DirtyMaxin
Cadet
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2013
- Messages
- 14
I'm in talks to purchase an '82 Day Cruiser with a Mercruiser 260/350 V8, boat was in storage and engine seized, according to the seller. He said he last took it out in 2013 before his son was born and then parked it in his yard. He went to go take it out again a few months ago and it was seized, wouldn't turn over. The boat is in beautiful shape, upholstery is a few years old with no signs of wear, no hull/gel coat damage aside from sun fade on the deck, even the swim step wood is in great shape. Trailer is beautiful, new tires, current California reg (same with the boat as well). Has receipts from work on the drive (though I didn't read too much into it yet). The engine and bilge are clean, no oil leaks. Dipstick shows good (used, not new) oil. Hooking the battery up, the boat lights up, radio works great, its a steal!
So I was ready to go pick it up next paycheck, but that was because I was looking for a quick project to have ready for the river this summer. I have a mild 350 from my old stump puller K20 with about 20k on it. I was looking to swap that engine in and a strong running boat, but while asking a well-know marine mechanic questions, he told me I might as well just throw that engine in the trash if I'm going to swap it into the boat. He schooled me on the different casting/internals between a pickup truck engine and a marine engine. He then told me if the boat is in as good of shape as I claim it to be then I should grab it, park it and save up for an engine rebuild or crate. He then said he would help me free up the cylinders for free and give me a chance to assess it. He says he thinks there might even be a shot of saving it if the guys being honest with me.
I have previously used MMO to free up a seized 454 in a buddies Winnebago. We seafoamed it, did a valve job, oil pump and some gaskets/seals and that Winnebago went on another 2 years of camping trips (quite frequent, 1-2 times a month) before he sold it to another friend who still has it to this day. So now I'm wondering if there might be a shot of saving that engine. The Winnebago 454 had open intake valves that allowed moisture, or so it seemed when we pulled the intake manifold off.
So my question that I'd like some opinions on, is it worth a shot to save that engine, or is it worth putting a truck motor in? I really don't want to run a good semi-built 350 at WOT for a summer and destroy it, but finding a replacement Mercruiser block/internals for budget might not be doable where I'm at, craigslist is looking a little baren.
I would much appreciate any input!
So I was ready to go pick it up next paycheck, but that was because I was looking for a quick project to have ready for the river this summer. I have a mild 350 from my old stump puller K20 with about 20k on it. I was looking to swap that engine in and a strong running boat, but while asking a well-know marine mechanic questions, he told me I might as well just throw that engine in the trash if I'm going to swap it into the boat. He schooled me on the different casting/internals between a pickup truck engine and a marine engine. He then told me if the boat is in as good of shape as I claim it to be then I should grab it, park it and save up for an engine rebuild or crate. He then said he would help me free up the cylinders for free and give me a chance to assess it. He says he thinks there might even be a shot of saving it if the guys being honest with me.
I have previously used MMO to free up a seized 454 in a buddies Winnebago. We seafoamed it, did a valve job, oil pump and some gaskets/seals and that Winnebago went on another 2 years of camping trips (quite frequent, 1-2 times a month) before he sold it to another friend who still has it to this day. So now I'm wondering if there might be a shot of saving that engine. The Winnebago 454 had open intake valves that allowed moisture, or so it seemed when we pulled the intake manifold off.
So my question that I'd like some opinions on, is it worth a shot to save that engine, or is it worth putting a truck motor in? I really don't want to run a good semi-built 350 at WOT for a summer and destroy it, but finding a replacement Mercruiser block/internals for budget might not be doable where I'm at, craigslist is looking a little baren.
I would much appreciate any input!
