Rswilliams13
Recruit
- Joined
- May 22, 2012
- Messages
- 4
Hey guys, I just bought my first boat a few days ago, and it's a bit of a project. It's a 1990 bayliner 2052 capri cuddy that is in excellent shape, low hours, always garaged, no rot in floors/stringers, a newly rebuilt alpha and lots of extras. The only catch is the previous owner forgot to winterize it and cracked both the block and heads. He took it to a mechanic, who pulled the engine and all accesories. I have all of the accessories, except the flywheel, but do not have the cracked longblock.
I have been reading through the forums and most of the posts relating to the auto block swaps. The swap seems very doable. The boat will only ever see fresh water, and my local pick n pull says they have 10 4.3's to choose from for under $200. I have built up at least a half dozen engines in the last few years, and the plan is to do a full rebuild on whatever block I pick up later this week. I am also planning on adding the edelbrock performer intake and 1409 carb. However, I have a few questions on what I should be looking for in a donor motor.
1) What year block should I look for? Lots of threads talk about the vortec heads being a great upgrade, when/what did they come in? I know the later blocks don't have the fuel pump area machined so I'll have to swap in an electric pump which is fine. Also seeing as I do not have the original longblock, I will be using the cam from the donor block, sounds like I need one from a truck/van, and preferably a 4x4? any tips on the best donor vehicle for my situation would be great!
2) is there any compatability issues with the externally balanced and non externally balaced 4.3's? Pulleys ect. pre or post 92'? Any other compatability issues I should be aware of?
3) I read in a post somewhere that I can use the standard flywheel from a manual trans donor vehicle, is this true? I have the merc bellhousing/starter/triangle mount. Just want to see if I can use the standard flywheel or if i need to source a merc one.
4) Motor mounts. I have not seen the mounts on a 4.3, and need to figure out what I need. The boat still has the fluid dampner mounts with the studs, will those mount to the standard auto mounts, or am I missing a few merc specific parts?
Thanks in advance for the help guys, i've enjoyed learning from the site, and look forward to my new project. Please let me know if you have any other advise for me as well. i'll start a build thread on the project as soon as i get underway. - Ryan
I have been reading through the forums and most of the posts relating to the auto block swaps. The swap seems very doable. The boat will only ever see fresh water, and my local pick n pull says they have 10 4.3's to choose from for under $200. I have built up at least a half dozen engines in the last few years, and the plan is to do a full rebuild on whatever block I pick up later this week. I am also planning on adding the edelbrock performer intake and 1409 carb. However, I have a few questions on what I should be looking for in a donor motor.
1) What year block should I look for? Lots of threads talk about the vortec heads being a great upgrade, when/what did they come in? I know the later blocks don't have the fuel pump area machined so I'll have to swap in an electric pump which is fine. Also seeing as I do not have the original longblock, I will be using the cam from the donor block, sounds like I need one from a truck/van, and preferably a 4x4? any tips on the best donor vehicle for my situation would be great!
2) is there any compatability issues with the externally balanced and non externally balaced 4.3's? Pulleys ect. pre or post 92'? Any other compatability issues I should be aware of?
3) I read in a post somewhere that I can use the standard flywheel from a manual trans donor vehicle, is this true? I have the merc bellhousing/starter/triangle mount. Just want to see if I can use the standard flywheel or if i need to source a merc one.
4) Motor mounts. I have not seen the mounts on a 4.3, and need to figure out what I need. The boat still has the fluid dampner mounts with the studs, will those mount to the standard auto mounts, or am I missing a few merc specific parts?
Thanks in advance for the help guys, i've enjoyed learning from the site, and look forward to my new project. Please let me know if you have any other advise for me as well. i'll start a build thread on the project as soon as i get underway. - Ryan
