READER RIDES The Talleys are the owners of this 19’ Eliminator Daytona, one of 13 ever built in Kevlar, according to Keith. Before rigging, the hull weighed 425 lbs. Keith got his start in boating with an old ski boat. “A friend took me for a ride in his Sunkisst Tunnel jetboat at 90 mph, and since then I’ve been hooked,” he says. His first boat was a Bahner, which he kept for one season before moving up to an Earl Smith Gullwing jetboat and started lake racing.
19’ Eliminator Keith & Tina Talley Marshall, TX “I started racing with a group of friends in the early 1990s,” he recalls. “They were going by the name Outlaw Boat Racers. We now have several Outlaw racing events a year, where we hang out and compete.” In addition to the Eliminator, Keith has owned and restored an 18' Youngblood that was voted “Hottest Jetboat” by Hot Boat Magazine in 2006. The rig has a wing to help keep the nose down at high speeds, Miersch low-profile intake and popoff valve on the pump, and high-tech ratchet. “The boat is a rocket, yet the engine is mildmannered enough to beach hop and ride around in,” Keith attests. “At 14:1 compression, it requires race gas—but there’s an important rule: ‘Ya gotta pay to play.’ Top speed is 111 mph on the
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bare motor, and I use a 350-hp NOS system just in case.” Keith and Tina take the boat to the lake every weekend during boating season, and hit several of the Outlaw lake races. The Eliminator’s engine (as shown in our images) is 582 c.i. big-block Chevy dynoed at 951 hp at 6,500 rpm. It features a Dart 9.8, 4.600 bore Billet main cap block, Brodix 2 oval port heads with T&D shaft rockers, 4340 crankshaft 4 3/8 stroke, 4340 H-beam rods, Comp belt drive, Moroso vacuum pump, Profiler intake, 1050 Dominator carb, NOS Big Shot system and 775 lift solid-roller cam. Keith is now building a new allaluminum 500 c.i. engine that will have 88-mm turbos and a CSU Dominator blow-through system. He’s looking to achieve 140 on the 1/8 mile course.
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