please help me identify this mess... circa 1973 outdrives

[the man]

the boat is a 1973 Marauder 24 flybridge. i do not have the engines; i do have the bell housings, manifolds and risers, and the outdrives are still connected to the boat. what i want to know, from the pictures below, is:

1. what kind of outdrives are these? i see no numbers anywhere!
2. are these worth rebuilding and /or saving? i know that is hard to answer from pictures; what i mean is are they good units with a good reputation? or should i throw them away.
3. these drives seem different on the bell housing side. the pipes are different- one has round pipes (port) the other has rectangular that turn to round. is that an issue?
4. what is up with the port bell housing? obviously very wrong. the housing is way off alignment compared to the starboard, and the shaft has that "pin" or something in the center where the other does not. (see picture taken from top). now i know this may be obvious when (if) i start digging into these, but any initial insights are much appreciated before i get started.

thanks!

pictures from left to right below: port, starboard, from top, then two of the outdrives from outside the boat

 

[Fun Times]

Re: please help me identify this mess... circa 1973 outdrives

1. what kind of outdrives are these? i see no numbers anywhere!

They are volvo penta AQ series stern drives that look to be AQ 270's.

 

[snobdr]

Re: please help me identify this mess... circa 1973 outdrives

270 or 275 decent outdrives. Tilt only no trim. Have to be all the way down and locked when running. Parts interchange through 290 series.

 

[captmello]

Re: please help me identify this mess... circa 1973 outdrives

There's lots to be learned from the first two pics.

The drive shafts are clearly different, the first has the pointed tip that would typically fit into a pilot bearing in a flywheel. Typically used in four cylinder applications. However it has a V8 ypipe attached, looks like a ford ypipe, but I'm not sure...

The second pic has a more typical drive shaft for a V8 motor. No tip for a pilot bearing, looks like mine. I can't see the top of the ypipe because of the hoses. can you get a pic without the hoses on top?

And take some pics of the exhaust manifolds I see laying in the bilge.

Yes, they are 270 outdrives. They are fine, but rebuilding them is not cost effective. I'd drain the fluid from them and see what you find, you may find that they are in good shape. they are very well built.

What are you thinking of doing with that "mess"?

 

[the man]

Re: please help me identify this mess... circa 1973 outdrives

There's lots to be learned from the first two pics.

The drive shafts are clearly different, the first has the pointed tip that would typically fit into a pilot bearing in a flywheel. Typically used in four cylinder applications. However it has a V8 ypipe attached, looks like a ford ypipe, but I'm not sure...

The second pic has a more typical drive shaft for a V8 motor. No tip for a pilot bearing, looks like mine. I can't see the top of the ypipe because of the hoses. can you get a pic without the hoses on top?

And take some pics of the exhaust manifolds I see laying in the bilge.

Yes, they are 270 outdrives. They are fine, but rebuilding them is not cost effective. I'd drain the fluid from them and see what you find, you may find that they are in good shape. they are very well built.

thanks i will take more pics when i am back down there. the boat had 351s in it- they were rusted piles in baskets when i picked the boat up so i made a deal to take what was in the boat and book for $300. i will take pictures of the manifolds /risers but i am almost positive they are for the 351s.

What are you thinking of doing with that "mess"?

i want to rebuild the entire boat- the hull is in excellent shape- and get it on the water. kind of a pet project since i have always loved these boats. just trying to figure out what my options are at this point, and what makes sense both from an economic and a 'go fast' mindset. i would love to drop a couple fuel injected 350s in it; but if the outdrives and bell housings are worth keeping, maybe i will go back to 351s. no definite plan at this point- except to come up with a plan!

 

[captmello]

Re: please help me identify this mess... circa 1973 outdrives

Ok, you left out the part about the 351's, so it is a ford y pipe I see in back of the four cylinder flywheel cover...Do this, put that outdrive in gear by pulling the cover off the back with the two phillips head screws to reveal the shift linkage. Look at the link I attached. Part number 54 is what turns to shift. Nuetral is horizontal, forward and reverse will be a 45 deg turn in either direction. Once in gear either turn the prop or the pointed shaft and count rotations. If it is a four cylinder outrive, the prop will turn one revolution for each 2.15 revolutions of the drive shaft, if it is a V8 outdrive, it the prop will turn 1 revolution for each 1.61 revolutions of the driveshaft.

