New guy here with a boat/motor swap situation NEED advise/help/info PLEASE THANK YOU

[ribalov]

Hey guys, My name is Mike Ive been lurking on this forum for quite sometime mostly curious about this and that ? Very awesome forum!! Finally joined and have myself a situation with a boat project !!!

A little about my experience with boats? I have been around boats my whole life mostly my dads sea ray and friends boats ? Never really worked on boats hard core just helped fixed stuff here and there ? I am a good auto mechanic and car enthusiast !! Very handy and have lots of tools !!

I need help/advice from people whole know way more about boat motors and outdrives...

I have a 1992 Four Winns 195 sundowner ? In MINT condition (100hrs one owner) HAD the 4.3 Mercruiser
No motor or outdrive just transom/steering stuff left

I Also Have a 1987 Marlin with a freshly rebuilt 4.3 OMC and cobra outdrive ? (Hull is cracked from a rock underwater)


My questions are ??

Can i transfer the whole OMC/Cobra setup in the Fourwinns?
Will the OMC 4.3 bolt up to the mercruiser transom assembly?
Can I run just the OMC 4.3 motor and buy a mercruiser outdrive?
How much work would it be to use just the OMC 4.3 engine or the whole package in the Four Winns boat ?
Should I just sell the OMC motor/OD and buy Mercruiser motor/OD ?

So Long story short we cracked out boat (1987 Marlin) this summer but last summer we rebuilt the engine including new block etc so the motor is strong and has maybe 40 hrs on it ? Also the outdrive works great ? the whole boat has 250 hrs on it .. (rest of the boat is a little rough)

So I set out to look for a boat with a bad motor or no motor and found a Cherry 1992 Four Winns 1992 Sundowner ? one owner 100hrs super mint inside and out ? 2003 dual axle galvanized trailer in like new shape ? The problem is it had a 4.3 mercruiser and merc outdrive ?

 

[ribalov]

Here are some pictures of what I am working with !! THANKS in advance for any help

 

[thumpar]

The 4.3l long block will be the same. It is the externals that are different.

 

[Fishermark]

I would say use the 4.3 liter you have and buy the necessary Mercruiser parts. Then buy a new SEI outdrive and install it. That's a nice boat - in good condition for the age.

 

[Bayou Dave]

Awesome 23 year old boat! I am curious about what happened to the original 4.3l and Mercruiser outdrive that only had 100 hours on it?

 

[alldodge]

Agree with Fishermark, also those bat wing exhaust have had issues. OMC parts are getting harder to find, you still can, just not as many sources. Also take a very nice newer boat and put an OMC on it will kill resale value.

I would try to find a donor boat or motor and that way you can use the long block from the OMC and put Merc exhaust and other items back on it.

Are you sure the OMC is a fresh rebuild?

 

[ribalov]

Awesome 23 year old boat! I am curious about what happened to the original 4.3l and Mercruiser outdrive that only had 100 hours on it?

Thanks ! So the original motor went bad and the original owner took to the shop to get fixed? after they pulled the motor they saw that the block was cracked so the owner went and bought a new boat and traded this one it for dirt cheap ? so the engine got scrapped or used for parts? while the boat was in storage the outdrive was sold to another customer who needed one for his boat?. then the boat stood around in storage for a bit and then listed for sale ? thats the story .. very sad but i got a cheap boat with a nice trailer out of it ?

 

[ribalov]

Agree with Fishermark, also those bat wing exhaust have had issues. OMC parts are getting harder to find, you still can, just not as many sources. Also take a very nice newer boat and put an OMC on it will kill resale value.

I would try to find a donor boat or motor and that way you can use the long block from the OMC and put Merc exhaust and other items back on it.

Are you sure the OMC is a fresh rebuild?

Im not worried about resale value ? I want to not spend a ton of money on this boat and end up spending more than a new one costs lol ? Also i own all the OMC stuff so i don't have to spend any real money for a motor and outdrive ?

