new hear with a few questions

[1983 j10]

Hi, all
i just picked up a 1983 17' citation catalina with a mercruiser 120 in it and im trying to figure out what model out drive is on it so i know what parts to order hear are a few pics of it

and the s/n on the transom plate is 6160182. and what ive figured out and from the help of someone its a pre alpha unit but im not sure on what model since all the parts places im finding are listing a couple different ones. and i need a seal kit for the lower unit and the water pump also i need the gasket and seals to mount it to the gimble and i need the bellows for the transom. what im wanting to do is order everything needed so i can get this put back together right now i have the drive completly removed as well as the gimble and the bellows removed.

i will greatly appricate any help
Thanks all
Matt.

 

[Don S]

Re: new hear with a few questions

It's an MC-1 (Mercruiser one) drive. 1.98 Gear ratio for your 120 engine.

 

[1983 j10]

Re: new hear with a few questions

Thank you
another member helped me out with figuring out the gear ratio and that it was a pre alpha but once i started looking for parts it was listing a couple different pre alpha units.

 

[Don S]

Re: new hear with a few questions

No such thing as a pre-Alpha? Pre means before, and there were a lot of drives that came out before the Alpha I drive in 1986.
Many of them aren't even interchangeable with the Alpha drive.
Drives like the O drive, the I, II, and III, the 1A, 1B, 1C series, the TR. an TRS and 215 drives are all "Pre" Alpha, but not even close to interchangeable.
If you are talking about the MC-1 (known by many names), the R, and the MR, these are the drives that actually interchange with the Alpha I drive. When I say interchange, that means you can put a complete MC-1 drive in place of an Alpha, and vise versa, but you can not interchange parts between them, too many little differences.
Download this ID and History document I put together some time back, I think it will help you understand all the differences.
http://www.4shared.com/file/213854305/deac4209/Mercruiser_Alpha_ID_and_Histor.html

 

[1983 j10]

Re: new hear with a few questions

Thanks
i was going by what other people have been telling me they keep refering to it as a pre alpha. i am new to the termonolgy of all this.
ill look at that info i believe ive looked at it already but ill check it out i was actually reffered to that by another member on a different forum page i go on and i believe he is a member hear but i dont know his user id.

that is what i looked at and i do remember seeing where it said it was an mc-1 but i was getting alittle confused with all the info because the boat is titled as an 83 and according to that s/n its an 82 but now that someone else agrees thats its an mc-1 i feel better about knowing what it is.

Thanks for clearing that up for me.
Matt.

 

[Don S]

Re: new hear with a few questions

Pre-alpha is a slang term the aftermarket manufacturers use because they don't know the correct terminology, or don't want to use it.

 

[1983 j10]

Re: new hear with a few questions

thank you.
since i got that cleared up ill post a couple pics of the boat itself.

i got the boat and trialer for $200
had to put a starter on the engine and clean up the fuel system and ing system and prime the oil system and it fired up with out an issue and runs great.

 

[ktbarrentine]

Re: new hear with a few questions

Wow...seems like a good price... Looks like it has potential. Just curious.... did you run the motor with the outdrive in the condition it is in? If so, how did you supply cooling water? And your O/D has no oil in the upper gears....running the motor will have an affect there, and since it is in the full trailered up position, the u-joints are affected, too. Hopefully I just don't know the whole story yet...and we are all interested! You considering a complete SEI replacement drive? Might be the way to go, considering the status of the gutted lower. Welcome to the forum!

 

[1983 j10]

Re: new hear with a few questions

i had acutally removed the whole drive and gimble assembly since it need new boots and the hose that goes from the gimble to the water intake i hooked a hose into it and supplied water that way. and i actually picked up a whole used upper and lower unit from someone i know for $100 it has a good lower and the upper isnt that great but the upper on mine is in great shape just the lower is bad since it looks like someone hit something with it. but i plan to replace all the seals and gaskets in the drive as well as new bellows. but right now the biggest issue is it needs an interior and im getting a set of seats from the same person i got the drive from. but im just looking for something to have alittle fun with on the weekends. and i dont mind doing the work on it i enjoy working on something different from time to time. im a heavy equipment tech by trade and also spend alot of time building jeep trucks.