Re: are these prestolite rams?
i dont have the serial number for the engine at this exact minute, but i took the serial number to the mercury dealer and they got nothing except that the engine was one of the first ever v6 175 hp black max ever made. as in one of the first off the assembly line.
they couldnt even tell me definitely what year for sure it was manufactured. its titled as a 1980.. but that doesnt mean anything at all in NC because i think thats the year of the boat and it doesnt have a seperate title for engine.
they said that the engine went through some changes during its first run and if i dont have any numbers or name from the rams themselves then they could be either prestolite, mercury , or showa.
i can tell you this much.. it has a ton of power and makes the 18ft ranger bass boat skip across the water at about 78mph when the water is smooth. when the water is rough i tend to go much slower cause that thing will beat the snot out of you.
the guy at the shop said just to put a j1171 pump on it because if he had to guess he said it they were low pressure high volume rams because they were so big...
but he also said his computer and books do not have pictures on this particular engine and trim assembly so he cant really cross reference.
i think the serial number is something like 301004?
this same engine also came with a smaller single ram setup and the trim pump mounted outside next to the ram.. i think that is the prestolite set up. mine has the pump inside the boat.
i was hoping some one could tell me for sure just by looking.