help me properly ID this OMC cobra outdrive

[stackz]

ok, I'm helping my grandfather get rid of a couple old boat projects which will never ever see the water again for SEVERAL reasons lol...mainly rot. in return he's letting me salvage whatever I want off of them before they go. sweet.

basically, he's got an older renken speedboat with a 350 IO setup. I grew up on my dad's older 20' Marquis boat (dont even know exactly what year/model it is at this point, never really found out). its always had a 4-banger chevy IO setup that left us stranded more often than not. never liked it but I liked the boat itself. When the time comes to restore this boat. I'd rather not save the two 4-banger IO setups we have for it.

I'd rather sell them off and use the money to put into the boat restoration.

I'd like to swap over to this 350 IO setup if possible.

I intend to cut the whole aft section of the renken off in front of the dog house and take it with me so I can use the stringers as a template for the 350 mounts, use the transom as a template for the rear of my dad's boat, and ultimately (before I tear it apart for template useage) use the dogbox as a mockup cradle for a running 350 setup to work all the bugs out of the IO setup before transplanting it.

I have 3 good running 350's to use for this by the way so I dont really care that the one in the boat is trashed...it at least is complete and has all the hardware/brackets I need.

what do you guys think? I think it sounds like a plan!

anyway, the model # on the outdrive is 984543 with "ENG" @ 5.7L (350)

I intend to salvage pretty much everything mechanical off the donor boat regardless of whether its good or not in the end just to have on-hand "in case"

here's the pics, first of the future engine/IO recipient and then of the donor lol.

why in the world are the hydraulics unhooked I dont even know? hopefully this means this is why it was originally parked and that the guts are good...either that or the long block went out which is why the valvecovers were missing. who knows lol.

 

[Don S]

Re: help me properly ID this OMC cobra outdrive

It'a an OMC (Obsolete Marine Corp. they went out of business in 98) Cobra outdrive. 1987 with a 1.41:1 gear ratio.
The trim cylinder were probably unhooked because the trim pump didn't work and they wanted the outdrive up in order to move the boat.
From the corrosion on the outside of the drive, I wouldn't expect the insides to be much better, but pulling the drive and draining the gear lube and checking the lube for metal and water would be the first check.

 

[cr2k]

Re: help me properly ID this OMC cobra outdrive

Somebody did a Major Romper Room No No and put an automotive distributor on that old engine. Could have blown the boat up. I would guess the Starter, Alternator and Carb are suspect too.

 

[proshadetree]

Re: help me properly ID this OMC cobra outdrive

No offense but I would sell all that omc stuff and swap to a merc. The manifolds and outdrive are worth something to someone. If it was already a omc drive I would try it by why do an obsolete swap?

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: help me properly ID this OMC cobra outdrive

Wow there is a tree growing up through the boat... She been sitting in the dirt along time.. I would sell all the OMC stuff and stick your 350 you have on a merc outdrive... You will be surprised what that outdrive will go for on E Bay.. Put it on there and let it ride... Those parts could halfway finance your build..

 

[stackz]

Re: help me properly ID this OMC cobra outdrive

Somebody did a Major Romper Room No No and put an automotive distributor on that old engine. Could have blown the boat up. I would guess the Starter, Alternator and Carb are suspect too.

was just checking back with this thread for some numbers for more research and couldnt help but notice your comment.

I know the auto starter and alt are booboos as they arent shielded or something against corrosion and can arc on themselves....

but why is the carb and the distributor a no-no? carbs can easily be sealed and then cap vented with a vent cover.

the carb I dont understand why it needs to be marine specific especially if its manual choke...there's nothing electrical about it at that point...just a mechanical gas squirter.

Wow there is a tree growing up through the boat... She been sitting in the dirt along time..

been sitting since about 2000ish in that location. the tree is actually rooted in the bilge and moves with the boat lol. boat is still on a trailer. now another boat in the backyard will need the tree cut out of it before it can move though haha.

 

[Don S]

Re: help me properly ID this OMC cobra outdrive

carbs can easily be sealed and then cap vented with a vent cover.

Sure, you may be able to seal a couple of things, but you need vents and places for excess fuel to go. That is what makes a marine carb. Example, if the float sticks open, the gas goes into the throttle bores of the carb through the vent. Then engine will run rough and alert you to a problem. With an automotive carb, the vent is external. If you plug it, how does the float bowl are get vented ????
Fuel pumps are another thing. The vent for the pump diaphram in an automotive carb is a hole in the housing. In a marine carb, there is a tube that puts the leaking fuel into the carb, not in the bilge.
Distributors have screened vents built into the body of the distributor to prevent sparks from causing possible gas fumes in the bilge from igniting. Spark JUMPS from the rotor, to the contacts in the cap. Biig blue sparks.

 

[stackz]

Re: help me properly ID this OMC cobra outdrive

Sure, you may be able to seal a couple of things, but you need vents and places for excess fuel to go. That is what makes a marine carb. Example, if the float sticks open, the gas goes into the throttle bores of the carb through the vent. Then engine will run rough and alert you to a problem. With an automotive carb, the vent is external. If you plug it, how does the float bowl are get vented ????
Fuel pumps are another thing. The vent for the pump diaphram in an automotive carb is a hole in the housing. In a marine carb, there is a tube that puts the leaking fuel into the carb, not in the bilge.
Distributors have screened vents built into the body of the distributor to prevent sparks from causing possible gas fumes in the bilge from igniting. Spark JUMPS from the rotor, to the contacts in the cap. Biig blue sparks.

makes sense to me! didnt think about fuel accumulating in the bilge area. now here comes a different question, what if you convert to a TBI type fuel injection setup? that eliminates all the carb components and ecu can be sealed in a water tight box up by the driver station.

I mean I've seen some of the ford 5.0 setups that are fuel injected and they literally have manifolds from lincolns on them as well as using the little 14lb/hr white top injectors or 19lb/hr yellow top injectors.

I'm "assuming" these components would be universal? just trying to get a grasp on the differences but now that you point out the carb stuff memories are flooding back to me of my carb car days when the fuel pump would be leaking or the carb would spit gas everywhere lol.