I have a 1998 Top Gun

I am running Merc 600 SC through Bravo 1 drives
(yea I know it is only a matter of time)

If i change to #3 (if i can find some)

will i have to change the transom???

what will these puppies cost me???

how much will i pay in MPH lost????

any comments or observations ???

Marc

Check in the GD Forum!

We did it last winter going from Bravo's to 3A's. Yes, the height (X dimension) is different because the 3's are so much longer I made a pretty trick template. I can save you a lot of research time.

Hold on to your stomach before you get some pricing it will be ugly.

You should definitely get with OC Barry if he has already done this you will save yourself a LOT of time and headaches. I would think you could get somewhat decent life out of Bravo's with 600 HP if you keep the drives in the water as often as possible. That is more HP than they are generally good at but there are many people who have gotten a couple of seasons out of them with more HP.

Another option you have since you are at 600 HP is to buy an extra Bravo drive and if/when you do have issues switch drives and ship the blown one out for rebuild. This may be a valid option for you. Then if you decide to go with SSM 3A's the Bravo's would be easy to sell (as easy as boat parts can be).

yeah no kidding, dont get the pricing of this project on a full stomach. big dough....o.c. barry tell me more about your template....happy new year everyone...

Since the drive placement is so critical, I spent about 6 hours making a wooden template that was accurate to within a few thousandths. I started with the Mercury Racing paper template and took measurements from the template, the cork gasket, and the new transom assembly. Then I added more length to the bottom of the template so that if you hold the template square to the transom step, it places the lower unit bullet 3-1/2 inches below the boat bottom. One other thing we did was to not cut the hole for the tiller arm. Since no one uses the tiller arm (because they are for internal steering), in my opinion, it is a wasted hole in the transom. So I took a die grinder and cut the tiller arm off about 3/4 of an inch behind the face of the transom assembly. That way the shaft end of the tiller arm still correctly spaces the vertical shaft, but you don't have to cut the unnecessary holes. I ran this by Tres and John Klumpian before I did it and they said it was fine.

very nice........

could picking up a rebuilt newer bravo, like an XR, be an option, I think I've seen them advertized......or are the #3's the only safe way to go over 600hp??

Barry, do you know if and how much the x dimension must change to go from a TRS to #3??

Then there is always Pulse Drive...

Mongo

Hang Time -

The difference between the x dimension of a 3 or 3A and a TRS is a few inches. HOWEVER, if you get the correct conversion extension box, it's a bolt on because the box is angled. I know they make the box from TRS to #5 SSM and am pretty sure they make one from 3 or 3A and a TRS 3 or 3A to a TRS. I believe Stellings makes them and they are around $2,400 each.