Alpha uppers went bye bye- opinions please
 

Sunday under a steady cruise the upper gear set went away. I'm having a hell of a time finding a drive and may have to use one with other than a 1.5 ratio. The boat is a wellcraft nova sbc. Can I use a 1.65 with a higher pitch prop to offset the ratio difference? And could someone please explain why Mercruiser uses the different ratios? I know the bbc uses 1.32 and the little 3.0's use the 1.85's or 1.92's but why? How hard is it to change the upper gear set and is it worth it. The gears are gone, no sign of teeth or debris and that makes me nervous about the case. What the hell, this boat owes me nothing. I knew a whole season couldn't go by w/o some calamity or another. Thanks in advance.

The different gears reduces the need for a large variety of props. If all the had were 1.32's the small engines would be turning 12"pitch or if they only had 1.92 the big ones would be turning 40
" pitch. Its probably not that drastic but you get my point. Besides you get too high a pitch and it's more like a paddle wheel than a prop.:eek:

i had a 454 on a an alpha with 1.32 and it coudl barely turna 19p

my advice convert to a bravo. Its dirt simple. Drill two holes and tigheten some bolts. yeah you have to pull your engine. But your boat will be SUPER reliable AND it will add value to your boat. Plus there are a ton of bravos around that can be had pretty cheaply in the ratio you need. It and of-season project but it would be worth it.

There should be plenty of Alpha's floating around out there, with all of these Alpha-to-Bravo projects going on!:D

You might check with Chris Martin @ stern drive specialists - [email protected]. He usually has some used Bravos, and he might have an Alpha laying around too.

you can use the 1:65 and only expect a 7-10 % increase in RPM's...sounds like you lost a seal in the drive,no biggy,just have it fixed,I have remaned drives instock,but will need to clean the debree out of your lower......

Thanks for the replys, I also thought Alphas would be laying around everywhere but so far all I'm finding is the 4cyl stuff. I was hoping to get back in the water this weekend but it's not looking good for the home team. I guess I have to decide how much more I am willing to put into this boat. "Hey honey, boats totaled, going shopping, see you later" Hell, it might work.

did you check ebay yet???

i have a clean 1.50 alpha upper,$650 takes it,315 676 2979,chris

I have a complete drive for sale on ebay. Alpha Gen II 1.5 ratio 40 fresh water hours. Price is $1350.00.