The swap will begin soon

[ready4lake]

I bought a 1987 VIP yesterday. It is equipped with a 4.3 v6. I am going to be puting it in a 1989 bayliner trophy which currently has a 3.0 4cyl. I am then going to put the 3.0 in the VIP. I am thinking about redoing the interior of the VIP and keeping it. I was going to sell it after the swap, but now I think Why not have two boats? So here are some pics of the two boats I will be doing the swapping on.

 

[sam60]

Re: The swap will begin soon

I like both. Taking them out together would be fun too. As far as the swap, I'll give way to the experts. The A/C in a nice feature! How much for the house across the street

 

[proshadetree]

Re: The swap will begin soon

Cool swap. Love that Baylinner. I currently have 4 boats so two should be no problem .

 

[ready4lake]

Re: The swap will begin soon

Thanks. The house was actually purchased 2 days ago.
I will begin pulling the 4.3 this weekend. I dont know if I will get both motors out since the weather is going to be nasty, but I will take lots of pics.

 

[ready4lake]

Re: The swap will begin soon

Ok, so I finally got started with the swap this week. I have been working hard everyday in between work and school so it is taking me longer than expected. Most of it has been smooth with no issues except the gimbal bearing on the vip. It was a fun 3 hours of pulling on the drive, but it eventually came off and there was no damage except for the bearing. Here are a few pics that I took throughout the week.
There some bearings in the bottom of the bellow.

The rest of the bearing is stuck on the shaft.

Here is my home built engine gantry. It doesn't look sturdy but it works with no problems.

The 4.3 removed from the vip.

Finally pulled the trophy with my ranger. It did better than I thought. I wouldn't ever do it long distance, but around the house moving the boat was good.

Now removing the 3.0 from the trophy. Notice the upgrade from come-a-long to chain hoist.

Then after getting everything set up, I dropped the 3.0 into the vip. All that I need to do for the vip is build a front engine mount support and replace the gimbal bearing when the part comes in. Everything is coming together now. I will be in the water by the time spring sets in.

 

[ready4lake]

Re: The swap will begin soon

 

[ready4lake]

Re: The swap will begin soon

I was hoisting the 4.3 up to put in the bayliner when I noticed some rust spots on the block. I took a closer look and there was a small crack. After more inspection I found another crack.Its a shame that people spend so much money on boats and don't take the time to do a propper winterizing. Looks like I am gonna go find a block at the junkyard that matches. I have already tore down the engine to a bare block. I can get ahold of another 4.3 block for about $40, so that wont be too bad. The rebuild kit will cost another $200, but in the long run I will be happier to know that I have a freshly rebuilt motor in my boat.

 

[ready4lake]

Re: The swap will begin soon

I found a matching block on saturday. I have both motors stripped to bare block.The internals of the original look like it has barely been used. Too bad the block is bad. The block from the yard is definitely high miles. I am getting it bored out next week and hot tanked. I am going to clean all the external parts and paint them while waiting on the block.

 

[ready4lake]

Re: The swap will begin soon

Well looks like the block will be ready sooner than I thought. I dropped it off to day to be cleaned and all the machine work done. They also had a rebuild kit, so I should start the reassembly this weekend. I guess I will just clean and paint the external parts as I go. I want to paint the block blue to match my boat. Is it wrong to paint a chevy engine ford blue?

 

[Bondo]

Re: The swap will begin soon

Is it wrong to paint a chevy engine ford blue?

Ayuh,... Donno,.... Mine is Cat Yellow....

There's a Lime Green 1 over at the Dry-dock....

I've been workin' on a 400, that's gonna be Gold...

 

[ready4lake]

Re: The swap will begin soon

Well there are definitely many colors to choose from. I will just have to see what is available at the parts store.

