Hey zerotact
your drive is good for 350 hp, but the torque you are talking of putting through that drive it wont last long not long at all!

Hrmm.... So I think I have seen hardened gears for these drives.. Can I beef this drive up at all? Or should I just not build as much motor?

Hey Zerotact
What are you going to do with the boat?
Are you going to race it or use it for pleasure, or both?
I have a 8.1 Volvo in my boat and its alot of engine for a pleasure boat, I would suggest a mild small block, keep the cost down and have a blast with the boat, and it will be plenty fast, but if you want to be the Big underdog and have some bragging fun, through money at it!
I had my engine from a wreaked boat so i thought what the hell lets try it out, and its fast! maybe stupid fast!
JR

I agree its totally overboard... Basically after looking at parts, it really wasn't going to cost me more than a few hundred dollars more to build a 427 over something smaller.. the plan was to start with all new. So I figured if the outdrive would hold up... Why not?

Then I say, go for it! Build the big block 427 is a awesome displacement, use the drive and beef it up, just beware the torque of the big block will find the drives weakest part.

If I dont end up liking the little 202, i will pull my big block and go to the next project boat!

SO FAR THOUGH, I LOVE THE LITTLE ROCKET!
GOOD LUCK!!!!!:coolcowboy:

Uh... I wasn't gonnna put a big block in it...
Dart sells a block with a 4.125 bore and 350 mains... That combined with a 4" crank results in a 427 cu in small block chevy.

But was curious about what all I can do to make the outdrive hold up better.. Obviously nailing this thing right out of the hole isn't going to yield good results.

I'd rather find a used clean 4 bolt main with forged internals But I get tired of buying used stuff only to find it's bad.

OK, I see
Well, I think the boat is great with 300 to 400 hp and your drive will take that , again its all in what you are using the boat for, from what you are saying, you should stay in the HP range of your drive.
From my experiance when you start beefing up drives and putting to much HP behind something thats not designed for that type of HP you just take alot of the life out of the equipment and reliability and there is nothing worse than having this beautiful boat and the drive is blown out and you are not able to use it.
Now if your racing, and beefing things up or know that theres a possibiliy of breaking parts, thats another thing, thats racing!
So build it for what you are going to use it for and to your budget, is my suggestion. :coolcowboy:
John Russell

All depends on what you want to do with the boat.

You will NEVER EVER get the money out of it that you put into it. PERIOD. So get that fact out of the way.

Now you're able to do something!

Go with the Dart block and build it as BIG as you can afford to do. Use lots of aluminum (heads, water pump, intake, etc.) and you'll keep weight close to the 4.3L (a small block Chevy minus two cylinders). This is a major advantage!

For the drive... there are kits out there to adapt the Volvo drive (and all its superiority) to a King Cobra. Maybe there's something there for doing it to the smaller drive? I don't know jack about the OMC lineup (Merc guy here), but I can say with the strong assurance that the Alpha WILL handle more that 500 HP. It's just a matter of using it properly. Maybe the same is true of the Cobra?

Anyway... enjoy your new treasure and keep us updated on the build!

TZ

Yea,
This will be a fun project, an afternoon drinking beer on my dock and I realized my cove is a ton more narrow since everyone put thier boats in. This means I will need to make sure what camshaft I install will smoothly idle at low RPMS, because I don't want to look rediculous while mooring the boat in..

202
 

Zero!! We have our stinger for a while and Believe me A good warmed over 350,383,400 small block is all it needs,Get it to put out about 375,400 hp and it's all you really want.The boats are super touchy at high speeds and from the way they land when you hit a wake,has to do with the amount of surface area in the stern(they are wide)they hit hard.With a big block you got a lot of extra weight.We have already cracked rear engine stringers two times.And with a small block the alpha handles the power fine and so will the omc.I agree their is nothing like a lot of cubic inches but,with the weight to horspower ratio with a small block you are better off.If you must go big build a 427 small block,still cost you less the a big one and be faster.Just my 2 cents,we have been learning the pro's and con's of these neet little boats. Be safe JOHN SR