Mccafaz

I have a 1986 Chris Craft Stinger 222. I bought it as a project. I have the boat in peices right now because I decided to paint it. I have not had the boat in the water yet at all. I bought the boat with a 351 ford and alpha one that is not original. It had a block plug missing and a couple riser bolts cracked and an exhaust leak when I bought it. There was also water in the oil. I changed it out, then ran it on the hose and it ran fine. There was water in the oil again when the motor cooled. My hope is that I can put some block plugs in it and drill tap and re-gasket the riser and be okay. If I am not i will need to have a plan in place. It is a budget boat. I have about 4k in it now and dont wanna double that to get it to run. How much of a chance do I have that it will be the riser missing bolts and not something more serious. If I do need to change motors, what is required to swap to chevy power? Thanks for any help provided. Im losing my mind over this thing and I havent even gotten to drive it yet!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33433397@N02/

Rookie

iTrader: (4)

Don't have an answer but LOOKING GOOD

Mr. Cool

Do you have a closed cooling system on it? if the plugs were blown out, the Heat Exchanger could be blown as well.

Mccafaz

Thanks alot rookie, i have a lot more time invested in the project than i ever dreamed that I would.... But i guess thats how they all go. Mr Cool, It does not have closed loop cooling. Thanks for the input.

Young Performance

I assume by block plug you mean a freeze plug. I would be concerned that it actually froze and pushed the plug out. If it did, it probably cracked the block. That would be the source of the water. It is possible that the exhaust is the culprit. I would fix the exhaust first and see what happens. But if a freeze plug was out, then I would not be surprised if it froze and cracked the block. Good luck.
Eddie

Mccafaz

I am referring to a freeze plug. There were 2 of them out. I will go that route. I am planning on fixing the exhaust and running it. Hopefully that goes well. If not, looks like I have another project to get started on.... Anybody have any input on repowering. It is a cheap boat and I dont wanna bury myself getting it to run. It is a 351 ford motor which seems pretty tough to find parts for and a buddy of mine owns salvage yards and he says they have no 351 blocks anymore. I have been told to change to chevy power but am just not sure if it is worth the money to go that route.

PatriYacht

351s are a really common engine. They have been out of production for a long time and they are getting old. Any used one you find will be likely be tired. There are engine rebuilders that will sell a rebuilt longblock for pretty cheap. Or if you can find a decent 302 from a junkyard, that will bolt right up.

LAKE EFFECT

When it comes to cars I am a Ford guy. In the marine market, parts may be hard to find, because Cobra and a couple of inboard ski boat companies were the only ones to use the 351, but there are literally millions of 351 Windsor motors out there. They were produced from 1969 thru 1996. 1994 thru 1996 are roller cam motors, but all the blocks will accept any cam designed for a roller 302 or 351 with the addition of tiebar lifters. Due to the popularity of the 5.0 Mustang, there are a ton of aftermarket parts that are available and as affordable as any SB Chevy parts.

The 302 and 351 share cams, heads,timing cover, waterpump and bellhousing bolt patterns. The stock 351 will have a beefy cast crank, 3/8 rods, and cast pistons and most came with 8 to 8.5 to 1 compression. Sounds a little lame I know but high HP combos are endless. Coast high performance and DSS racing offer short and long block assemblies or rebuild a good motor you find in a junkyard. All the power is found in the heads and cams, and there is no shortage of those parts in the aftermarket.

It does sound like your block may be cracked, and double check your exhaust for cracks as well.

I do love my Procharged big block Chevy's in my boat, but I also love my Vortech supercharged 351 in my Mustang.

Good luck

LE