gregpro50

I've been building a CSS-19 project for a couple years now and I want to start thinking about the drive and need advice. The original setup was a 350mag (270hp) and alpha one setup.

I am going to be installing a 383 mpi on it which will exceed the hp ratings for the alpha by appx 50hp.

I've been an outboard guy my whole life and am not familiar with sterndrives.

- I assume it would be a bad idea to stay with the alpha setup?

- Should I switch over to bravo 1?

- what ratio would I need? ( I assume 1:50 is the most common?)

- are any transom modifications necessary to install a bravo transom assy?

- Is there any thing else I should take into consideration?

A.O. Razor

Go with a B1. The Alpha will be a time bomb. If you decide to up the power, you won't need a new drive. The cutout will work for the B1, but you need a complete drive, and a seawater pump. The Alpha has the impeller in the drive, the B1 does not. X-dim is the same @ 21 13/16". At which rpm are you going to spin the motor? If you are not spinning above 5500 rpm, go with the 1.5 gear.

Airpacker

Black Hawk the sucker. The 19 has a decent amount of hull rocker IIR and with an injected motor, the BH drive would work really well on it.

gregpro50

I don't plan on spinning past 5500. I've seen some blackhawk drives but not too often. IIRC that bh drive is a surface drive.

Would an alpha SS drive work with what I am planning?

A.O. Razor

That depends on what your current x-dim is. If you go B1, you can always get a shorty case and put all the internals in it. If it does not work, sell it. The Alpha ss is no stronger than the standard Alpha, so if it was me, I'd stick with the B1. Parts and props can also be an issue with the Black Hawk, same goes for the Alpha ss, to a certan extent. The B1 will give you more things to "play" wilth when dialing in. Boxes, props, gearcases ect.

gregpro50

OK. You pretty much confirmed what I was thinking all along. I already have a bunch of props I can try with the bravo drive and I think I'd like to go the least complicated with the best parts availability.

I'm not looking to get the most speed I can possibly squeeze out of the setup but I'd like to hit low 70's which I think is within reach.

I'll keep an eye out with the vendors here for a complete bravo assy.

Thanks.

Ouderkirk

Ok here goes.

With a boat the size and weight of the CSS- the Alpha drive itself (upper, lower and joints) will do just fine with the power you are going to be putting into it. The weak point in the original Alpha is in the hinge pins (trim) and swivel pins (turn). I have a 20' Eliminator Sport Cruiser that I bought new with the 454 Mag (330 hp and the torque of a BBC) and an Alpha. The drive worked great, and never had a problem with it. Had to replace the hinge pins, and gimbal ring several times over the 20+ years I had the Alpha on the boat. This included twice changing the swivel pins. The issue was that the torque and high speeds would make the openings become egg shaped in the aluminum castings and there is no fixing that, you buy the replacement parts and chalk it up to consumable parts. After several thousand dollars in replacements and innumerable hours I decided that I could do better.

When I decided to upgrade the transom assembly/drive because I had spent enough time and $$$ on keeping the Alpha together I began investigating what my options were. The Gen 2 Alpha transom assembly has the same casting as the Bravo and the difference was in the gimbal ring and bellhousing but those have been improved to the Bravo design as well but scaled down for the lower hp ratings.. There are other differences in the plumbing for the Alpha but the Transom Assembly castings are the same. The Bravo stuff is significantly more expensive in every respect.

The best advice I can offer you, is to go with what you can afford. The Bravo X and the matching transom assembly cost me about $7500 give or take a few hundred plus the time I spent installing it. Begin looking on ebay for transom parts. Get to know who is out there. There are a few guys like NuWaveMarine in NJ who is great (bought the transom assembly from him for $1500) and MERCGOFAST in Florida and bought the Bravo 1 X drive from him ($5800) and he was a solid dealer too. List price from Sutter's in Canandiagua NY was going to be about $11K with a standard Bravo. Need to include the sea water pump and brackets. The Alpha has the Sea Water pump in the drive, the Bravo has the belt driven type mounted on brackets to the block. Add in the price of the pump, pulleys, brackets and belts and it was another few hundred.

This whole thing would have cost $4500 had I gone Gen 2 Alpha from the out of state dealers listed above. Retail would have been about $8000.

Keep in mind that you are in NY, where the boating season runs from May 1 to October 1 give or take a week on either side. The guys in Florida sell 365 days, so they can afford to negotiate as much as 40% from list price. In NY you will pay list to any of the dealers in Binghampton. Also the price plus shipping was between 30%-40% off list and there was no 8% sales tax to add final insult.

If you're going to do the work yourself, it's not bad, but invest in a hinge pin tool(~ $25), and the alignment tool(~ $50). Skip the bellows tool you'll destroy it and it goes on just as easily without it. Also see Ebasicpower.com. They have all the odd pre-formed hoses that you will need to to plumb it properly at respectable prices.

At the time I did this I had plans to put more power on the boat, and I am glad that I went the route I did, I put a 502 Rectangle Port ZZ equivalent.

My $0.02 is save your cash buy the Alpha Gen2. It will more than meet your needs.

dereknkathy

alpha's other weakness is accelerating hard in a heavy boat. if you bury the throttle from a standstill, you can snap the top off the vert driveshaft. but then i was driving a 79 sundancer with a 400 smallblock. your alpha will hold up for a while with that 19 footer unless you really try to kill it. it is, after all, paid for.

gregpro50

Thanks for the advice. I'm still working on the motor and the easiest and cheapest way to go is going to be to use an alpha setup. I was even thinking of running one of those SEI drives since they have a no fault warranty on it. This boat has been a long term project that I have been picking away at for a while now.

mountainmadness

Don't let the alpha scare u. U will be fine.. put good lube in it and a good drive shower. I have been running a alpha drive for ten yrs... 350 mag stock...383/425hp....383/500hp...383/570hp all on a stock alpha. 3000 lbs boat. Found a alpha ss drive. Now run a 13.1 428 sbc 600+ hp at 6500 rpm at just about 90. All I do is change lube every 10-15 hrs, check seals and bearings once a year.