Alpha Drives to Gen II--questions

I have a 1988 twin engine/ 260 / Alpha drive boat---my drives are original and have been resealed-reshimmed ect-and run fine---the prob is that corrision had eaten away a lot of the lower housing to the point that the prop shaft large ring is exposed and prob someday will let loose and dump the prop, shaft, right out the back-----I have an opportunity to purchase a set of Gen II drives from a struggling marine mech---questions are:

1-after sanding and painting my old drives for 20+ years-it's hard to find #'s on them--how do I tell gear ratios

2-where do i find ratio information on the Gen II drives

3-I assume they will fit --do I have to do anything to switch them if the ratios are the same

Any help would be great---Thanks Steve

Re: Alpha Drives to Gen II--questions

Your ratio with 5.7 GM motors should be 1.50-1, some say they can make a GEN II fit but it`s not recommended with the grinding thats needed.
Try looking at the SEI complete drive or just the lowers, plus you can get one counter rotating

Re: Alpha Drives to Gen II--questions

Yep, switching to Gen II is not a viable option.
Go get a pair of SEI drives ($1200 for a complete outdrive) and don't look back.

Re: Alpha Drives to Gen II--questions

Well---I thought about that- except for the fact that I can buy 2 drives in perfect shape with almost 0 hours on them for $500 for the pair--thats $250 each---how can a guy pass that up--- I've been getting different opinions on this--am I correct that the grinding you are talking about is on the mounting holes on the drive ???

Re: Alpha Drives to Gen II--questions

Well, you better get the Gen II transom shields, exhaust Y's and everything else that goes with them. And it's a lot more than just some grinding.
The Gen II drives are NOT compatable with the Alpha transom shield, no matter what you can get them for.

Re: Alpha Drives to Gen II--questions

You could buy them, sell them and probably get money for at least on SEI drive. If you grind and do it wrong then you will have more money into it than you would need