddy12122 I understand fuel is a part of the cooling I drag race snowmobiles When the weather is warmer I jet down. If I was doing something like what they are doing I would want more piston to cylinder clearance to prevent 4 cornering
Expansion chambers use sound and exhaust pressure to push back into the combustion chamber, sort of boost with sound waves.
19:58 this really shows the true power of this thing
I think a net that goes from the top of the fan shroud down to the back of the seating position may help with the leaves. A fire proof cut out for the exhaust for sure though.
oh man my neighbor had one when i was a kid there so much fun good times great job i would like to see it restored
Sorry guys I have never done Facebook and I won't. But,,you can do all sorts of great stuff with the hoover craft 👏..
✌️👍🇬🇧
2am and this Old Man from Washington NC finally getting a chance to watch with my coffee ☕. Always great video and laughing. Love you guys 🛵🧔💝💝💝
Yes Leaves on Exhaust is sometimes an issue... I think You never got over Hump Speed which was pretty typical of old scats even with the extra power... just practice get it trimmed and weight low you will have some fun... I have over 30 years in Hovercraft and I still occasionally make bad decisions on a turn and have to do evasive maneuvers but i want to portray the sport in positive light just hardly ever record my escapades anymore. Get the hoverbug and respect the machine!!
Not to be mean,but at least we now have proof John's limit of strength is both hands on a bendy straw.At least he's good at holding a camera and witty banter ;), usually. Ok, just yanking your leash John. The crud in the fan shroud shows it's pulling tremendously. We'll still be your best fans.
Maybe try bigger steering fins on the back.
definitely restore it, I remember the first video you guys said it needed some fiberglass repair. adjust the pitch of the blades to get more out of your all terrain go cart!
Congrats now you have a ride on leaf blower. That thing would be fun to take on the water at busco.
There has been one of these bouncing around of facebook/craigslist for 10 years (in south florida). With a rotax 635cc engine. I can't imagine how many hands it has been in. I've seen it everywhere from $1000 to free!
That thing is awesome! 503's are bulletproof, we had an old Blizzard 5500 that lasted for years, being abused that entire time! Well done gentlemen! edit: I got to the very end and spit out my drink, maybe that one wasn't as bulletproof! lol
Ike didn’t use the oil injection and you cannot bypass it on those Rotax engines. The oil goes straight to the bearings, and they don’t get the oil they need if you bypass the oil injection. Plus, since the fuel isn’t supposed to be premixed, the added oil is making the engine run lean. As soon as Ike bypassed the oil injection, I knew it wasn’t going to last long.
@adamr9215 ours wasn't oil injected, but it was also a 1980. I had a 7500 that had an extra reservoir for oil that directly oiled something in the bottom end.
@@klapaucius77 Yea, the old ones were fine. But, if it’s set up for oil injection, then you have to keep it.
Those 503 rotax engines hammer hard with twin carbs. If you have the chance you can try and find a newer 550 fan rotary which is a huge upgrade over the 503 using reed piston port intakes.
Put some heat wrapping on the muffler
Ike looked super excited on the Tim Taylor upgrade boxes(grunts)
Amazing upgrade project yall! Great work as always
It's a shame that you lose so much power running two headers into one expansion chamber, but it still has got more than it needs, it'll be fun when you get the chance to take it on a frozen river for some high speed action. Just don't stall it.
Great work, guys
Isaac, Now when your property floods again, you can look forward to going for a rip!😅
I think you better watch Cleetus video and get the tip from buddy on how to ride it and what to do so you don't go over the handle bars too many times but then again it's always fun watching it happen LOL!
Man!!! Only thing that would be better than a hovercraft? Is a pair of hovercrafts!!!!
It would be awesome and you could brand a shirt off it, y’all would be “ THE SCATT PACK!!!!
That's awsome! Thanks again guys👌👍👍
That's how it should have been to start . Great job boys .
Man this thing is awesome by far one of my favorites from cars and cameras 😊. Maby try modifying the rudders to get more steering afority
And now it's time to dial in the pitch of the blades
Y’all just bought a fun version of a giant leaf blower 🤣 that’s just awesome lol
The boys have conquered the woods, the 1/4 mile and can now add the sea to that list!
at mini mayhem that would be awesome going across the ponds they have at Bosco beach and to see it on the drag strip.
Thing is awesome! I wonder if it would benefit from putting a smaller pulley on the fan (top) so you don’t have to rev it so high. That engine definitely makes enough bottom end torque to sufficiently spin the fan pulley faster. I think lower engine RPM + faster fan RPM + steeper blade pitch would make that thing a lot more drivable. It seems like more air is being diverted to the lift pillow compared to rearward thrust than needs to be.
Hey guys keep this in mind for the mini mayhem events please, it would be so cool to get this kind of footage. can we get drone footage this year of everyone takin off for group rides? it has got to look like somethin straight out of mad max lol
Good video guys little backhand heavy though you need to even your weight out and it'll probably steer