Gimbal housing adaption

rer613rer

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Hello all, not sure just what I have, my houseboat, a 1971 Nautiline has a mercruiser out drive on it, what I am looking to do is put another gimbal housing on it with another alpha 1 out drive. Currently I am not sure just what out drive I currently have but matches with the alpha 1, what I want to accomplish is pulling the whole unit off to sandblast and paint BUT I want to do it while the boat is still in the water. I can get it high enough to do this, the water is real shallow where I am, but what I want to do is put another gimbal housing on and another alpha 1 drive. The houseboat has a 260 hp 350 GM engine, I have a older 70s gimbal housing, 888 I think, does anyone think the housing will mate up with the engine. This is a temporary fix while I get the original unit checked out and serviced, the gimbal housing is my main concern, I was looking at just blanking the hole up but have these parts on hand.
 

Bondo

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1971 Nautiline has a mercruiser out drive on it,

Ayuh,...... Welcome Aboard,...... If the transom assembly is original, it's a very early MC-1, which has a slightly different bolt pattern, than the later Alpha,.....

I also don't see how this can be done in the water,...... The Entire transom needs to be above the water,.....
 

rer613rer

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Hello, thanks for the quick response, I am pretty sure the present out drive is an 84 or 85, and I am pretty sure I can get it high enough, I tried to locate a template for my gimbal housing and didn't have much luck
, I plan on making a blank up plate as a last resort. I will post pictures soon.
 

Bondo

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Ayuh,.... The drive's bolt patterns are the same,.....

The older MC-1s have a slightly different transom thru-stud pattern though,.....

I doubt you'll find a pattern, as it's been obsolete for over 4 decades,....
 

rer613rer

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Not sure how to post pictures but here goes, this is of the one I want to pull
 

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Bondo

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Ayuh,..... With the looks of that big plate there,......

I'm guessin' the transom in that boat is Completely Rotten,..... to the point of bein' Unsafe,.....

Any less than pullin' the boat, 'n replacin' the transom is a fool's journey,.....
 

Rick Stephens

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Bondo,
possible that they took older style cutout and hole pattern and made a plate to convert?
 

Bondo

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Bondo,
possible that they took older style cutout and hole pattern and made a plate to convert?

Ayuh,..... It Could be alotta things,.... I'm just goin' on what I See, 'n know quite well what happens,.....

Goin' from the older MC-1 to the later MC-1/ Alpha pattern only requires drillin' a couple of new holes,......

Maybe it was an old Stringer drive, but even then, I see no reason to trust such a cobbed up transom,.....
 

Bt Doctur

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I have to agree with Bondo, No mercruiser uses any type of plating on the transom.Thats a "southern" fix
and to remove the complete outer housing requires removal of the engine first
 

rer613rer

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I know this is not the original outdrive and will see what's up with the inside when I pull it off, still not to sure just what stern drive is on it, cannot find any numbers, might when I can get it cleaned up.
 

Bt Doctur

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Being a flat top with a lifting hole verses a eye in the cap would make it a R/MR/Alpha1
let me grab a pic of the serial number location
 

Bt Doctur

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may have to remove any sticker or paint, the number is stamped into the housing
Untitledsa1.jpg
 

rer613rer

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Hello again, I have tried just about everything I can do to locate the serial number, to no avail, don't know if this has been sand blasted in the past. I have found no serial number at all, now I have no idea if this was the original engine and stern drive type for this house boat.
 

Bondo

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I have found no serial number at all, now I have no idea if this was the original engine and stern drive type for this house boat.

Ayuh,..... Don't sweat it,..... The more ya take apart, the easier it is to see exactly what you've got as far as components go,....

At this point, you've got a MR / Alpha 1 outdrive, 'n a MC-1 transom assembly,......
The transom assembly is older than the drive, but that's not a problem,.....

See if you can find the motor's serial number, which might nail down the vintage of the MC-1 hardware,....

I'm more concerned about the hull, 'n the condition of the hull's transom,.....
That big plate, Ain't supposed to be there,.......
 

Scott Danforth

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you need to get the boat on the hard, pull the drive, pull the motor, pull the transom shield....... and fix the transom.....like bondo stated

that plate is an indicator that something is awry with the transom.

doing anything except fixing the transom first is just a fools errand.
 
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