Im to i/o so i could use alil help and advice. ive always had smaller boats with o/bs so this is all new to me. last week my buddy gave me his old 72 (i believe he said 19 ft) sea ray. the hull is in great shape,and a cpl years ago he glassed in new stringers and redid the floor. the problem is he cracked a exhaust manifold and the engines been out of the boat for a few years. i looked over the engine and its going to need a complete tear down and rebuild before id even try to put it back in the boat. its a 302 ford, and the outdrive is an 888(alpha 1?). so some of my questions are this.
1.what precautionary measures should i take with the outdrive thats been just sitting for several years?
2. i have a late 80s 302 out of a crown vic police car that has fairly low miles.would i be able to just use this as a donor block and swap everything over, or should i look at using the marine cam and heads? any differences?
3. the exhaust manifold still has the crack in it, can these be welded? im sure they would have to pressure test it to make sure theres no internal cracks, or better to just get new ones?
im kind of on a strict budget(like the rest of the world lol) and want to get this thing humming right before i tear into the interior that is pretty much shot. im just wondering what road i should start down before i get to mixed up in this thing. im a single dad and the boy loves boats, but before i show it to him, i want to have some idea of what im getting into and wether im going to dissapoint him with a big anchor.
looking for some advice from you fellows as to what the best choice for the engine would be, donor block, or rebuild the original. i can do the rebuild myself, but im guessing the crown vic motor is pushing a few more ponies and would work well. also if the original outdrive is a 72, what model or generation would have come with this boat?
id hate to just let this thing sit in the weeds and waste away, its a nice old boat and has great character and lines to her.
oh yeah, i also have a 351w available, what parts would i need to get new for this motor as compared to the 302 if i decided to go bigger c.i.(bell housing,mounts, exhaust?) ? thankx all.
1.what precautionary measures should i take with the outdrive thats been just sitting for several years?
2. i have a late 80s 302 out of a crown vic police car that has fairly low miles.would i be able to just use this as a donor block and swap everything over, or should i look at using the marine cam and heads? any differences?
3. the exhaust manifold still has the crack in it, can these be welded? im sure they would have to pressure test it to make sure theres no internal cracks, or better to just get new ones?
im kind of on a strict budget(like the rest of the world lol) and want to get this thing humming right before i tear into the interior that is pretty much shot. im just wondering what road i should start down before i get to mixed up in this thing. im a single dad and the boy loves boats, but before i show it to him, i want to have some idea of what im getting into and wether im going to dissapoint him with a big anchor.
looking for some advice from you fellows as to what the best choice for the engine would be, donor block, or rebuild the original. i can do the rebuild myself, but im guessing the crown vic motor is pushing a few more ponies and would work well. also if the original outdrive is a 72, what model or generation would have come with this boat?
id hate to just let this thing sit in the weeds and waste away, its a nice old boat and has great character and lines to her.
oh yeah, i also have a 351w available, what parts would i need to get new for this motor as compared to the 302 if i decided to go bigger c.i.(bell housing,mounts, exhaust?) ? thankx all.