OMC King Cobra conversion to merc

[Beernutz44]

currently have a 1990 Chris Craft 245 with 460 OMC King Cobra. According to shop a cylinder is scored. I am considering complete Repower with a Merc 383 bravo 3. My question is what transom work will need to be done to accomplish this? does this setup fit the same cut out ? I will not be performing the work myself I am simply weighing if this is worth a Repower or if it is boat shopping time? The boat is in good shape stored inside (rack) and I have had the boat for 20 yrs with no real problems so I am way ahead of the game

 

[alldodge]

Hey @Lou C is the OMC hole the same as Merc?

If the hole is the same its a simple remove and replace the transom assembly

 

[Lou C]

Yes it is and in fact there was a member here by the name of Rick who did a similar conversion on a Four Winns Liberator the originally had that same power package (Ford 460/Baby King Cobra).
If your drive & transom assembly are in good shape they can be sold on eBay or whatever for pretty good money. Those drives especially are not that easy to find in good shape, I think they were made in 87,88,& 89. These Baby Kings used the same transom mount & upper gear housing as the standard Cobra but with the bigger Evinrude V8 outboard lower unit, to handle the torque of the big block engines. The standard Cobra is good to about 300 hp, the big block Ford was rated at 340 hp, too much for the standard Cobra which used basically an Evinrude/Johnson V6 outboard lower unit.

In 90 they went to the all new Daddy King, which was totally different in both the transom mount & drive. These were often used with Chevy 454s.

 

[Beernutz44]

Yes it is and in fact there was a member here by the name of Rick who did a similar conversion on a Four Winns Liberator the originally had that same power package (Ford 460/Baby King Cobra).
If your drive & transom assembly are in good shape they can be sold on eBay or whatever for pretty good money. Those drives especially are not that easy to find in good shape, I think they were made in 87,88,& 89. These Baby Kings used the same transom mount & upper gear housing as the standard Cobra but with the bigger Evinrude V8 outboard lower unit, to handle the torque of the big block engines. The standard Cobra is good to about 300 hp, the big block Ford was rated at 340 hp, too much for the standard Cobra which used basically an Evinrude/Johnson V6 outboard lower unit.

In 90 they went to the all new Daddy King, which was totally different in both the transom mount & drive. These were often used with Chevy 454s.

Thank you for your input If I am understanding you correctly I have the daddy king cobra and the new merc 383 with bravo three shouldn't require a lot of transom work if I decide to go this route? The boat also has through hull exhaust (transom) Do you foresee any problems when the new merc stuff would be installed? I would also put everything OMC on ebay and see if it helps anyone out.

 

[Lou C]

I wish I knew the screen name of the guy on here Rick who did something very similar himself, and it tuned out great. Might search around and see if I can find his posts. I think it will all fit fine, it may be necessary to drill a couple extra holes for the B-III but the cut out for sure is the same. Only differences I can think of are wiring harnesses make sure to get the Merc engine harness.

 

[Lou C]

found it...
Rick or member #

• HT32BSX115