Looking for engine upgrade ideas for a Starcraft 1971/72 Holiday V 18' IO

[1Kelly]

Hi Everyone! This is a great site and I am glad to have found it!

I inherited a StarCraft Holiday V (18', 1971/72) from my Father in law a few years ago and have been working on it ever since. Not really restoration, just getting it to work again! With a lot of TLC she is up and running.

She is (and always was) under powered - with a 80 hp 1968 Cortina engine (Ford) - OMC stern drive.

I thinking about changing the engine/stern drive to something more reliable and more powerful.
I am looking for any and all suggestions from the experts on this site!

Looking forward to your comments!!!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Looking for engine upgrade ideas for a Starcraft 1971/72 Holiday V 18' IO

Welcome to iboats, tin division.

Read thru some of the SC resto's here:
Starcraft Rebuilds and Restorations, they're all here!

Yep, you'll want to change out that Ford driveline.

Start looking for donor boats that are trashed (probably neglected fiberglass boats) but have a good running driveline.

Welcome again.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Looking for engine upgrade ideas for a Starcraft 1971/72 Holiday V 18' IO

oops, double post :facepalm:

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: Looking for engine upgrade ideas for a Starcraft 1971/72 Holiday V 18' IO

Not a good choice of motor/outdrive, IMHO:
Is It worth my time? Old OMC engine/stern drive replacement/reno.

You want to look for a Mercruiser motor/outdrive combo, even though it means you've got a huge hole to fill in the transom.


This might be a good choice for a donor boat, IF it starts & runs GREAT, but until you're desperate, sub $1K would be better.

The trailer & anything decent can be stripped off & recycled into your project or sold to fund your boat build...