Replace 460 King Cobra with ?????

[ezydude]

Hello All,

I am a longtime reader first time poster. I have 1989 2755 Bayliner powered with OMC King Cobra 460 cu in. After taking on some water in the engine area, I have found a sizable leak in the "Y" exhaust pipe.
I have searched this forum and learned to replace this item, I have to remove the motor and I think to myself; is this motor/outdrive worth the cost and effort to fix? I have read a lot of negative press for this outdrive and am thinking I should just change the whole setup.
I am not experiencing the speed and response "out of the hole" I would like. If I decide to keep this setup, I would like to fuel inject the motor and have headers installed in hopes to increase the HP.

If you owned this boat, would you rebuild and rekit the fuel system for fuel injection? or would you consider replacing the entire setup?

What motor/outdrive could/would be best to install, run maintain and improve performance?

Thanks,

Kurt

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Replace 460 King Cobra with ?????

You may just need to rebuild the engine. "Blowho" (Bill in Puyallup, WA) just finished rebuilding his and has gotten it running last week. He said it runs just fine and he's happy with the rebuild. My brother bought my boat new in 1987 and the 460 pushed it to 60 mph for about 15 years or so with no real problems. When the camshaft went flat it would only turn about 4000 and was a veritable dog out of the hole. I was going to rebuild it when I saw a Mercruiser 454 /Bravo III for sale in Craigslist locally.

It's a 97 454/Bravo III with 120hrs since new, from a tree damaged 1998 23' Bayliner . The performance is pretty much the same.....maybe a little slower with the Mercruiser. I was very lucky. I got the whole setup pretty cheap. About $5000....A local dealer told me that I stole it! He said I should have paid at least $8000 for it. Plus they would have charged me around $1500-2000 to install it.

That would be an ideal setup for yours. It won't be cheap however.


On the other hand. I happen to have a good condition Y-pipe for a 460.

I don't think it's possible to install fuel injection. Well it is. Holly has one for about $2000 I think....it's just not worth it You can build up that engine to make a lot of HP without fuel injection. That's not worth it either. You won't notice much of a performance increase with an additional 100 hp.

If you want more performance you'll have to put a 502 and a Bravo I in it. That will REALLY not be cheap.

That 460 running good, is rated at about 340 (crankshaft) hp and probably 310 propshaft HP.....about the same as a 454 Bravo I/II/III.

It'll take a LOT to get a noticeable gain above the 460. You're driving a cruiser. Not an offshore racer!

If you have a hoist it's not very hard to remove the engine. Takes about an hour. Pull the drive, disconnect the hoses and exhaust and un plug it, unbolt the mounts and it lifts right out. There's 4 bolts that hold the Y-pipe on.

If you want that Y-pipe. PM me with an offer.......... Pretty soon everything is going on ebay.


Cheers,



Rick

 

[riverjet502]

Re: Replace 460 King Cobra with ?????

Just a thought for you. My brother is a Ford nut and has done the 460 thing numerous times. His 18 Baha is now powered by a stroked 460cu into a 502cu running a mild 528 hp, or you could stroke the 460 into a 514cu. I'd stay with the carb and forget the aftermarket fuel injection and spend the cost of fuel injection on tweak'n the FE motor. At the very least if you are running the Dove heads grind out the bump in the exhaust runners. And change the timing gear / chain to a early 70's. Go with a good double roller timing chain set. Up to '73 are the good timing chain sets to go with. Reason being that in 73 is when the emission controls set in, and Ford retarded the timing 4* to comply with the new laws.

 

[Don S]

Re: Replace 460 King Cobra with ?????

Keep in mind that some very important (Non Ford) parts like the exhaust manifolds & risers, engine couplers, and gear sets for the 460 King Cobra are almost non existant.
I've repowered several boats using the Volvo Penta 7.4 and now the 8.1 MPI engines with DP drive. What a difference. 8.1 with DP

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Replace 460 King Cobra with ?????

Yes! Those parts are show stoppers too! They made my decision for me.....and all I needed was an engine rebuild.

My used coupler was scarfed up REALLY fast on ebay when I sold it.....6 or 7 people bid it up to over $200.

I have a good set of manifolds and riser/elbows too. I'll probably do the same with them.


I REALLY liked the Volvo 8.1/DP set up. Got a quote from a dealer in Portland, OR.....I declined the roughly $20,000 (maybe more) total price tag. for an installed 8.1Gi (375hp) model. I considered it though! I think my Four Winns would have run pretty good with that setup!

The equivalent Mercruiser 8.1 + Bravo I II III set up is about the same price ... (maybe a tiny bit less... but if you grind on a Volvo dealer a little I'm sure they'll match any Mercruiser deal)



You're gonna really have to be "married" to that boat (and have unlimited money laying around!) to make any of this worth it TO YOU.

If the Y-pipe is the only problem. then I'd fix it and sell it. If you were born in that boat and it has emotional value, well, then money is no object!

I lucked out with the super deal Mercruiser. If I had gotten a similar deal on a Volvo I would have a Volvo. I wasn't picky. I just wanted to replace that whole OMC setup.


Good luck!



Rick

Keep in mind that some very important (Non Ford) parts like the exhaust manifolds & risers, engine couplers, and gear sets for the 460 King Cobra are almost non existant.
I've repowered several boats using the Volvo Penta 7.4 and now the 8.1 MPI engines with DP drive. What a difference. 8.1 with DP

 

[scubajay74]

Re: Replace 460 King Cobra with ?????

maybe some one out there can help , i have a 1989 bayliner with a 460 king corba in it , the manifolds went (big shock) .i would like to repower to a more economical motor to work with , i have found a 1988 bayliner with a 350 corba in it i can get for chep .are the outdives the same? do they bolt on the transom the same?how much trouble do you guys think this will be please let me know any comments would help

 

[Don S]

Re: Replace 460 King Cobra with ?????

Welcome to iboats

Best to start a thread of your own with your question, not stuck at the end of someone elses 2 year old post.