1983 Beachcraft 17'

[blacknite30]

hello i This 17 ft. 1983 Beachcraft. It has an in-board 6 cyl. It also needs a lower end, (prop assembly). dous any one know ware i could find one?

 

[WizeOne]

Re: 1983 Beachcraft 17'

hello i This 17 ft. 1983 Beachcraft. It has an in-board 6 cyl. It also needs a lower end, (prop assembly). dous any one know ware i could find one?

View attachment 26731

Unless you have a local OMC guru, ebay is about your only option. Not sure whether the 6 cyl used a 400 or an 800 drive but in 1983 it would have definitely been a full mechanical stringer drive. You will also want to be sure to get the shift cable with the outdrive. Sometimes ebay drives simply have them cut off. They are very expensive when you can find them.

The earlier hydro-mechanical drive (1978-80?) used a different cable that would not match the full mechanical drive or the shift converter box that I hope you still have mounted on the inside of your transom.

Other than that, that little Beachcraft is a cute little rocket ship.

 

[blacknite30]

Re: 1983 Beachcraft 17'

thank you i will look on ebay

 

[jdoc]

Re: 1983 Beachcraft 17'

I was looking at this boat also, from Branson right? I was trying to get some questions answered, but he never responded back. The lower end will be expensive...Ebay is your cheapest option. There is one that went for around $550 a couple weeks ago...rebuilt units are about $1500. I believe its an OMC 800 with the full mechanical shift.

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: 1983 Beachcraft 17'

rebuilt units are about $1500. .

?

Lowest I've seen is about $4200 and most rebuilt units don't have a shift cable, or exhaust housing on them.
If anyone has a connection for $1500 rebuilt units, let us know the source.

Seeing as you need the whole drive with cable and quadrant gear, look for a good used 1982-1985 800 series mechanical shift outdrive for a V6. The tag on the upper will say model number 983159 if it's the right unit.
Has to be for a V6 so it will have the proper gear ratio in it.
Your engine would be a 3.8 Chev V6, but a drive from 1985 could be from a 4.3 V6 powered boat- either would work for yours.
Make sure it includes the quadrant gear - as I don't see one in your pic.
I do see the trunnion caps! Nice that whoever removed the drive from that boat put the caps back on neatly!
After you buy a used drive, you'll need to pressure test it and if it passes, you can put a new water pump impeller in it and mount it up.