Re: Can a Chevy 383 / 425hp Street Engine be used in a Marine Application?
 

Yes that cam grind is really popular on its 112. You can make a little more torque and gain some dynamic cr from something like that one on a 110. Depends on the fuel you want to run also. That would be a nice powerplant for a smaller boat.

Re: Can a Chevy 383 / 425hp Street Engine be used in a Marine Application?
 

It's a 29 Scarab with (2) 350/300hp now. I think addind 125hp pr.side would bring that boat to life :evilb:


But than again, twin pro chargers may be nice also - decisions, decisions :rolleyes:

Re: Can a Chevy 383 / 425hp Street Engine be used in a Marine Application?
 

Indeed I did, I stand corrrected..

Re: Can a Chevy 383 / 425hp Street Engine be used in a Marine Application?
 

The ZZ383 will make a great marine engine. The cam is fine as is.
In Dennis Moore's book he recommends it.
The only thing I can see going wrong is possibly the valves. Not knowing what material they are they have to changed.

Biggus has a friend that installed two of the ZZ383's in a Cigarette 28 SS.

Re: Can a Chevy 383 / 425hp Street Engine be used in a Marine Application?
 

There are some significant comparisons that can be made between the ZZ 383 crate engine and the Mercury Marine 377 Scorpion Blue engine package. It's worth noting the 377 did not have an "exotic" exhaust from the factory and was proved to be reversion free, with .050" duration numbers and lift values outwardly nearly identical to the ZZ 383 cam. This is a perfect example of how evaluating a camshaft via .050" duration and lift figures can lead down the wrong path.

Both the ZZ 383 (222/230) and the 377 Blue are standard with hydraulic roller cams from Crane that could be readily mistaken as the same. The fact is, the lobes are from entirely different hyd-roller "families" and are dissimilar in areas that would contribute to reversion. The Merc lobes have 6º shorter seat duration (advertised) on both the intake and exhaust side, reducing overlap in area and degrees of crankshaft rotation. The intake and exhaust centerlines also differ (from the ZZ) resulting in a 2º wider LSA (read less overlap). As an added bonus, the Blue lobes also added 3º more duration @ .200".

So the Scorpion cam has:
Shorter seat duration (quicker)
Same .050" (faster)
Greater .200" (longer)
.001"/. 002" additional lift @ the valve
Less overlap

Without reverting.

There is a great deal of design criteria with engine building and camshaft selection that goes into making power, reliably, without reversion.
Bob

Re: Can a Chevy 383 / 425hp Street Engine be used in a Marine Application?
 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH WE ALL FORGOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't run the same plugs as you would in a car on the street,You will burn a hole in the piston. You have to run colder plugs.

Re: Can a Chevy 383 / 425hp Street Engine be used in a Marine Application?
 

I thought the other difference had to do with the tolerences - such as piston to wall clearance.

Indeed you can
 

I had a lot of questions when considering the ZZ383 for my boat. I have a 21 ft bowrider with an Alpha I 2nd gen outdrive that weighs 3300 lbs including 38 gallons of gas and the trailer. I ran it across the CAT scales at a truck stop.
I wanted to know if the stock raw water pump in the outdrive would supply enough water to the San Juan Engineering full closed cooling system and if the exhaust would revert water into the manifolds.
I never got a definitive answer on any search I did.
I put it in anyway and hoped for the best, sometimes your hopes are realized.

The factory valve covers on the ZZ383 look awesome, but will not fit with marine exhaust manifolds, so I used the ones off of my Mercuiser 5.7. The engine came with an intake manifold and I bolted my 750 Edelbrock marine carburetor on it. I had to change the water pump to a short nose style which I bought at autozone because I'm running a closed cooling system. I pulled the dipstick with the threaded end for oil change pumps from my old engine and it was a perfect fit in the new one. I am also running aftermarket aluminum marine exhaust manifolds that are copies of Mercruiser center risers.
I did use the Mercruiser Thunderbolt IV ignition from the old engine and I know the rev limiter is holding the engine back, but I haven't changed it out yet.

On the shakedown run, I varied the engine speed on and off throttle and ran it about five miles. The river was too high and trashy, so I aborted the run, but there were no issues.
The second time I ran it longer, probably 20 to 25 miles, never wide open and varying the engine speed. Then I did a long day run with my wife following the same procedures.

Next it was time for the family vacation on a lake with about 10 adults and 19 children from 5 to 17 yrs. For the next four days, my boat hardly ever sat long enough for the engine to cool. Most of the time I was towing twin tubes and kneeboards.

The lake water temperature was in the low 80's and I never had any indication of the engine running hot. The engine usually started on the first turn when it was cold, it took a few seconds longer cranking after the engine was hot and had set for a few minutes. I never experienced any indication of hydra locking as if the engine had reverted water in the exhaust.

I am still working on it, adjusting the carburetor because it's a little rich by the plug readings, but all indications so far are it's going to work just fine. I have to change up to a larger prop because the engine will overpower the 21 pitch Hi-Five that's on it now and blow it out just by getting on the throttle too hard. I am aware of the HP limitations of the Alpha drive and do not hammer it from a dead stop.
I hope this will help out someone considering the ZZ 383 in a boat, BTW is also sounds wicked idling through the thru hull exhaust http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/i...ons/icon10.gif
Leroy

11 year old thread and NLA engine. Nice little small block, but exhaust upgrade is a good idea. The OEM merc exhaust starts running out of breath at 350 hp. And that cam, as Bob M said, will suck water in the exhausts with those manifolds.

It is an old thread, but information is information. When you type in "ZZ383 in a boat", this thread is first to pop up age not withstanding, and there are not a lot of hits about putting one in a sterndrive, especially with specifics and real world experiences. I'm not saying nobody has ever done it, they just didn't post it.
I just put mine in this year and so far its just fine,I have had it since Jan 2014 waiting for the time to install it.
I didn't know the ZZ383 was not available any more, but the SP 383 is and it's a direct replacement, so the information is still valid.