92 omc king cobra 7.4l

[Thomasf]

I’m looking at a boat that has 92 omc king cobra 7.4l and have seen the horror stories on the forums. It’s at a price I almost can’t lose just based on what the engine appears to be worth (2-3k). I have done a shift cable, interrupt switch, bellows and gimble on an 87 omc cobra 3.0l So I feel confident I can do the preventative work. I was hoping somebody would have pdf of the parts catalogue and service shop manual for the boat and any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Bondo]

I’m looking at a boat that has 92 omc king cobra 7.4l

Ayuh,..... Welcome Aboard,..... Don't buy a King Cobra,....

Unless yer only intention is to part it out,....

'ell,.... for that matter, Don't buy any OMC I/O,....

 

[Lou C]

Agreed don’t do it, searching for parts will get old in a hurry and if you want a boat to actually use it will not make you happy. I have been able to keep my old 88 4.3 Cobra going but the drive parts for the standard dog clutch Cobras are much easier to find and the older models have easily maintained points ignition systems and either Rochester or Holley carbs. The parts for these carbs and the Prestolite ignition are easy to find. The later OMCs with electronic ignition and EFI are very difficult to get parts for as is the cone clutch King Cobra drive. Take it from me I’ve had this one 18 years.

 

[Lou C]

PS
on the Crowley Marine site there are OMC parts catalogs and for that model you’ll see the most common part # is....NLA!

 

[Thomasf]

Is there any other drive that can mount in place of the cobra without fiberglass work. I don’t mind measuring an cutting but if there is leftover area that needs patched painted etc thats past the limit I care to be involved with. I currently have a 1987 Volvo penta 290 single prop on another boat that won’t get much money if I sell the boat so I could take the drive. Would this happen to mount in place? It’s all a money game and the price I can get boat for gives me about $2k of room to put in before I have more in the boat that it is worth.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Dont buy the boat period

 

[Lou C]

Is there any other drive that can mount in place of the cobra without fiberglass work. I don’t mind measuring an cutting but if there is leftover area that needs patched painted etc thats past the limit I care to be involved with. I currently have a 1987 Volvo penta 290 single prop on another boat that won’t get much money if I sell the boat so I could take the drive. Would this happen to mount in place? It’s all a money game and the price I can get boat for gives me about $2k of room to put in before I have more in the boat that it is worth.

that Volvo drive will not match the Cobra cut out. If you are considering repowering the boat with a different drive you will have to replace everything from the coupler back, transom mount, drive trim system etc. I don't see that happening for $2000 that easily and its not a small amount of work. To say nothing of the potential wood rot in a boat that age. Its 28 years old! Having fixed a lot of rot in my old '88 there is no way I'd ever do it again. New, or nearly new for me next time. At this point in life time is more valuable to me than money. I've spent enough time in the bilge fixing old stuff. Anyone who asks me I tell them the same thing. Buy a late model boat with a 4 stroke OUTBOARD. Sterndrives are a thing of the past and a nuisance to deal with. I love my Chevrolets I just prefer to have them in a hot rod than in a boat.