Merc 165 Cracked block

[stealthshooter]

Hello fellas. Well....Some idiot didn't get His Boat winterized quick enough last year and ended up cracking His Merc 165 Block I've been on the search for a Chevy 250/292 block to replace it as all the internals in the old block were new. I read on another forum that the Block had to be a marine Block due to the motor mounts. Is this true? Also are there any other engines that will fit in there? It's a Mark twain tri hull with a merc 165 outdrive.

Any info would be great.

Thanks
Kris

 

[ziggy]

Re: Merc 165 Cracked block

i don't think there's any specific marine blocks. but i do think there are differences in 250 blocks. some do not have a mounting point on the starboard side of the engine to accept the ft. motor mount for mercruiser.
from what i understand. truck blocks are more likely to have the mounting tab as compared to the car blocks that may or may not have the tab for mounting a mercruiser ft. motor mount..

i know at least one cat here on iboats that didn't have the mounting tab. he welded one in place and was successful at mounting that particular engine in his boat... he made it work...

 

[stealthshooter]

Re: Merc 165 Cracked block

Thanks guys. I might know a couple places to look for blocks Maybe I'll take a pic of mine so I can compare while checking them out.

Thanks Much
Kris

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Merc 165 Cracked block

When I had my 66 Marktwain it had a 150 Mercruiser inside. I went over to the local truck wrecking yard and found no less than 13 complete 250/292 engines to replace the 230 engine I had. (that still ran pretty good btw after only 39 years)


I found that many of the engines did NOT have the correct mounting points in the front for the Merc mount.

The 292 block is a tad higher (inch or two) than the 230/250.....so if it's tight vertically, it will be tighter with a 292. Also, the harmonic balancer for the 292 may not fit in the 250/230 front mount.




Also, I discovered that the 230 head will fit on a 250 and a 292 but the compression will be different. (much higher.....the hotrod guys do this....probably not a good idea for a boat)



http://www.inliners.org/ <--- these people can probably go into GREAT detail on what works and what doesn't.

It appeared to me that any 250 with the right mounting points would be the best bet.


Cheers,


Rick