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					Originally Posted by  speedpilot
					 
				 
				Hi Everyone, 
 
New to the forums - great site!  Lots of good info. here.  I'm looking to maybe move up to a V 20 this spring at some point.  I may be going to look at one this week - a 1978 model with a 1988 Mercury 150 h.p. "Black Max" outboard.  Anyone have any thoughts/advice on this setup?  Also, what's the best way to check out the transom on these boats?  Thanks in advance! 
			
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 Welcome to the board, Speedo...one good way to test a transom is to tilt the motor up, then apply your body-weight to the foot of the motor...and LISTEN...if you hear nothing, it's a pretty good indication you got a good tranny...if you hear a bunch of snap,crackle, pop, then chances are good she'll need some work...take a rubber hammer and tap, tap, tap all over tranny and again, listen...should sound roughly the same from side to side and top to bottom...
Only problem w/the '78 is that's the 1st year they went to a belly tank, but it's only a 40 gallon...ok if you got a real fuel-sippin motor and tuned out right that Max should be ok...you just won't have a lotta range unless you carry portables...