After being away from boats for a long time, I recently purchased an 86 Glassmaster 25' cuddy. The engine has been disassembled by the previous owner and a picture of what it is supposed to look like would be greatly appreciated. It is a GM 350 with an Alpha drive. I am an ASE master tech in the automotive world, but this is something entirely new to me. Thanks for any help anyone can give.

Mike.

aw come on....it's like lego!! You can piece it together!!

Don't have a pic of a 350, but might have one for a 454. Is it closed cooling? When I received my boat, it came with 2 454s in boxes...rusty mind you. All I did was lay it out in my garage, crack a beer, then it all made sense!

What parts of the engine do you want pictures of? Mine is not totally stock, but I may have some photos that will help you out!

I need to see how and where the controls mount as well as the water hoses, and exhaust system. An overall pic of the engine compartment I think would help. It does not have closed cooling, although I am thinking about converting it since it will be in salt water. I'm sure I can figure it out, but a few pics sure would be nice. Thanks for your help.

See if these help. Has the engine been in salt previously?

Here's one I put closed cooling on. Personally, I wouldn't do it again. It makes the engine compartment too cramped. I've got a boat with twin 21 year old 454's that are raw water cooled, and running great.

Ftlbs1, Cudas pics would be better than mine, Not to much of the stuff you listed is done as per Merc. on my boat. The brackets are the same as Cuda's.

Thanks a bunch, those will be a huge help. The boat has been in salt before, but the engine going in is brand new. The manifolds look to be in good shape with no visible corrosion, but the thermostat housing is completly disintegrated. I've been concerned about cooling with sea water, but have been told it's no problem if you flush after each use. Thanks again for helping the new guy.

I recently pulled the t stat housings off my 454's with aluminum intakes, looking for signs of corrosion, and found none. My boat has known probably 99% salt water use. I am religious about flushing, some may even call it anal.

Based on your experience, I'll stick with open cooling. I too am pretty anal when it comes to maintenance, so I'm sure everything will be ok.