twin 351, repower help

[gnsecher1]

Ok guys, heres one to sink your teeth into, I just bought a 34 ft boat with 351 ford engines with vdrives. Both engines are said to have not been winterized and have cracked blocks, at this point that is all I know. my first step will be to fire(or try) them up and see how bad, it seems that there is water in the oil though so I will assume that they are bad. At first I was hoping to maybe find a couple used engines, but being fords there isnt anything I can find. a friend told me he knew someone that would stich weld the blocks, he said it was amazing process, and for like $500 he would go over both blocks??? obviously the 3rd opt is rebuilt long blocks. But I really have a budget of $3000 and a friend is charging $1000 to do the work. What advise can the experts give me ,,, please. $3000 what you got to work with.

 

[Bondo]

Re: twin 351, repower help

he said it was amazing process,

Ayuh,... Trust me,.. Welding is NOT a option for a Frozen 351...

 

[300sflyer]

Re: twin 351, repower help

If there is already water in the oil, the chances are VERY good the blocks are cracked internally, so repair is out of the question.

Having said that, $3000 is not going to be even close to covering the repair bill for replacement engines, [new, rebuilt, or used] even if you do all the work yourself.

One has to wonder what else the previous owner neglected, and is now in need of major repair as well...

Good luck.

 

[Shamus O'toole]

Re: twin 351, repower help

your gonna be hard pressed to find used 351's for the price your talking about. I would look for late model 302's (5.0's) you can find them all day long.

 

[fishinpa]

Re: twin 351, repower help

Yea 1450 ea per longblock from Rapido !

dont think that other hundred will go to far after that ..


fish

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: twin 351, repower help

I see plenty of 351W blocks on ebay/craigslist all the time. I am rebuilding my 351W at the moment, and I have estimated that with almost every part minus the crank, I can rebuild the longblock w/carb and dizzy for about $1500 using performance parts. Add another $3-400 for shop labor, and a couple hundred for miscellaneous costs. So it will take roughly $2200 to have a brand new 351W with all new internals other than the crank. Multiply that by two and you have a decent budget number.

You could find an already running short/long block for about $3-500 and simply have it looked over and slap in in, but I didn't want to take my chances. I wouldn't weld the block if it's cracked.

 

[zbnutcase]

Re: twin 351, repower help

Yup $3000 won't get you 1 reman longblock installed,let alone 2, and converting to Chevs totally out of the question on that budget. Either save up some more dough, or sell it and buy a different one. 'nutcase

 

[gnsecher1]

Re: twin 351, repower help

well guys thanks for the help although it did not give me the answer I was looking for... I Just bought 2 marine rebuilt long blocks for 1200 each including all the gaskets. my marine mechanics will finish the install for $600 if I remove the old engines and drop the new one in place, he will hook it all up. the yards gonna charge me $160 for the crane.
this boat came from maryland. they had a very early hard freeze last year before the guy I bought the boat from had it winterized. the boat has been very well taken care if, and have receipts for the commish that summer with tune up, 1 carb rebuild and new impellas. also receipts for new elbows and risers th year before. The prev owner did a complete interior in 05 and new canvas in 07, so the boat was very well cared for, it is very clean. so all done Im lookin at $3160. am I missing something? Who said I couldnt do one for $3000? lol. come on guys, people need the business these days. when Im done I will have a very nice 86 carver 330

 

[rbh]

Re: twin 351, repower help

Sounds like a good buy on the engines.
and just a little over budget, but not by much, considering!
post some pic as you go through the process.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: twin 351, repower help

Hey, I called your budget almost exactly! You are going to come out somewhere close to $4,400 and that's double what rebuilding one is going to cost me! You just went with reman'd blocks and mechanic's labor, I'm doing mine with pricier parts and my own labor.

 

[300sflyer]

Re: twin 351, repower help

Do those longblocks come with "new" exhaust manifolds and risers?

 

[Bondo]

Re: twin 351, repower help

am I missing something?

Ayuh,... As Flyer says,... The Exhaust,... It don't come Cheap....
They were full of water too....

 

[gnsecher1]

Re: twin 351, repower help

Ayuh,... As Flyer says,... The Exhaust,... It don't come Cheap....
They were full of water too....

my mechanic with 12 years marine experience looked at it today... no need for risers or exhaust, all fairly new. replaced in 07

 

[300sflyer]

Re: twin 351, repower help

my mechanic with 12 years marine experience looked at it today... no need for risers or exhaust, all fairly new. replaced in 07

Three years old, 1 year old, or brand new, it doesn't matter. Once they freeze full of water, they are junk and will ruin your new longblocks if used.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: twin 351, repower help

Three years old, 1 year old, or brand new, it doesn't matter. Once they freeze full of water, they are junk and will ruin your new longblocks if used.

Well they can be inspected and pressure tested. Water freezing in the block and cracking it doesn't mean it cracked the manifolds/risers too. They should just be inspected and tested for proper function, especialy on something only a year or two old.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: twin 351, repower help

You might want to look into closed cooling, with your new engines, being that you are running in salt water....
I would have the mans/risers checked, the grade of their metal is no where near that of a block........

 

[Shamus O'toole]

Re: twin 351, repower help

you got a great deal. Just hope it's not to good to be true. GL

 

[gnsecher1]

Re: twin 351, repower help

Update!! ended up buying two longblocks for $2000 on craigslist from a guy that bought them new to repower a boat he was a partner in. dueto personal reasons, he never used them. he also gave me all the parts he took off the old block. exhaust, carbs, manifold, all new tune up parts, 2 new altinators, 2 new starters, 2 velvet drives,(only oneis good) and a pile of other stuff. my mehanic has pulled the old engines, and put together the new ones. hoping to run them maybe today, then get em back in. I did decide not to use my friend to do the work, and I am going to come in at about $4000 when sheis done.

If anyone needs any starters, alts, carbs, borg warner, or just about anything else, I have spares

 

[DAVECAD2.0]

Re: twin 351, repower help

well guys thanks for the help although it did not give me the answer I was looking for... I Just bought 2 marine rebuilt long blocks for 1200 each including all the gaskets. my marine mechanics will finish the install for $600 if I remove the old engines and drop the new one in place, he will hook it all up. the yards gonna charge me $160 for the crane.
this boat came from maryland. they had a very early hard freeze last year before the guy I bought the boat from had it winterized. the boat has been very well taken care if, and have receipts for the commish that summer with tune up, 1 carb rebuild and new impellas. also receipts for new elbows and risers th year before. The prev owner did a complete interior in 05 and new canvas in 07, so the boat was very well cared for, it is very clean. so all done Im lookin at $3160. am I missing something? Who said I couldnt do one for $3000? lol. come on guys, people need the business these days. when Im done I will have a very nice 86 carver 330

About two years ago a bought a brand new bob tail 1996 351W from Basic Power Industries for $3695. Thought that was a good deal. Double check the "Marine" part. Marine engine cast iron alloy is different from auto alloy as some boats run "Raw water" cooling. Also brass, not aluminum freeze plugs. Speaking of which, did any of them blow from the freeze?

Good luck.

 

[Noe de la Garza]

Re: twin 351, repower help

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/boa/1678897577.html

Look at this link, they have been sitting there for a while. Might be compatible. I really don;t know. Since they have been sitting there for a while might get avery good deal on them?