Brand New Dummy!!

[Chadmandu]

Wanna get on the water cheap? Throw a motor on this and go https://fortcollins.craigslist.org/boa/5952652627.html

I just searched the Denver craigslist and you ain't lyin'. Not many tinnies for sale there right now.

I'm going to have to go look at this one. that's a good price right there.

So I went and looked at that one for 750 last night and it was rotten. nice and soft on deck between the 2 front seats. She did say that she was very open to offers which got me thinking a little (I know that this is usually a dangerous game I play in my head. ;-) ), the boat that I have now is real solid at the deck and the interior is in pretty good shape and the hull hasn't taken a beating or anything. how much work would it be to replace the transom and reduce the hole size so that I can get that mercruiser it? is there some way to do a "patch" at the transom? I mean I know that it will be some work but I got this as a project to begin with. I won't have to do a ton of stuff to the rest of it. or am I just barking up the wrong tree? My GF and I both like it and we both feel like it would meet our needs well and I am not afraid of a little hard work. what's your opinion on that? I mean If i could pick up that rotten one for say 2-300 and then do a patch/replacement on the transom of the one I have I'd be in pretty good shape depending on how difficult the whole thing would be including switching over the engine and drive components. Or am I just a total nutjob for thinking that this might work??

 

[Tnstratofam]

To swap a mercruiser engine/drive combo into the boat you have now will require a complete rebuild of the transom assembly. As well as new motor mounts as the OMC stringer mounts are probably not going to line up correctly. Not to mention the wood support stringers for the deck may need to be changed to accommodate the new drive.

Probably $1500- $2000 in materials plus about a hundred hours labor on your part. Not counting any mechanical expenses to install the new drive. Tune up, new hoses, gimbal assembly seals and gaskets, possibly a new gimbal bearing, new bellows, gear oil, that list can get expensive quick as well.

Not at all saying it isn't doable but it will be labor intensive, and hard. You really should consider all the pros and cons of an OMC stringer to anything swap hard before doing one. The boat in question really needs to be "The One" before attempting a rebuild like this.

To be honest the later OMC Cobra drives ( Like the one in our Stratos ) are a better candidate for a Volvo or Mercruiser swap because they use a similar transom key hole pattern. I believe you only have to drill out 2 more mounting holes to swap versus having to completely redesign the stern of the boat.

The Best thing to do is look for a boat with a newer engine/drive combo 90's and up Mercruiser or Volvo that may need some work. Or better yet look for an outboard powered boat that needs a little attention.

The one owned by the old couple who only used it on the occasional Sunday and kept her in dry storage the rest of its life is the one all new boat owners should strive to find.

 

[Chadmandu]

To swap a mercruiser engine/drive combo into the boat you have now will require a complete rebuild of the transom assembly. As well as new motor mounts as the OMC stringer mounts are probably not going to line up correctly. Not to mention the wood support stringers for the deck may need to be changed to accommodate the new drive.

Probably $1500- $2000 in materials plus about a hundred hours labor on your part. Not counting any mechanical expenses to install the new drive. Tune up, new hoses, gimbal assembly seals and gaskets, possibly a new gimbal bearing, new bellows, gear oil, that list can get expensive quick as well.

Not at all saying it isn't doable but it will be labor intensive, and hard. You really should consider all the pros and cons of an OMC stringer to anything swap hard before doing one. The boat in question really needs to be "The One" before attempting a rebuild like this.

To be honest the later OMC Cobra drives ( Like the one in our Stratos ) are a better candidate for a Volvo or Mercruiser swap because they use a similar transom key hole pattern. I believe you only have to drill out 2 more mounting holes to swap versus having to completely redesign the stern of the boat.

The Best thing to do is look for a boat with a newer engine/drive combo 90's and up Mercruiser or Volvo that may need some work. Or better yet look for an outboard powered boat that needs a little attention.

The one owned by the old couple who only used it on the occasional Sunday and kept her in dry storage the rest of its life is the one all new boat owners should strive to find.

DANG!!!
I was really hoping that I wasn't a nutcase!! LOL :lol:
back to the hunt. maybe that one posted by ezmobee is the one I need until I find "the one" that your talking about. Or I try to find a 305 to install in mine for now on the super cheap. Looking is part of the project I suppose and it's actually kind of fun. haha

 

[ezmobee]

how much work would it be to replace the transom and reduce the hole size so that I can get that mercruiser it? is there some way to do a "patch" at the transom? I mean I know that it will be some work but I got this as a project to begin with. I won't have to do a ton of stuff to the rest of it. or am I just barking up the wrong tree? My GF and I both like it and we both feel like it would meet our needs well and I am not afraid of a little hard work. what's your opinion on that? I mean If i could pick up that rotten one for say 2-300 and then do a patch/replacement on the transom of the one I have I'd be in pretty good shape depending on how difficult the whole thing would be including switching over the engine and drive components. Or am I just a total nutjob for thinking that this might work??

