I'll post some pics when it's cleaned up a bit more. No matter what it needs, at least it fits in my shop so I can put time in it whenever possible.

Alright, I don't wanna wait til it's cleaned up to post a transom pic. What do you think:

That wiring harness could be your Mercathode system 2 wires I believe.

rbpowered,

Nice shop! I am jealous of your workspace.

I am no expert by any means when it comes to wood rot, but I would poke that exposed wood and see if it is soft. Soft wood = no good. From the pic, it does not look like there is an issue, but maybe some one with more experience can chime in.

Thanks, I definitely like the space.

I've stabbed at it with a screw driver and its all solid. The inside of the bottom left bolt doesn't look good but its a real thin wall between the bolt hole and the cutout. I'll take better pics of different angles and post them up later.

Hard to judge the bottom left bolt from the picture. It looks like it could just be dirt, but that is the downside of pictures.

Is all that transom wood exposed or did Formula seal it up with fiberglass resin? If it is exposed, I would think that sealing it with resin prior to installing the transom assembly would be the way to go. You could probably confirm/verify that with FiberglassDave in the fiberglass forum....

It had some sort of silicone like substance on it. I peeled, picked and sanded it off and went around the hole lightly with some sand paper. I figured I'd it seal up along with any other unused holes, like the ones from the external steering ram, with whatever is appropriate to seal it with. No idea what, haven't got around to needing to ask that question yet!

CONGRATULATIONS Nice project! Very timely post you are about 2 weeks ahead of my current project. Pulled motor out of my 1987 242SS and swapping from Alpha to Bravo. My fiberglass guy recommended sealing with resin he thinks it should be polymer (?) I'll verify. Perhaps you will get some info from somebody that really knows what is best, I am also cutting exhaust holes at same time. Good luck and please keep us posted.

My 91 242 ss has a one piece engine bay cover/sun deck/rear seat. When it's removed and the cross bar and plexiglass sliders are removed the engine bay is wide open and very accessible.

I've seen a 1988 272 sr1 model that looks to be built differently where the engine bay looks to be completely surrounded by fiberglass and seems to be much less accessible.

Is this a year difference in the design or a ss to sr1 difference?

It is different from the SR1's but don't be fooled. When the assembled motor with exhaust goes back in it is very tight down there.
The shelves on both sides (behind sliding doors) and the battery shelves in conjunction with very tight forward clearance make working inside the area very tight.
Does yours have the Silent Thunder exhaust?