Alpha 1 SS Drive

[fendermender]

Hello,
I am looking to eventually sell my boat. 86 Celebrity 19 Cuddy I have done a lot of work on. Currently has a 406 SBC with an Alpha 1 SS drive. Combined with a 23 Laser prop it would do close to 70 mph on radar...about a good 10mph over the stock drive and 22 Turbo. Anyway, I'm figuring to put the stock drive and a 350 back in to sell it. My question is, does anyone know what sort of money this drive is worth without the prop? I bought it brand new from Merc and I believe it was a little over 3 grand way back then. It was well cared for with about 100hrs on it. Always used the HP Merc gear oil frequently changed. Never had any problem with it except it was resealed once with new waterpump. I was a bit anal about mainenance. I don't mean this as a for sale ad, just trying to get an idea where to start.

Thanks for any input, Jim

 

[Bondo]

Re: Alpha 1 SS Drive

Hello,
I am looking to eventually sell my boat. 86 Celebrity 19 Cuddy I have done a lot of work on. Currently has a 406 SBC with an Alpha 1 SS drive. Combined with a 23 Laser prop it would do close to 70 mph on radar...about a good 10mph over the stock drive and 22 Turbo. Anyway, I'm figuring to put the stock drive and a 350 back in to sell it. My question is, does anyone know what sort of money this drive is worth without the prop? I bought it brand new from Merc and I believe it was a little over 3 grand way back then. It was well cared for with about 100hrs on it. Always used the HP Merc gear oil frequently changed. Never had any problem with it except it was resealed once with new waterpump. I was a bit anal about mainenance. I don't mean this as a for sale ad, just trying to get an idea where to start.

Thanks for any input, Jim

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,... Ask what ya paid for it,.... The market will tell ya if it's worth it...

They are Rare,.... Ask Twice what ya paid for it....

 

[Flysfloatsor]

Re: Alpha 1 SS Drive

They are rare, and make a huge performance difference. The thing is, no one wants to pay any $$ for them. Because of its rarity, you initially think $3-4k - then your talking Bravo money there and the people who have that will just go Bravo with plans on adding a Shoty lower later.
In actuality, they are hard to move at $2k. Finding the right audience is key. Donzi guys like them, because they perform VERY well on 16-18 Classics.
Whatever you do, dont "give" it away cheap. The market for them is ebbing right now. Just sit and wait for it to flow more.

 

[greg82255]

Re: Alpha 1 SS Drive

They are rare, and make a huge performance difference. The thing is, no one wants to pay any $$ for them. Because of its rarity, you initially think $3-4k - then your talking Bravo money there and the people who have that will just go Bravo with plans on adding a Shoty lower later.
In actuality, they are hard to move at $2k. Finding the right audience is key. Donzi guys like them, because they perform VERY well on 16-18 Classics.
Whatever you do, dont "give" it away cheap. The market for them is ebbing right now. Just sit and wait for it to flow more.

You can buy a brand new "high performance" shorter aftermarket alpha for $3500 - says you can put 650 hp through it without a problem. If it were me (and I happen to be in the market for a different alpha drive) I'd opt for the new one unless a used drive was significantly cheaper.

http://rlcboats.com/

 

[Flysfloatsor]

Re: Alpha 1 SS Drive

You can buy a brand new "high performance" shorter aftermarket alpha for $3500 - says you can put 650 hp through it without a problem. If it were me (and I happen to be in the market for a different alpha drive) I'd opt for the new one unless a used drive was significantly cheaper.

http://rlcboats.com/

Thats true. RLC is an option.
Truthfully you can usually get into an Alpha SS for between $1500-$2300.
Theres one on OSO or S&F for $2350 I think. It is 1.32, which is what mine is also.
Its worth it though, they are alot faster.

Greg: Ive been following your 383 thread. If your at 63ish with a standard alpha, with an SS you might be knocking on 70's door.

 

[greg82255]

Re: Alpha 1 SS Drive

Greg: Ive been following your 383 thread. If your at 63ish with a standard alpha, with an SS you might be knocking on 70's door.

Agreed. Fendermender, send me a PM if you're looking to sell that drive...

 

[wca_tim]

Re: Alpha 1 SS Drive

I think I gave close to 2k for mine a couple of years ago, they are the cat's meow on small lighter boats - especially any of the many that had the drives installed deeper than optimal to keep everything under the engine hatch. my 17 ft checkmate goes a lot faster with the ss on it and handles a lot better with no porpoising, etc... it handles like a different boat with the shorter drive that has more surface area. Also, when you start getting into the mid to upper 60s the standard alpha design is prone to "blowout". exactly what speed this happens is influenced by the bottom bottom, prop, etc... it's where the low pressure zone being created by the drive running through the water lets the prop cavitate / lose bite. when it happens it's like hitting a wall and limits the top end pretty much independent of horsepower. This can be even more an issue if your drive doesn't run quite true through the water - usually referred to as "crabbing". depending on how far it's off, which in turn increases the tendency to blow out, etc... there are a lot of ways to improve on all of this, etc.. but the bottom line is that if you have enough power in a small boat, the alpha ss is very likely going to run 5-10 mph faster and handle better than a standard alpha drive... Mine also gets a good bit better fuel economy running at cruising speeds with the ss drive on it. once you get to 50 or so, a very loarge portion of the drag you're overcing is from forcing the drive through the water...

There was recently one listed on one of the other boating sites for a little over $2k, but I assume it is sold by now.

Hope this is helpful. Cheers!