R1ster

Ok so picked up this boat for free and is in great shape other than not having motors. My question is if I don't go with outboards, are both engines same rotation? Oh yeah and if I had some 383 strokers built pushing 420hp and 440ft pounds of torque, is there some sort of conversion needed being it had 454's ? Thanks

boostbros

i have an late 80s panther the issue is it had trs that used a velvet drive trans so the engines are farther forward great for balance but you need to move engines back closer to the transome to adapt bravo or alphas

phughes69

What does it have now for drives? 88, 89 was a crossover year. Wellcraft had Panthers with the 330 hp BBC with Alphas (before the bravo was released) If you have alphas now, to convert to a a bravo transom assembly ony needs a extra bolt hole drilled in the transom

RHudson1

My 88 Panther was original with Bravos and 330's. Hopefully you have Bravo's and some parts lying in there like bell housings. Look and see what type of engine mounts you had, Offshore mounts or the pedestal style. search for "Rookie" on here for great Panther info. Go to the Scarab sub section as well, there are a couple of great builds on there for info.

Do not sell the TRS drive short if you have them, they are a big strong drive, they just need a transmission which makes the space in front of the engines real tight in a Panther

Rookie

iTrader: (4)

Yes, both engines should be standard rotation. Being an '89 it should be a Bravo boat. I believe Alphas were only paired with 454's in 1987, that experiment didn't last long... If you do go SBC the motor mounts should align up, but you would need to fill and drill new exhaust holes in the transom.