I need outdrive education

[H2ot Times]

I recently bought a 1979 Silverline Granada. I have never had an I/O type boat before. I?ve had 2 jets, 2 v-drives. This boat has the OMC 3.0L Stringer drive. I am now inclined to believe the 3.0L engine is a good one but the OMC400 outdrive is not. I?m told parts for it are hard to find and expensive if you find them and that most shops don?t want to work on them. I really like this boat though. I know that transom mods would have to be done to install a mercruiser outdrive. I may want to do this but before I start looking around for a used or rebuilt outdrive I?d like to know what I should look for. Is there any particular mercruiser outdrive that I should stay away from or certain years that I should avoid? I see the terms pre-alpha, Alpha, Alpha 1, Bravo, etc. and have no idea what they are. Please educate me.

Sorry about the duplicate thread. When I looked for the first one I didn't find it and thought I had messed up somehow.

 

[dazid1]

Re: I need outdrive education

I have a pre alpha and it was a nightmare for parts, took me 6 months to find an secondhand one, but now that needs work, of course thats over here you may have better luck, but even so, alphas are plentyful over here.

 

[captk]

Re: I need outdrive education

That is a big job. remove engine rebuild transom and possibly stringers. new transom assy, exahaust manifold, hoses, shift cables. controls, and bracket, plus lots of misc. stuff. How bad is the outdrive? i am sure you can find someone to repair it. good luck, bill

 

[Muqwump]

Re: I need outdrive education

That drive would be fine on that engine... Just needs a little TLC.