Heavy Duty Alpha?
 

Ok I'm sure this has been hashed before but I can't find much.

Do they or do they not make any HD gears for Alphas?

Please help! I'm getting conflicting info. :(

Re: Heavy Duty Alpha?
 

Angel,

That Martini sure looks sweet!.....I spoke with Brian at Offshore Outdrives yesterday about this. I am building up the motor in the Monza and was wondering whether to beef up the Alpha or go Bravo. Brian showed me the shaft of the Alpha and it looks tiny compared to the Bravo. Depending on how much power out of the sbc, you can beef up the Alpha but don't do a lot of "flying" because it will probably not hold up. But to answer your question; Yes there are higher performance gears you can use to beef up the Alpha. Good luck. I have the Monza at Grants Custom Rigging getting some attention to the engine compartment. I'm considering what to do about the drive. Give Brian a call, he will talk to you about options.

Frank

Re: Heavy Duty Alpha?
 

Hey Frank,

Thanks I'm really undecided about what to do. Bravo or Alpha ? Let's see.
Hey give me a call when you get a chance.

Thanks
Angel

Re: Heavy Duty Alpha?
 

There is gears you can get for the alphas to beef them up. I am in the same spot. There is also an early alpha drive called a 300 that was put behind big blocks. Or if ya can find an alpha SS drive that should hold up, but thats a long shot trying to get ahold of one. I have also found out that an alpha will hold up as long as you throttle back when you leave that water.. Good luck :drink:

Re: Heavy Duty Alpha?
 

Hey bottomline I guess is that I can buy 2 alphas for the price of one bravo. hehehehe

Re: Heavy Duty Alpha?
 

Yes they make 1.32-1 Hd gears for BB and 1.5-1 for sb that are heavy duty also. For the 1.5 you must specify HD and bearings and races are different because gears are thicker.
While at it make sure the driveshaft for the lower has been updated to the 1990 and newer one without the o-ring groove, thats where they break.
You probably already have the HD 1.5 gears already.... BBB

Re: Heavy Duty Alpha?
 

So why did merc switch to 1.47 in the new drives compared to the 1.50 ratio? Any difference there?

Re: Heavy Duty Alpha?
 

I believe they always were 1.47 and called 1.50.
This is the final drive ratio including the lower unit.
I believe that lower unit gear ratios had been changed somewhere along the way. BBB

Re: Heavy Duty Alpha?
 

Billy is close on this one. The gear ratio is determined with the top set of gears. Prior to I think 94 the 1.5 ratio drive was 1.5, after that they updated the lower gearset and changed the tooth count. The top gears stay the same ratio but the bottom changed a little. Also all of the other drive ratios change .03 as well.