 

[ready4lake]

Re: The swap will begin soon

I decided to fix the original block for the 4.3. The machine shop said my other block was bad. I cleaned the cracked area and used jb weld. Gonna see if that will get me through the season til i get a reman. Block. I noticed some water pour out of the dip stick tube when i tilted the engine. I drained the oil and it is not milky. Is there a possibility the block is cracked internally and allowing water to get in the oil? The head gasket was not cracked nor the head. I am putting it back together with a gasket kit and gonna run it and see if there is still any problems. I am hoping water just entered from weather. I will see.

 

[doral1985]

Re: The swap will begin soon

I like your lifting gallows, except I would have been pretty scared using the one 2x10 beam across ur verticals, I done mine and had 3 2x6 screwed together and that was scary.Your doing a great job, lots of work, but enjoyable once its finished, keep pics comming.

 

[perna00]

Re: The swap will begin soon

If it had enough pressure to crack the exterior housing, there is always a possibility that there is a crack internally as well. You might want to double check before using it. It doesn't take but a little bit of water to ruin new bearings/seals internally. An extra few days worth of waiting might be worth not having to completely redo what you just did. Just my .02. (yeah, for those following my other threads, this is hypocritical of me).

 

[ready4lake]

Re: The swap will begin soon

Thanks for the reply. I am going to pressure test the cooling system once i get it put back together. I did not notice any other cracks than on the outside when i had the heads and intake off. If the pressure test is good i will put new oil in and run on the stand and see what happens. I really dont want to search the yards for another matching block. I have already played that game and lost.

 

[ready4lake]

Re: The swap will begin soon

I did a close inspection of the whole block and didn't see any other cracks. I checked the lifter valley and no signs of cracks. I know sometimes they are not noticeable to the naked eye, but I am confident because the block is very clean. I am impressed by how clean it was when I got it all apart. This engine has not seen much use for being an '87. Here are some pics. I have started to reassemble everything and hope to have it in the boat and running by sunday.

Notice the red bowl under the engine. The color of the oil is still dark, but there was some water coming out of the dipstick tube when I turned the engine over. It was about a cup of water. Could that just be condensation from the motore sitting so long? Since the only cracks were external I don't see how it could have got in there. I think the exhaust is fine because the cylinders showed no signes of rust. They were as clean as new. Thats why I wanted to save this block because I measured the cylinders and they are not worn at all.

Here is the jb weld job. I ground it down to bare metal and v'd the two cracks. I also put holes at the ends of the cracks. So it should hold up.

 

[ready4lake]

Re: The swap will begin soon

I like your lifting gallows, except I would have been pretty scared using the one 2x10 beam across ur verticals, I done mine and had 3 2x6 screwed together and that was scary.Your doing a great job, lots of work, but enjoyable once its finished, keep pics comming.

I just noticed your post. It was very scary. I was trying to do it cheap. I am definitely not lifting the engine with all the components when I put it back in the boat. I just wanted something that I could use and then take apart easily, but if there is a next time I will build it a much more sturdy. Thanks for the comment by the way. I am off of work and school next week so I should have it finished and in the water by the end of next week hopefully.

 

[ready4lake]

Re: The swap will begin soon

I spent almost my whole spring break on the boat. I finally go the engine in the boat and everything connected. I am not able to take it to the lake yet. I have some carb issues. The engine does start but the the jets do not supply fuel so it dies immediately.I did not take pics due to being in a hurry to go to the lake. I will take pics of the finished work soon though. I had many timing issues that gave me a head scratcher over the past few days. Once the timing was set, it fired right up. I am going to get up early tomorrow and clean the carb really well and put new gaskets on to see if that helps. If not I am ordering a new carb. The motor runs for a few seconds and sounds good. There is no knocking or pinging and the jb weld seemed to work for the block. Once I get it running I will find out if the jb weld is good when it warms up. I am excited about trying it out since the weather is finally getting in the 80's here. I will update tomorrow on the carb issues.

 

[ready4lake]

Re: The swap will begin soon

Well after chasing a bunch of electrical issues which I initially thought were fuel issues, I can say the swap is complete. Sorry there are no finished pics yet. I have been very busy and only able to work on it at night. This weekend when I go to the lake to set the timing I will take pics and post them.