It's all just fiberglass and wood so anything is possible.

 

[Scott Danforth]

just a transom, aft stringers, and motor mounts would be $1200-1500 and take about 100 hours as indicated. fiberglass resin, gel, PVA, 1708, CSM and cloth will be about $700, shipping and epa charges about $150, wood will be about $200. PPE, solvents, consumables and incidentals make up the rest

305's are $200 at your local u-pull-it out of a pickup truck 350's about $300. $100 worth of gaskets and brass core plugs and you have a marine long block

then you need manifolds, risers, and all the marine accessories

being a stringer you are stuck with a 2-piece rear main seal motor because there are no stringer couplers for 1-piece RMS cranks so any 1957-1985 305 or 350 motor would work.

 

[Chadmandu]

305's are $200 at your local u-pull-it out of a pickup truck 350's about $300. $100 worth of gaskets and brass core plugs and you have a marine long block

then you need manifolds, risers, and all the marine accessories

being a stringer you are stuck with a 2-piece rear main seal motor because there are no stringer couplers for 1-piece RMS cranks so any 1957-1985 305 or 350 motor would work.

It came with all the marine manifolds/risers and accessories. So brass core plugs, and the gaskets are all that make it a Marine motor? I thought it was much much more than that. That changes everything! I have access to a couple of junk yards that I can get an engine out of for nothing.
Where do I find the Gaskets etc? Is there a kit somewhere?

 

[ezmobee]

So brass core plugs, and the gaskets are all that make it a Marine motor? I thought it was much much more than that.

I'm an outboard guy and someone more knowledgeable will come along. But I've spent a lot of time on this site and from what I've read.......yes that's about all that differentiates a "marine" motor from a regular 'ol truck motor. Other things to note are you want a marine alternator and starter as they are designed to not spark and blow up your boat. Also you don't want a motor with an aggressive cam in it as that apparently won't work with the boat cooling situation.

 

[Chadmandu]

Thanks
I did find this.......
https://www.glen-l.com/weblettr/webletters-7/wl56-marinizing-1.html

 

[Chadmandu]

If anyone has any photos of their engine compartment with either a 305 or 350 that they could post it would be greatly appreciated. If its a stringer then there are bonus points
I truly want to thank everyone for the knowledge so far!! I am already learning a ton of info! You guys are awesome!!

 

[southkogs]

... I think I confused two different topics in my head: Chad, the 1980 Hawaiian Trihull in your first post - that boat is solid, good floors, good interior. Correct?

Is it just a question of what shape the engine and drive are in?

 

[Chadmandu]

... I think I confused two different topics in my head: Chad, the 1980 Hawaiian Trihull in your first post - that boat is solid, good floors, good interior. Correct?

Is it just a question of what shape the engine and drive are in?

Yes, the Hawaiian is very solid is every aspect except that there is no engine, so I started off by trying to figure out what engine I need and then it morphed into the fact that it is a OCM (omc?) drive which has little to no support since they are now out of the game and that it's a stringer to top it off so it's not worth the trouble to fix and then the alternatives were going around to it all together and then back again to just putting a motor in it.......But I've learned a ton during the process.
I was always thinking that I had to get a "marine" engine which I thought was very hard to find and didn't know that a regular old truck engine could be converted fairly cheap.
My ignorance seems to have probably muddied the water a bit.

 

[Scott Danforth]

brass core plugs and felpro marine head gaskets. I buy mine from summit racing. however NAPA also carries the stuff.

 

[Tnstratofam]

If the drive is in good shape and you have the parts to convert a truck engine for the boat then that will probably turn out to be the cheaper route overall. Especially considering you already have the boat. For some reason I was under the impression that the condition of the drive was unknown, and it was going to need work to get up and running.:facepalm:

If the condition of the outdrive is questionable, or if completely unknown whether it will work without major repair then I would be cautious how much money I wrapped up into getting it on the water. The term BOAT ( Bust Out Another Thousand ) can drain your wallet and patience quickly when working on obsolete equipment.

 

[proshadetree]

Any chance you can get a pic of that outdrive? Also not all marine engines have brass core plugs. Head gaskets will not be an issue either. Logged 300hrs on mine since I build it sevral years ago. Never lifted the heads. It was a 96 truck engine. Car will work also. You will need all the brackets, alternator, hoses and manifolds to put another chevy small block back in there. Not imposible but probably not fun either.

