Pre-alpha drive -interchangeable?

[crazy charlie]

I have available to me a pre alpha drive off of a v8. I like the idea of having a spare drive .Im running twin Alpha drives 1988 Mercruiser 5.0 XL .Can this pre alpha drive work for me as a spare?? Or can the upper or lower be interchanged with my alpha ?? BTW it would be strictly for emergency use.Been there before.Charlie

 

[achris]

Which 'pre-Alpha'? (There was something like 17 different drives made before the Alpha One.)

What is a ‘Pre-Alpha’ drive?

What is a ‘Pre-Alpha’ drive? We see this all the time…. I have a ‘pre-Alpha’ drive, can you tell me…..??? What parts do I need for my ‘Pre-Alpha’? And so on…. Before anyone can answer those questions, we need to know, exactly WHICH ‘Pre-Alpha’ drive do you have? Mercury never produced a...

forums.iboats.com

 

[crazy charlie]

Which 'pre-Alpha'? (There was something like 17 different drives made before the Alpha One.)

What is a ‘Pre-Alpha’ drive?

What is a ‘Pre-Alpha’ drive? We see this all the time…. I have a ‘pre-Alpha’ drive, can you tell me…..??? What parts do I need for my ‘Pre-Alpha’? And so on…. Before anyone can answer those questions, we need to know, exactly WHICH ‘Pre-Alpha’ drive do you have? Mercury never produced a...

forums.iboats.com

Wow!!! that many?? I had no idea.All I know is that it is from a Wellcraft Nova with a 390? motor.Old boat for sure./It has a lift ring on the top and horizontal veins /ridges in the upper by the vent hole.Charlie

 

[Yegboats]

Read the Adults only sticky. Lots of good information on there.

What is a ‘Pre-Alpha’ drive?

What is a ‘Pre-Alpha’ drive? We see this all the time…. I have a ‘pre-Alpha’ drive, can you tell me…..??? What parts do I need for my ‘Pre-Alpha’? And so on…. Before anyone can answer those questions, we need to know, exactly WHICH ‘Pre-Alpha’ drive do you have? Mercury never produced a...

forums.iboats.com

 

[achris]

Wow!!! that many?? I had no idea.All I know is that it is from a Wellcraft Nova with a 390? motor.Old boat for sure./It has a lift ring on the top and horizontal veins /ridges in the upper by the vent hole.Charlie

Doesn't matter what boat it came from, that tells us absolutely nothing about the engine/drive. Boats aren't like cars. With cars, generally the car maker is the engine maker, unlikely to see a Ford engine in a 57' Chevy (not impossible, but very unlikely)...

Boat builders source their engines from an engine marinizer, usually Mercruiser, or Volvo (BMW, Yamaha, OMC, and a few others have also dabbled in Sterndrive and inboard engines) In turn, Merc and Volvo get their base engines from Ford or GM (some others are used too, particularly diesels)... So with boats, knowing the boat make, model and year tells you nothing of the engine...

There is a thread that could help you identify it in the stickies somewhere. If that doesn't help, the next best way to work out what drive it is, is by the serial number, or post (lots of) photos, from all angles and all ranges...

Chris....

 

[crazy charlie]

This is the only photo I have right now.Will take a closer look at it.Charlie

 

[Bondo]

I have available to me a pre alpha drive off of a v8. I like the idea of having a spare drive .Im running twin Alpha drives 1988 Mercruiser 5.0 XL .Can this pre alpha drive work for me as a spare?? Or can the upper or lower be interchanged with my alpha ?? BTW it would be strictly for emergency use.Been there before.Charlie

Ayuh,...... It Should work just fine for ya Charlie,.....

It should swap, as a complete drive, or just the upper, or just the lower,.....

 

[nola mike]

Ayuh,...... It Should work just fine for ya Charlie,.....

It should swap, as a complete drive, or just the upper, or just the lower,.....

Although as ½ of a twin engine setup might be a bit wonky. That drive sure looks like it's been driven hard and put away wet

 

[achris]

Make sure the ratio is right...

 

[crazy charlie]

Thanks guys.Its only gonna be a spare,hopefully never need to use it.I am told it came off of a Wellcraft Nova with a 390 motor.I am sure those boats never came with anything smaller than a V8.Any easy way to tell the ratio??Thanks again Charlie

 

[achris]

Count teeth. Or turn the input shaft and count the output shaft turns...