Another question here guys. I'm putting a post-1990 mercruiser 3.0 into a pre-1990 boat. So the motor mount locations on the transom plate (inside of transom) don't match the bellhousing I'm putting in (plus the newer style exhaust doesn't fit the pre-alpha transom plate either). The easiest solution is to swap out my transom plate to the newer style so everything on the motor lines up.
Question 1: Is the bolt pattern the same on pre-alpha and alpha 1 transom plates? Can I remove my old transom plate and bolt in a post-1990 transom plate without modification?
Question 2: The steering cable mounting points are different on the old vs new transom plate. Is there a way to mount my original manual steering cable onto the Alpha 1 transom plate?
Question 3: Does the trim pump mount up the same way? Is there anything that might not fit anymore by doing this?
Plan B is, if I can't swap out the transom plate, I have to re-use my original bellhousing so it mounts to the original transom plate. If I do this, I have to change to a smaller flywheel and old-style starter. Plus, since only the pre-alpha style exhaust down pipe will fit (the alpha-1 style hits the pre-alpha transom plate and won't bolt up), I have to either figure out a way to join it to the newer style riser, or more likely, have to swap the entire intake/exhaust manifold to the old style so I can use the old style exhaust.
Someone really should come out with a conversion kit to fit post-1990 motors into pre-1990 boats!
Question 1: Is the bolt pattern the same on pre-alpha and alpha 1 transom plates? Can I remove my old transom plate and bolt in a post-1990 transom plate without modification?
Question 2: The steering cable mounting points are different on the old vs new transom plate. Is there a way to mount my original manual steering cable onto the Alpha 1 transom plate?
Question 3: Does the trim pump mount up the same way? Is there anything that might not fit anymore by doing this?
Plan B is, if I can't swap out the transom plate, I have to re-use my original bellhousing so it mounts to the original transom plate. If I do this, I have to change to a smaller flywheel and old-style starter. Plus, since only the pre-alpha style exhaust down pipe will fit (the alpha-1 style hits the pre-alpha transom plate and won't bolt up), I have to either figure out a way to join it to the newer style riser, or more likely, have to swap the entire intake/exhaust manifold to the old style so I can use the old style exhaust.
Someone really should come out with a conversion kit to fit post-1990 motors into pre-1990 boats!