 

[southkogs]

Sorry - yup, I was kinda' scrambled somehow. That 4 cylinder engine for the OMC 140 was a Chevy 153, I think. If I'm not mistaken, it's basically an old Nova engine with marine components.

I think I would do two things concurrently - price out an engine (maybe even look around eBay for a marine version), and do my best to evaluate the sterndrive. If you can put a new engine together for a few hundred bucks and you can get the drive going for a few hundred bucks, you may be on the water for less than $1,000.

The drive you have won't work with a v8. The 400 is geared for the 4 and 6 cylinder engines. It should be a mechanical shift. If you didn't have it already in hand I would probably steer you away from it. But if the drive is currently working, there's no reason it can't continue to do so for the foreseeable future. If you can figure the drive out before sinking any money into an engine, that should help decide what to do.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Sorry - yup, I was kinda' scrambled somehow. That 4 cylinder engine for the OMC 140 was a Chevy 153, I think. If I'm not mistaken, it's basically an old Nova engine with marine components.

I think I would do two things concurrently - price out an engine (maybe even look around eBay for a marine version), and do my best to evaluate the sterndrive. If you can put a new engine together for a few hundred bucks and you can get the drive going for a few hundred bucks, you may be on the water for less than $1,000.

The drive you have won't work with a v8. The 400 is geared for the 4 and 6 cylinder engines. It should be a mechanical shift. If you didn't have it already in hand I would probably steer you away from it. But if the drive is currently working, there's no reason it can't continue to do so for the foreseeable future. If you can figure the drive out before sinking any money into an engine, that should help decide what to do.

the 120hp or 2.5 liter is the 153 which did debut in the 1962 Chevy II. the stroked marine and trash pump only motor is the 140 or 135 or 3.0 liter / 181 cubic inch

post 1 the OP says the boat had a 305 in it. best bet is for the OP to post pics of the parts he has and we see

if the motor was a 3.0 or 2.5, best to get a 1990 or earlier 3.0, bolt it in and go boating. if it was a 305, bolt in either a 305 or 350 from 1985 or earlier and go boating.

 

[Chadmandu]

Okay, like the title says- i,m a big dummy but learning quickly thanks to you guys.
Somewhere in this thread I was led to believe that I had a stinger drive, well I don't. I have a stern drive 800. how do I know? Because it has a big ole sticker on that says so. lol.....
I took a couple of pictures but it's getting dark and I had to undo the cover in the cold wind so I only went so far. so they aren't great. From what I have been reading the stern drive is the better option of the 2. I also took some photos of what came with the boat,
Let me know what you think
https://goo.gl/photos/XJUmkbqZFsD2JBw76
https://goo.gl/photos/tcLeMjysyVezrHXs9
https://goo.gl/photos/PVbzUD61WziQe6ZU7
https://goo.gl/photos/tKBi6Wt3tDdFeM4M6
https://goo.gl/photos/9bjaN1brVoS6SnS58
https://goo.gl/photos/6yWGWWcJ6x4NyKKfA

 

[Chadmandu]

Also
The boat I got from a freind of a friend and he said that everything was great until they put it in the water a few years ago and realized that the engine had froze. They pulled the engine and then it sat waiting for a donor. Then it went to my friend in whom I trust and he had it for a year and now to me. So I'm pretty sure that the drive works fine.

 

[Scott Danforth]

the 800 is a stringer drive. being 1980, you have a hydro-mechanical shift.

didnt see a starter or distributor in the parts pile. no worries, starter is $60 new and dizzy is about $350 new

check the splines on the coupler button

do you have the carb? a marine carb is about $550 for a 4 barrel

I personally would ditch the log manifolds and go with a center discharge manifold and re-configure the exhaust. however that is me. if you decide to use the manifolds, make sure you pressure test them as well as acetone test them. (search on iboats, plenty of links)

if the drive hasnt been updated, you will need a waterpump kit (with the housing). when the water pump is going in, closely look at the splines from the vertical drive shaft. that is a failure point on all stringer drives (not if it will fail, however when). also check the ball gears. a set of ball gears is good for about 200 hours. they are about $600 a set

get a good factory OMC manual off of Ebay or contact Ken Cook company for a factory manual http://www.kencook.com/ (Ken Cook is the print house that OMC used, and Evinrude (BRP) continues to use). if you consider a clymer or haynes manual, I will need to drive to your location and smack the back of your head. they are useful only for mis-information as well as knee pads. you will need the factory manual to pull the lower off as well as to get the shift interupt system figured out.

if you run into a problem, ask on iboats, we will help.

 

[Tnstratofam]

Yep still a Stringer. Stern Drive is a type of drive which the Stringer is. As is the Cobra, and the Volvo, and the Mercruiser.