alpha ss drives
 

Iam new to this forum and have been reading some of the past posts about alpha ss drives.

I have just purshured a 85 Wellcraft Nova II with a couple healthy sbc, and alpha ones, the drives are looking a little on rough side, and are looking at rebuilding or replacing them.

How common were alpha ss drives?
Are parts available for them, or more important what parts are not available?
Are they easy to find used and if so are all parts easy to get?

They aren't real common, but they can be found. All the gears and such are the same as a regular alpha drive.

The SS was produced from bout 1986 - 1989... mainly for applications with the 300 tempest, 320 efi, etc..

you can find them if you keep your eyes open... sometimes on ebay.. sometimes by luck, word of mouth, for sale adds, etc... going rate is roughly 1800 - 2800 bucks... but be cautious and check them over thoroughly before purchasing...

gearsets, water pump, and bearings, etc are interchangable with the alpha 1 components... vertical driveshaft is shorter... the gearcase is unique and of CLE configuration... the outboard CLE case will bolt to the SS upper housing... this is the good news...

the bad news... any unique parts are EXPENSIVE... and i mean EXPENSIVE... BUT BUT BUT!!!! the Upper housing (driveshaft housing), is OBSOLETE... you cannot purchase a new one, no one makes them.. who knows where the core boxes are or if they are even in existance anymore.. finding an NOS or used one is not very easy.. or quick... so basically.. if you nuke the upper housing... your SS is history...

the SS Upper will not bolt to a stock alpha lower and the alpha SS lower will not bolt to the stock alpha upper.... The SS lower is 2 inches shorter than the alpha and the SS upper is 1 inch shorter than the alpha 1... for a total of 3 inches shorter. SS = 19 inches C/L to C/L (propshaft to input shaft)... alpha 1 = 22 inches

ALL SS's were right hand rotation

the SS bolts to the alpha 1 (1984 - 1990) transom assembly

you can find the fiche for the SS online at mercruiserparts.com

Jamie - SS equipped...