Is this the aluminum head 470.

[Rranger]

Is this engine worth the trouble of installing? Or is this the one I read all over to stay away from. Like all according to the seller it runs good. In a 1989 Apollo boat.

 

[Rranger]

Is this engine worth the trouble of installing? Or is this the one I read all over to stay away from. Like all according to the seller it runs good. In a 1989 Apollo.

 

[GA_Boater]

470 blocks are aluminum and the head is cast iron from a Ford 460.

 

[Rranger]

470 blocks are aluminum and the head is cast iron from a Ford 460.

Yikes.

 

[Rick Stephens]

Personally, unless I had a reason to prefer the 470, I would avoid it in favor of a generic Chevy powered boat. Realizing you like the boat itself, the one solace is there are always a ton of used boats on sale from highly motivated sellers. Chevy is good in that for all but the 3.0L 4 banger, pretty much can find any motor in an automotive wrecking yard. There are no 470 blocks in any other applications, and they are no longer made. Makes repairing them way too interesting.

Keep your eyes on the market and pounce when something is just perfect.

 

[Rranger]

So ideally probably the 4.3? What about older 6 cylinders or are there part issues for them to? The boat I have has a 4 cylinder 470 in it.

 

[nola mike]

So ideally probably the 4.3? What about older 6 cylinders or are there part issues for them to? The boat I have has a 4 cylinder 470 in it.

Are you swapping in a new engine or getting a new boat?

 

[Rick Stephens]

So you already bought the Apollo and now looking for best path. If the engine is good, install away. You will be learning all the gotchas with the 470 soon. Water pump seals, headgaskets, and so on.

 

[Rranger]

So you already bought the Apollo and now looking for best path. If the engine is good, install away. You will be learning all the gotchas with the 470 soon. Water pump seals, headgaskets, and so on.

no I have a Reinell I want to repower the Apollo would be the donor boat.

 

[Scott Danforth]

no I have a Reinell I want to repower the Apollo would be the donor boat.

then find a better donor

 

[Rick Stephens]

then find a better donor

What he said!

 

[Rranger]

And the better donor would be what engine?

 

[nola mike]

And the better donor would be what engine?

Meh, don't listen to the haters. If the donor is in good shape I'd go with that. Yes, the 4.3 is a better engine probably. But the 3.7 is pretty damn good overall. The quirks are less important in a 30 year old engine. That donor already has the alternator. Can't tell the hx size; an 89 should have the 4". Last thing is the cam seals. Once the engine is out, it's no big deal to replace the seals and speedi sleeve the cam, and I'd do that before putting it back (iirc the oil pan gasket needs to be replaced for a proper repair). That repair will outlast the boat. I had my 3.7 for 12 years without an overheat, never had an issue with the cam seals or head gasket. I'm not looking forward to winterizing my 4.3, the 3.7 was literally a 45 second job.

 

[Rick Stephens]

Meh, don't listen to the haters.

Says the guy who just finished a six month swap from a 3.7L to a 4.3L. hehe

 

[nola mike]

Says the guy who just finished a six month swap from a 3.7L to a 4.3L. hehe

Yeah, 6 month swap being the operative term. I've been completely unimpressed with the 4.3 so far in terms of everything except refinement. Definitely not worth the effort unless I can get some performance gains out of it. If it gets me up on a slalom then I'll be happy, but I'm not optimistic given the huge weight penalty. A 4.3 IS NOT plug and play. If you just want to go boating, stick with the 3.7.

 

[QBhoy]

Ok. So as briefly as I can and trying not to **** off the 3.7 fans who like fixing their boats, more than using them...
If you are trying to replace an originally fitted 3.7, then get a 3.0. They are the same fitment and a direct replacement. Worst case, it’s a prop change afterwards. A 4.3 means changing engine mounts and exhaust a little. And defo a prop change.
If you are thinking of putting in a 3.7 from scratch, with thoughts of improvement over any other engine ever made or as an alternative that requires other changes...then you’ll be the first guy in the world to do that. Haha. Basically, avoid it like the covid 19...unless you don’t ever need to actually use your boat

 

[nola mike]

Get a 3.0 and lose 40 hp. What's the upside?

 

[Scott Danforth]

And the better donor would be what engine?

since it appears that your existing boat does not have a motor, you would be better off with a V6 or V8 vs the 470

 

[Rranger]

I appreciate the input. 4' hx size? Is that Exhaust manifold? And a 470 has 40 more HP than the 3L? And this is what I'd likely be replacing.

 

[Scott Danforth]

what is shown is an old 2.5 liter.

Suggest you replace with a 3.0