engine swap

[RickW2007]

my 1978 chapparral has a chevy 350 with a mercruiser 260 outdrive, the motor is sure to be ****ed up after this winter cause my brother-in-law has it and even though i explained how to winterize and the importance of it i doubt he bothers with it i have a 351 Cleveland is is cheaper to swap motors or spend another $1,500 rebuilding my 350(i had to replace the block, an exhaust manifold, and do a total rebuild this spring cause the previous owner was a retard and didnt winterize either) What would i need to do the swap? would my same throttle assembly work is the outdrive compatible that kind of stuff, i know ill have to change motor mounts but that's as far as my knowlege goes

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: engine swap

Howdy,

I don't know what years that Mercruiser stopped using Ford engines but you would have to get a different bell housing, wiring, coupler, transom shield, exhaust manifolds, risers, shift plate, and probably have to relocate the front engine mounts. Also you would have to find alt, power steering brackets and the like. (this 351 is a marine engine? or not...if not you'll need a marine starter, and distributor)


My suggestion would be to call him up and talk him thru draining the block and manifolds or go get the boat.

I wouldn't even consider replacing a SBC with a 351....


regards,


Rick

 

[chiefalen]

Re: engine swap

The 351c ,was and is a better motor than a 351w,in my humble inexpert opinion.

And they both were used in marine applications.

Tell your brother, or brother in law or whatever your gonna use his n-ts for target practice if he don't winterize your boat.

Your gonna have to find another 351c to replace it with if it goes. 351w had the motor mounts i believe in a slightly different position.

Where your gonna find the motor only g-d knows.

Theres this closed down junk yard upstate ny that if you didn't know it was there, is in the woods.

Good luck

Maybe theres one in there.

Maybe Michigan motors has one.

 

[Bondo]

Re: engine swap

i have a 351 Cleveland

Ayuh,....

Mercruiser Never used the Cleveland motors,...
Matter of fact,... Clevelands haven't been used by Anybody,..
Except for a short run by, I believe, Chris-craft back in the early 60s...

Considering the fact that Clevelands,+ Windsors use a Totally Different block,...
There's just No way in 'ell you can install a Cleveland motor attached to a Mercruiser outdrive,....
Period... It just Won't Work...

SBCs are a dime a dozen,+ about as plentyful as Air, or water....
Trying to switch to Ford power in this day,+ age,...
Is a Massive Move in the Wrong direction....

An SBC crate motor can be found for under $1500....
I'm bettin' you can't buy a set of exhaust Manifolds for a Cleveland for that kinda Money...

 

[chiefalen]

Re: engine swap

He's got the 350 in now?

And wanted to go to a ford?

No way jose.

Kids screeming all around me, who took who's shirt, blouse, whatever, school bus coming down the street, who can concentrate.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: engine swap

I agree with Bond-o, changing to an obsolete Ford engine is a BAD BAD BAD idea.

If this boat is important to you, and you have so much money wrapped up in it, why don't you have it? And why wouldn't you winterize it yourself, if you don't think your brother-in-law will? ?????

 

[chiefalen]

Re: engine swap

Bond-o is 100 percent right.

He probably has no kids screeming around him.

Stick with the 350, no way your gonna make a ford fit.

But one thing for sure i remember a 351c on a boat can't remember who or what the drive was.

Remember for sure it was a 351c not w.

Was in lake Goerge, my uncle kept his 50+ footer there. Was the plumber for the hotels.

I remember i came out of boot camp had a 2 weeks to report to aircraft school. In Texas.

Went up with him to his boat was in the begining of the summer and the hot chicks in the bikinis i was chasing were gonna be there. Rich chicks.

One of them had a father had the boat with the 351c. I liked his boat better than his daughter ha.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: engine swap

In 1980 I bought a 1978 Century that was powered with a 351M as I recall which became known as the "Michigan". I won't go into detail here but the link below describes how this engine evolved and post dated the 351C and W. The 351M was more of a 351C than a W.

http://www.projectbronco.com/History/history_of_the_ford_351m.htm

 

[chiefalen]

Re: engine swap

As i posted way,way back my dad had the 351w and a 351c in ltd's.

1972 ltd blue.

Died on the George Washington bridge he took the plates off and took the train home.

Heres a link to a guy on this forum had the 351c in his boat attached to a merc.


http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=47924&highlight=351+cleavland+motor

 

[RickW2007]

Re: engine swap

ok so too much bs to change to the ford motor since its not as good as the chevy 350 and hard if not impossible to find the right stuff to convert it to a marine one, not to mention more expensive than just replacing whatever gets cracked on my 350.

see my brother-in-law has the boat cause after i rebuilt the motor i had some shifting problems and decided i wasnt into the boat restoration scene and sold it to him(well financed it to him) and he only paid one month said he was going to bring it back never did and i cant afford the diesel to go pick it up halfway across state right now

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: engine swap

ok so too much bs to change to the ford motor since its not as good as the chevy 350 and hard if not impossible to find the right stuff to convert it to a marine one, not to mention more expensive than just replacing whatever gets cracked on my 350.

see my brother-in-law has the boat cause after i rebuilt the motor i had some shifting problems and decided i wasnt into the boat restoration scene and sold it to him(well financed it to him) and he only paid one month said he was going to bring it back never did and i cant afford the diesel to go pick it up halfway across state right now

Well,

Call around......You can probably have a roving "marine guy" go over there and winterize it for 1/2 the cost of the diesel to go get it...

You can figure out how to repo it later.

If you don't, the"repo" won't be worth it....

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: engine swap

I doubt the cost of diesel would be as much as replacing/fixing what may get ruined by not winterizing it. Have the S.O.B meet you halfway