Mercruiser Inboard (V-Drive) Ford 302? or 351?

[RotaryRacer]

I'm looking to buy a boat that has twin Mercruiser inboards...V-drives actually. The owner states that they are 302s. The valve covers say 225hp. The boat is a 1974. Did they have a 302 that was rated at 225hp in the mid seventies, or are the motors actually 351s?

I'm admittedly not as familiar with Fords as I am GMs. These motor are definitely Fords though...distributor at the front.

I assume the 351 is a bigger block. Is there a quick and easy way to determine what these are? A measurement maybe?

[Don S]

Yes, there was a 225 Ford 302 used by Mercruiser in 73 and 74.


Click on this thumbnail Ford225.jpg

[RogersJetboat454]

I assume the 351 is a bigger block. Is there a quick and easy way to determine what these are? A measurement maybe?

I'm also admittedly a Chevy guy, but... Think of the 351 as a tall deck version of the 302, therefore it requires a wider intake then a 289/302. If you can snap some pictures of the engines, there may be some cracker jack Ford folks on here that could identify which is which by looking at the shape of the intakes. Another possibility is getting the casting/part #'s of the intakes and doing a google search to see what kind of hits you get on them. Then there is always this; http://lmgtfy.com/?q=the+difference+...rd+302+and+351

The other thing you need to keep in mind is Ford has been out of the marine business for over 15 years now, and at least double that plus a few ticks more when it comes to having any association Mercury/Mercruiser. If there are any hard core parts that are specific to your drive system that are Mercury only parts, you may be searching high and low for a long time to even come up with usable used parts to get you back on the water.

[RotaryRacer]

Thanks for the info. With Dons post and the bit of research I did after I posted, I'm pretty sure these are 302s. I'm not too concerned about parts availabilty. If these motors break or have issues, the boat would be a good candidate for a repower.