Swapping long shaft with short shaft

[Bombard Brent]

I just purchased a Zodiac inflatable and the seller included a 1975 15hp Johnson long shaft. I also own a 1974 9.9 Evinrude short shaft. Could I swap lower units and end up with a 15hp short shaft for the Zodiac and a 9.9hp long shaft? It seems the only change required to do this would be to cut 5" off the water tube on the long shaft and solder it to the short shaft water tube. Does anyone see any problems with this thought? Thanks.

 

[Faztbullet]

Re: Swapping long shaft with short shaft

Just swap the powerheads, exhaust tubes and cowlings as that really the only difference between a 9.9 & 15hp. This way keeps it simple and you dont have to cut anything....

 

[Bombard Brent]

Re: Swapping long shaft with short shaft

I thought about that, however, the 9.9 has some corrosion and I wanted to avoid the associated difficulties. The 9.9 lower unit was replaced with a newer unit about 2 years ago and the bolts still turn.