Replacing engine in Starcraft Chieftain 22

[hotdog atw]

I am restoring a '77 StarCraft Chieftain 22 which I purchased new in 1977. It had a MerCruiser 165, enjoyed boat many years and a lots in saltwater. I have found a donor boat which has a 1998 Mercrusier GM 4.3 V6 engine with outdrive of same year. I would like to hear thoughts or comments on this change.

 

[Lou C]

Well if you can get the whole package out of the donor boat that would be best so as to avoid having to mix and match things. You may have to fab up engine mounts as the 165 (250 cu in Six right?) was much narrower than the V6 which is the same width but about 4" shorter than the small block V8. This swap will take up some space width wise but will give you a good amount of extra space in front of the engine as the V6 is 3 cyls shorter than the inline 6 lol. BTW you can still get those Inlines as rebuilts from places like Michigan Motorz, but certain add ons like manifolds might be hard to find.....

 

[jbcurt00]

Not too different then the motor swap in this 18ft Chieftain

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...1970-starcraft-chieftain-io-total-restoration

Lots of good tin boat building info can be found here
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/owners-groups-by-manufacturer/s/starcraft-boats

 

[Watermann]

You'll love the 4.3 V6, these motors are full of grunt and not too bad on fuel depending on how hard you are on the throttle of course. What's the model of the 4.3L as they can be from 175 to 220 HP?

Easy swap and well worth the savings in deck space too over the IL6.

Love to see some pics of your Chief and a thread started for the resto.