5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

[wil7483]

I finally decided to go ahead and permenantly pull the weak SBC 305 out of my 1988 Wellcraft and replace it with a rebuilt unit from Rapido-Marine. I spent the better part of last year trying to diagnos and fix all the issues that I was having with the engine and just decided that this year I wanted to enjoy the boat on the water and not be in the driveway fixing on it.

After talking with Raul about what I needed we closed the deal on a 1985 5.7 350 longblock for $1425.00 (block, heads, tax, and shipping) shipped to my door. I think this is a good deal considering the cost of a new engine or having a quality shop try to rebuild the 5.0. The shop up the road from me wouldn't even look at the old engine. He said, "your engine has been run in saltwater for the past 25 years, the water passages are probably all corroded inside the block and probably not worth rebuilding."

Since I have the engine out now I decided to go ahead and clean the bilge area and repaint it with 2 coats of white BilgeKote.

I organized and rerouted all the wiring and now Im ready to get the new engine installed. I am now in the process of rebuilding the deck and access hatch as the old one was showing serious signs of stress. The new frame is constructed and I will glass it to increase its strength before I paint, cover in vinyl, and install.

I will post pictures of the engine as I start swapping out parts in the coming days.

I'm figuring on replacing the outdrive also with a new SEI one.

 

[Bondo]

Re: 5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

Ayuh,.... Good Luck with it.....

 

[Fishermark]

Re: 5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

Lookin' good! Are you reusing your manifolds and risers? If so, are you sure they are in good shape? You'll be happy with the sterndrive engineering outdrive. I've installed a couple of them and they seem to be quality units.

 

[wil7483]

Re: 5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

.......Are you reusing your manifolds and risers? If so, are you sure they are in good shape?

Yes, all the parts on the engine are new. I purchased them all last year in an attempt to fix the old engine.

.......You'll be happy with the sterndrive engineering out drive. I've installed a couple of them and they seem to be quality units.

I am hopeful that now I can start enjoying the boat. I only wish that I had gone this route from the beginning.

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: 5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

Engine compartment looks great!!

I had my engine out twice...........I cleaned the compartment but didn't paint it..............now I wish I did................looks really clean!

 

[wil7483]

Re: 5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

This weekend I concentrated on rebuilding the rear deck and engine access door. The old one hadn't been treated with resin during the initial build and was starting to show signs of water damage. Furthermore, it had a design flaw in it that I always knew of and decided that I would correct it now. I bought the wood and had it cut to size at Lowes. I constructed the frame and secured it with wood glue and 2" finishing nails shot in with a nail gun. Today I coated the topsides in resin and all of the ends. I totally saturated the wood surfaces in resin especially the ends. Next week I will coat the other sides and apply more resin to the ends. The side that will not be wrapped in vinyl will also be painted. I will spray Brightside paint that I bought last year to it and the frame to further protect and encapsulate the wood.

It really wasn't ideal conditions to work with resin today. The temp was about 55 and overcast so I already knew that the resin would take longer to cure. However I didn't expect the rain that came. It didn't last long but it definitely chased me inside. I covered everything in plastic tarp so it should keep it protected until it cures.

I am in the process now of taking the old engine apart to swap out the parts to the new engine. I am taking pictures of each part prior to removing it so that I will have no issues figuring out where they go when I place the on the new engine. It is particularly useful when trying to figure out how hoses and wires are routed originally. I'm taping the screws, nuts, and bolts to the parts as well so that the do not get lost or misplaced.

 

[wil7483]

Re: 5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

Today I continued to take the old engine down to the block, labeling everything as I go. I had to stop after I realized I need a special puller to remove the harmonic balancer.

I'm headed back out of town so I will start back up around the end of the week I guess.

 

[wil7483]

Re: 5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

I ordered a new thermostat housing kit from ebasic today as this one has seen better days.

I also went ahead and ordered a new intake manifold while I was at it. This one was well rusty the last time I had it off so I'm just going to replace it now. Other than that the only other thing that I will need is an oil cooler which went bad on me last year. All of the other parts are new.

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: 5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

If you knew you were replacing the intake...........you should have considered getting a longblock Vortec from Raul.........that's what I did.

 

[wil7483]

Re: 5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

If you knew you were replacing the intake...........you should have considered getting a longblock Vortec from Raul.........that's what I did.

I wasn't even thinking about it when I placed the order. Hindsight being 20/20
you are absolutely right.

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: 5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

Too late to change your orders?........Raul will work with you...........

 

[wil7483]

Re: 5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

Too late to change your orders?........Raul will work with you...........

Engine has already shipped.......

 

[wil7483]

Re: 5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

Still working on taking the engine apart to swap to the new engine. Got the harmonic balancer off and most of the other stuff. Just a little bit more and I will be ready to drag this thing to the dump.

Here's my problem here obviously. Just could never figure out where it was coming from. No obvious craks in the block even after a pressure test. New manifolds, compression tests, nothing I did could help me figure out the water in the oil.

 

[bolo78910]

Re: 5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

what name model camera you use to take those pic, nice and clear. keep posting.

 

[krisnowicki]

Re: 5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

what happened to this SBC ?

 

[Ridemywideglide]

Re: 5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

what name model camera you use to take those pic, nice and clear. keep posting.

Fuji FinePix S3000 is my guess....

 

[wil7483]

Re: 5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

what happened to this SBC ?

Your guess is as good as mine. I have been trying to diagnos the issues with it for two years now. I finally just got tired of working on it and not enjoying the boat so I am replacing it. It keeps getting water in the oil. I can't find any cracks in the block, did the pressure test, leak down test, it held pressure for over 2 hours, pressure tested the manifolds and risers and found no problems, replaced the manifolds and risers just to be sure, still getting water in the oil. Compression test was inconclusive with all the readings within an acceptable range as I am told. The only thing I didn't really check was the head gaskets and the reason was because I was told that the compression tests would've shown a blown head gasket.

So here we are. Just got tired of pouring money into new parts that didn't solve the problem so I opted to just get a new rebuilt longblock and go from there. Since all of the accessories are a year old or less I shouldn't have any problems once this is done. I hope.....

what name model camera you use to take those pic, nice and clear. keep posting.

What he said is correct. Fuji FinePix S3000.

 

[wil7483]

Re: 5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

Well I am almost finished disassembling the 305 and will be dragging it to the dump soon. All that is left for me to do is to remove the motor mounts and oil pump. I will save it as a back up as the new engine comes with a new pump.

This is just a mess.............

 

[slasmith1]

Re: 5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

Since you said you boat in salt I would consider adding a fresh water cooling system while it's new. You also tend to get better fuel economy because the temp stays consistant at about 175-180 instead of 140-160 with typical raw water cooled engine.

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: 5.0 to 5.7 Rapido rebuilt engine swap

Was this engine running when you removed it?
Are you going to remove the heads?

Is it possible the intake was leaking into the lifter valley?