repowering 21' Sickraft

[nealfris]

I'm in need some advice. I have a 21'Slickraft "1973" with Mercruser package "888"<br />302 Ford. Engine sucked-in salt water and I bought boat from a friend in this condition. The outdrive seems fine although shaft is allowing oil into gimble area, freind said it worked well. The 302 is no longer available, I don't want rebuilt, I would like to buy new engine,manifolds, risers ect...and freshwater cool kit for headache free ride. Everyone says go to a 350 chev. Please help with your Ideas. Thanks

 

[Bondo]

Re: repowering 21' Sickraft

H'll ya, Go for it.... Very East Swap..... Have the Mod.1 outdrive rebuilt while it's off,+ your good to go !!!

 

[coupedeville]

Re: repowering 21' Sickraft

Geez, these Chevy guys. Only kind of car in the world for them.<br />You can get a brand new 270 hp 302 [5 litre] from Ford.<br /> http://www.fordracing.com/parts/search/results/index.asp <br /><br />If you really want some fun, you can buy a 302 stroker engine - 347 cubes.

 

[geriksen]

Re: repowering 21' Sickraft

Unless you want to buy a complete engine package keep the Ford. The cost of brackets, manifolds, accy's will triple the cost of the job for no better performance. Have the yoke and seal replaced on the drive and put a Ford long block in. Have a Mercury dealer fix the seal on the drive. Have them put a new impeller in it while they are at it. A company called Sen Dure (i think) makes a closed cooling kit. This is a lot of money to spend on a old boat. For what this project is going to cost you, you could buy a pretty nice late model freshwater boat. YOu will probably also need to replace the bellows and shift cable if they are rotted and corroded. You won't like me for saying this but a salt water boat that old is a money pit. If you have lots of time on your hands and you want to do this project for the fun of it then go for it. If you are lokking at this as a cheap way to get a decent boat in the long run this will not be cheap. And when you are done you will still have a 1973 Slickraft.

 

[coupedeville]

Re: repowering 21' Sickraft

Put aside your biases; There's no reason not to consider a professional rebuild.<br />Try these guys http://www.remanufactured-marine-engines.com/ford-marine-engine-835.html <br />$1200 bucks with a 7 year warranty.

 

[geriksen]

Re: repowering 21' Sickraft

Before starting a project like this it might be wise to look up the book value of the boat then add up the cost of doing all the repair work. Include some extra for those surprisies that will come up. There will be more than $500.00 of surprises on this one. Don't forget the closed cooling kit. If the cost of the project is double what the boat will be worth when it is done, you can scrap it and bail out. Once you start peeling off those hundreds and putting them in this boat there is no turning back. It's not bias, it is common sense. I have seen so many people get so buried in projects like this. so often it results in a five thousand dollar, twentyfive hundred dollar boat, instead of a twenty five hundred dollar, five thousand dollar boat.