value of boat with new Vs. rebuilt engines...???

HI. I recently aquired a 1989 BAJA 320 project im currently working on.

boat has twin 454 330hp, bravo1 drives, both motors rebuilt .040 over and have lots of HIGH HP goodies added to them , making them more like 375hp each. anywho.....

starboard side engine is totally trashed via water intrusion via rusty/ leaky exhaust manifolds. so i was gonna have it rebuilt to like new specs and dropped back in boat. here lies my question:
i can get a set of new demo MERCRUISER 2006 502H.O. MPI engines for just under $15K. if i go ahead and spring for BRAND NEW( costly) engines, will the value of my boat increase that similar amount? i can get my blown motor rebuilt and re-installed, running and ready to go for a fraction of that same 15K.

beat up, general condition BAJA 320's of this vintage sell for around 15k- 20k. a really nice, all done up almost new looking BAJA 320 of same vintage sells for around 90K with new motors and drives and everything else new. by the way, the bravo 1 drives on the boat now are almost brand new, having been recently rebuilt 6 hours ago.

i would LOVE to have bigger motors( more speed) and would also love to have NEW motors, fuel injection is WAY, WAY cooler than a holley 750 any day!

basically, if i can get enough of ya guys here to say that the 502 MPI's would increase the value of my boat come resale time, the wife( a.k.a. financial stewart) would be more likely to lay down the ol' visa platinum.

whatcha think? negatives? positives? think of all those flier miles i would rack up.... woooo whooo ! ! !

Re: value of boat with new Vs. rebuilt engines...???

appearently the so called rebuilt engines had a missed step.
thats why unless I personally rebuilt them I consider rebuilds simply trash.
rebuilt means to many things to to many people.
are you sure the new 06 motors are actually 06 8.2L motors?
was my understanding that most of the 8.2 motors were done away with several years ago due to the 8.1.
however they could be, I know the block assemblies are still in production.
you will find either the 8.1(496CID) or the 8.2(502CID) are both incredible engines. the 8.1 tended to have more water injestion issues than the 8.2 due to camshaft design.
now would either actually increase the resale. maybe.
how much would be up to how much the buyer wanted that hull design.
but if ya do it ya may as well go with the most HP you can get .
the base 8.1 starts at about 385 HP and goes to about 425.
most likly you will need a prop change as well.
you will find the MPI motors tend to take the torque curve a bit higher up the RPM band.
thats why I love EFI, its not dependant on engine vacum to move fuel .
my suggestion, tell your finacial steward it will and go for it
also tell her if the hull isnt used the fiberglass may dryrot.
hey it worked for me for a long time .

Re: value of boat with new Vs. rebuilt engines...???

You can still get new 502's so I am guessing that they are what they say they are. I'd go for it. If the hull is nice and you can make it a $90K boat, then I am not sure what the downside is . . . Would it be a $80K boat with the 454's? That's around the breakover point, no?

What happened to rodbolt 0.0?

Re: value of boat with new Vs. rebuilt engines...???

Re: value of boat with new Vs. rebuilt engines...???

More Horsey's!!!:d

Re: value of boat with new Vs. rebuilt engines...???

I say get the "new" engines, if they are truly 502s. A 454 already bored .040 over doesn't sound like a good idea to me as something to rebuild, again.

In most cases, I would say no way in heck would the new 502s make the boat worth as much as they will cost. But in a boat like that, they might. But why would you want to take on a project boat, just to sell it? That sounds like a money loser to me. Redo it and enjoy it!
Best of luck to you.

Re: value of boat with new Vs. rebuilt engines...???

i love project boats! its my past-time i love having a boat for a year or two, fixing 'er up, and selling. if i break even, im happy.even if i lose a lil bit, im good, cause i had fun, and got to go boating!

as far as money goes, i've got almost nuthing invested, and now it would sell for 20K-30K( with rebuilt /repaired engines of course)

i figured i could throw 15K at brand new engines and related equipment and controls and even if it sold at 20K after all my work was done, i'd still proffit.

thats where i stand money wise so far. man.....i tell you guys everything....sheesh!

mike