This will tell you if that outdrive will even work for you.
Upper Gear Unit Aq Drive Unit 280 - 7742260 - Volvo Penta

Ford motors haven't been used in a long time in boats and I wouldn't use one in a project as big as this.

 

[the man]

Re: please help me identify this mess... circa 1973 outdrives

Ok, you left out the part about the 351's, so it is a ford y pipe I see in back of the four cylinder flywheel cover...Do this, put that outdrive in gear by pulling the cover off the back with the two phillips head screws to reveal the shift linkage. Look at the link I attached. Part number 54 is what turns to shift. Nuetral is horizontal, forward and reverse will be a 45 deg turn in either direction. Once in gear either turn the prop or the pointed shaft and count rotations. If it is a four cylinder outrive, the prop will turn one revolution for each 2.15 revolutions of the drive shaft, if it is a V8 outdrive, it the prop will turn 1 revolution for each 1.61 revolutions of the driveshaft.

This will tell you if that outdrive will even work for you.
Upper Gear Unit Aq Drive Unit 280 - 7742260 - Volvo Penta

thanks! will do when i am at my shop next time... soon

Ford motors haven't been used in a long time in boats and I wouldn't use one in a project as big as this.

yes, I was afraid of this. So, if i went with the 350s, wouldn't I need a different bell housing? that seems obvious to me. and then- is that available for a 350?

 

[captmello]

Re: please help me identify this mess... circa 1973 outdrives

You are not going to have good luck trying to piece this together. You will essentially be needing everything from the motors to the transom shields. Maybe, you will be able to use the outdrives, depending on if they are the correct gear ratio. Check both the way I described. The 350 ypipes wont fit the transom shield. Thru hull exhaust would solve that issue. Just thinking out loud. You can buy the parts on ebay and they are expensive. If you really want to do this, you should begin searching for junk boats with usable motors and outdrives. You may consider switching to Mercruiser if you can find a set of motors/outdrives. You'd need to redo the transom in that case.

Whatever way you decide to go, its going to be a big,expensive job! I hope you will post your project in the resto forum if you choose to go ahead with it.

 

[the man]

Re: please help me identify this mess... circa 1973 outdrives

You are not going to have good luck trying to piece this together. You will essentially be needing everything from the motors to the transom shields.

Whatever way you decide to go, its going to be a big,expensive job! I hope you will post your project in the resto forum if you choose to go ahead with it.

i am not able to turn the port shaft to count revs. i was able to pull the top off the outdrive, it in neutral, and count turns of the vertical shaft. that was as close as i could tell 2.15 to the prop's 1. does that tell you anything?

either way, this is good advice as i can still abort mission on these now without wasted work or money.

 

[captmello]

Re: please help me identify this mess... circa 1973 outdrives

Sorry, but I'd abort it. You may be able to sell what you've got and make your money back. The 2.15, 4 cylinder, ratio outdrives are very common. They outlast the boats they were installed on years ago. But they still are worth a few hundred bucks if they work. The V8 outdrives are not as common and could be worth a bit more. Look on ebay, theres a ton of parts for sale there, you'll get the idea. The tilt assemblies, if working bring good money as well, so maybe not a total lose. even the old ford ypipes are worth something.

Take the profit, and put it toward a more practical project.

 

[the man]

Re: please help me identify this mess... circa 1973 outdrives

Sorry, but I'd abort it. You may be able to sell what you've got and make your money back. The 2.15, 4 cylinder, ratio outdrives are very common.

this guy had a 4 cylinder and an eight cylinder outdrive installed the boat, with two 351s in baskets in the garage. that explains some of the other hack jobs i have found on this boat. thanks for the help- i am going to liquidate the outdrives but not giving up on the project just yet.