Engine Recommnedations

[rocket1968]

All of the repowering posts and transom repair stories have convinced me to replace instead of repair. Reason: Even when I am done with the repair I will still end up with a weathered old trihull with a dated engine and not worth much more. So we are starting to look for boats, but want some engine recommendations. Current engine is the l6 165 which based on my experience and others I have read, is near bulletproof. I am looking more at a small v-8. It will also only be mercruiser i/o. Is there any to avoid and any that have really done well? I also want to stick with Chevy engines and do not know enough about mercruiser to determine when they used certain engines. (I think they use only chevy already) The boat will not be new, I am looking 1990's here.

The other reason to buy a diff. boat is it looks like the l6 will not drop into another boat (newer) and repower that easily. Correct me if I am wrong here.

Also, does it make sense to hold onto the drive unit of the old boat for possible repairs/part swaps? I will most likely pull the engine and ebay it sometime this year. It was rebuilt in the 1990's and has under 200 hours on it and has been flawless, as in just maintenence and a starter.

Lastly, is the l6 really hard on batteries? That is the only thing I notice and normally have a spare battery (from my ace in teh whole sump....lol) when I go. May it never rain hard when I go boating.

 

[erikgreen]

Re: Engine Recommnedations

If you put a new or reman engine in an old trihull, it's still not going to be worth much. You'll never get your money back out of it.

Edit: I completely misread the original post... I blame lunch on drawing too much blood away from my brain.

For engines in a new boat, it depends on the size of the boat. For an inboard or I/O, I'd go with a chevy small block, probably a 350 for 19-23 footers, a v6 for less than 19, both fuel injected if possible. Bigger boats I'd look for dual SBC or a BBC in really big boats.

It's possible to find ford engines and the older inline engines in boats still, but I'd recommend you go with what's common and easy to get parts for, which is the small block chevy.

I looked into converting from other engine types to a chevy V8 a year back, and it's not pretty... but on the other hand, if you want to spend most of your money on the engine, you could pick up a hull in good condition for cheap if it's got an old OMC or ford in it..


Erik

 

[QC]

Re: Engine Recommnedations

All Merc 90's+ V8s are GM. 305, 350, 377, 454 and 496. You won't want to put the I6 in anything else unless you found something for sale without an engine. Best to repower a small block with same and there will be no I6 setups new enough to meet your criteria. I would sell the drive as most of the parts you would want have changed over the years or should be new like bearings, impeller, bellows etc.

Don't know about the battery issue, but boats chew them up due to downtime and other electrical loads. Good luck with the search. Be patient!!! Can be a royal pain in the arse, but it will pay off if you're selective.