Sea Ray (what were they thinking??)

[bloorp]

I recently purchased a 1987 25' sundancer with 454/alpha. Couldn't pass up the deal but the alpha scares the hell out of me. The boat runs great, but that drive is a constant worry. I have a 1982 regal with 454/bravo that is not in service and would kike to swap the drive onto the sea ray. Is this do-able without any major retro-fitting?

 

[Don S]

Re: Sea Ray (what were they thinking??)

You will need to change the transom shield and all, not just the drive. The cutout for the transom is the same, so no transom work, but the engine has to come out.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Sea Ray (what were they thinking??)

Sea Ray (what were they thinking??)

Well,........<br />There was No Bravo in 1987.......<br />Merc. used the Big blocks on the Alpha 1s for only a couple of years, preceding the intro of the Bravo Drives.........<br />

Is this do-able without any major retro-fitting?

Actually, It's a Very Easy Swap.........<br />As stated by Don, Everything from the Rear motor mounts Back has to be changed...........<br />The Only transom mod.s to be done are 2 more bolt holes..........<br />Mod.1s,+ Alpha 1s use 6 bolts......<br />Alpha 1 Gen IIs,+ Bravos use 8 bolts.........

 

[waterone1@aol.com]

Re: Sea Ray (what were they thinking??)

As Don and Bondo said it is do-able. For those of us that have professional facilities (fork lift with boom,steel I-beam with hoist, etc.) pulling a boat engine can be done in less than an hour. For the do it yourselfer lifting a 1000 lb engine out of a boat should be approached with extreme caution...or left to a shop to do.

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Sea Ray (what were they thinking??)

Bloorp, Just so you know, My neighbor has a 35' Scarab Super Sport CC with twin 454/Alpha 1 drives. He has not had any drive failures due to the power of the big block motors. He will spin hubs if he's not careful, however. The boar runs in the high 50's MPH.

 

[bloorp]

Re: Sea Ray (what were they thinking??)

Thanks for all the helpful info. I think I'll keep the bravo on standby and keep treating the alpha like it's made of wax and see how it holds up.