Yes the engine is a fresh rebuild I helped my father in law pull it out and rebuild it ? we started with a brand new block ? all new internals heads were resurfaced and rebuilt ? we broke it in right too never abused it so i know the motor is strong

 

[ribalov]

I would say use the 4.3 liter you have and buy the necessary Mercruiser parts. Then buy a new SEI outdrive and install it. That's a nice boat - in good condition for the age.

The boat truly is nice ? I tried to find something wrong with it and i couldn't ? So the boat had a 4.3 merc in it ?. not sure about outdrive? Are they all the same for the different merc motors ? I don't know much about outdrives

 

[alldodge]

Guess need to ask the OMC folks to see if the OMC hole is the same size or larger then the Merc.
Here is Merc

I found this but do dimensions

Best if posted in the OMC section since going from Merc to OMC

 

[Rick Stephens]

Just a thought, but on the used market your OMC outdrive, transom and engine parts/accessories may be worth more to sell than the parts you'd need to go Mercruiser. And the end result would be knarly nice, all full of awesomeness.

 

[ribalov]

Just a thought, but on the used market your OMC outdrive, transom and engine parts/accessories may be worth more to sell than the parts you'd need to go Mercruiser. And the end result would be knarly nice, all full of awesomeness.

So you are saying sell off the OMC stuff and use that money to buy Merc stuff? I have thought about this ?

 

[Rick Stephens]

So you are saying sell off the OMC stuff and use that money to buy Merc stuff? I have thought about this …

Yup, that's what I'm sayin. I am in the process of selling off a 3.0L motor complete with everything and running, and the complete Alpha1 outdrive with transom. I figure it will pay for the $1500 donor boat that gave me a 4.3L V6 and a complete Gen2 outdrive. (exactly same transom setup as in your new boat.)

Miind you, I been leaking money as I make everything perfect. New carpet, rebuilt the Gen2, rebuilding the new but water damaged V6. But in the end the 3L and a in warranty SEI outdrive and all the trimmings should pay for my donor boat. I already sold off odds and ends from the boat. You can do the same or nearly. You need a bunch of stuff, so it might pay to find a blown up mercruiser 4.3L and swipe the parts.

In the end, gotta say I like having Merc over OMC.

Rick

 

[ribalov]

OK GUYS great news i sold the damaged boat with the OMC cobra motor and outdrive ? (pics above?.) I now have about $3500 to play with ? hopefully i can find a 4.3 merc and out drive for that or maybe a whole boat and just take what i need and sell off the rest ? !!!

 

[ribalov]

Are all 4.3 Mercs and out drives the same ?? New guy sorry **PICS**

Hey so i bought a 1992 Four Winns 195 Sundowner ? no motor or outdrive ? had a 4.3 merc in it ?

So i was thinking about using OMC engine and outdirve in the boat (stuff i already had in another boat) but that stuff sold so now i just have $

What years 4.3 Merc will fit ? Are they all the same ??

What about outdrives??

I still have all the merc transom/steering stuff in the 1992 sundowner so thats good ?.

 

[Fishermark]

You already have a post with this question - look there for good information.

 

[Fishermark]

You can buy a brand new Sterndrive Engineering outdrive (SE116) for $1,500. It comes with a 3 year warranty and bolts right up with no problems. Or like mentioned, you can look around for a good used boat with what you want and go the used route.

 

[Rick Stephens]

Go man! You should be able to find a decent donor boat with lots of expense cash left over.

Rick

 

[ribalov]

You can buy a brand new Sterndrive Engineering outdrive (SE116) for $1,500. It comes with a 3 year warranty and bolts right up with no problems. Or like mentioned, you can look around for a good used boat with what you want and go the used route.

thanks for the info on the outdrive? what about motor ? are all 4.3 mercs the same ? can i use a 5.0 merc? thanks for your help

 

[ribalov]

Go man! You should be able to find a decent donor boat with lots of expense cash left over.

Rick

Thanks !! I thinking to try for donor boat that way i have parts to sell off and recoup some $$ ? even if the engine needs a rebuild so be it .. as long as the block is good and heads rebuildable ?