mopower

I had a 1988 211 with a 460 and KC. 60mph all day , any day. 62 on a good day. Built a 460 Ford to a 540 , 647 hp 680 tq. and ran it though my KC for three years with no problems. No gps back then but could stand an 80 mph speedo straight down . Only prob. I ever had was the shift module. Upgraded to new style and ok.

MOBILEMERCMAN

How many members are on OSO? A handful say good things. I say good luck.
Jim

Airpacker

I had the distinct DISPLEASURE of owning the first 460/KC package in Canada. 22 foot 2800 pound pad v. 139 hrs in 2 seasons and 13, yes 13 blown drives. KC drives and torque do not mix. Good thing they extended my warranty to 2 years after the first 8 drives blew in season 1.

stillcrazy26

The prime reason that I converted the OMC 460 setup was that I could not find a exhaust manifold for it. I wrote to the after market suppliers and followed all the leads. I posted on OSO ,Donzi and other web sites .All responses were vague. "They heard of..." biut no specifics. The adapter plate TO Merc 454 often mentioned was no longer made. The manufacturer said "Someone" might have one on their shelf. They couldn't tell me who "someone " was. Since I had purchased another change out, I had all the drive parts etc. to keep it going for a while.
As to the comment of Maintaining it properly by changing the lube. That was done because of the frequent repairs. and the boat was kept on a lift so it wasn't sitting in the water and the case cracks were from corrosion , not physical damage.
I had years of "shifting' troubles with microswitches, electronic interrupters until they came up with the cable fix. I never got to the point of changing the gears to the new cut.

32velocity

seems to me that with so many boats out there for sale ,, and with the majority of the market place blessing mercruiser ,, for either replacement,, used,, or new parts ,, plus the constant resale value of merc,, why pull your hair out with the uncertainty of omc,, hmmmm unless you are already bald....just my 2 cents btw buy blue you won't go black .....

hoozeyurdaddy

If you have already purchased this boat, then keep the drive updated and check it often, at the first sign of any problems, get it in the shop, If you have not purchased this boat yet, look for something with a bravo drive pushing it, if its under 300hp, alpha's are good, over that, bravo drives, good luck.

tassie boy

i,ve got one of them king cobra jiggers for my boat but it will be at least 6 months before i get her going .it will be interesting to see if we can prove the rich clean fingered skeptics wrong . cheers tassie boy

bcfountain

stay with a big or small block gmc.they will always make more power per dollar spent and all the r/d are on these motors.

Dave_N

The lack of availablility of exhaust manifolds would be a deal breaker for me.

I 've attempted to use the "adapters" and OEM Mercruiser exhaust manifolds on an OMC 7.5, but had trouble with chronic exhaust leaks and burned plug wires. Not to mention the fact that you have to pull the manifolds off to get the plugs out. I got lucky and found a set of original equipment manifolds on ebay and took the adapters off.

Dave

stillcrazy26

Tassie Boy,
Save my E-Mail address. You may need the two spare King Cobra drives in my garage...They may be there in 6 months. I've probably got more dirt under my fingernails than you have on your hands ! Ha,Ha
Question here was someone falling in love with a "Boat" and wanting re-enforcement that what he has heard about OMC is not ttrue. OMC is not getting a "BUM" rap, Mercruiser may not be much better but they are still readily available.
If you own a OMC Cobra, how much longer will you be able to keep it going? How long does Bombie have to make parts? another few years?
Glad to know that I was lucky NOT to find the adapter for the Xmanifolds.