Can I get rid of my 1993 big block King Cobra out drives for Merc? My transom plate busted up broke and can't find one to replace, would rather replace with Merc. out drives is this a hard change out with the transom cut out. Is there a way to adapt the Merc. unit?
No. The 454 is too much for an Alpha drive (or an SEI) and SEI doesn't support a swap, and the SEI kit doesn't work with your gimbal.
You have the "interim" OMC cone clutch drive. That drive is a dinosaur and if you have EFI and/or electronic ign, they're not supported either, so it would be good to part it out (sell your pieces to someone who is agonizing over finding parts for theirs!!)
unbolt motor and drive, remove from boat. remove all OMC stuff from motor and strip down to long block, replace with mercruiser stuff, bolt in bravo transom shiled, bolt in boat, align, add Bravo outdrive. two holes need to be tweaked.
Exactly what I did replacing my OMG 460 King Kobra. Except you don't "tweak" two holes, you just drill two ADDITIONAL holes. (Bravo transom has two additional studs, the rest of the studs match)
You can use your controls and gages if you want.....
I just recently sold my 2 stainless steel OMC propellers on eBay that I had left over from when I swapped my OMC 460(for a 454/Bravo) , bringing my total "take" to about $3600 for all the OMC stuff I sold over a 3 year period from the original installation. (I got $1450 for the drive and $350 for the gimbal mount, $75 for the Y-pipe, $200 for the coupler, etc etc.....)
When I was looking, I found more than 1 496/Bravo III, 5.7MPI/Bravo I, my current 1997 454 Bravo III and others. I did not find any suitable Volvo engines/drives.
It was an easy swap.......And in my boat, the performance difference between the single prop King Kobra and the 454/Bravo III was similar in top speed (albeit a tad slower) , but just breathtaking in the hole-shot and acceleration at any speed!!!
Regards,
Rick
