Hello All.

Long-time lurker from England wanting your opinion on something.

I have seen this;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Boat-Proje...#ht_723wt_1251

And I am wondering if this is something I want to even think about getting involved with.

One the one hand if it's a Gasket, it could be a steal. On the other, if it need re-powering, it's all but worthless with no trailer included.

I am so definitely in the market for a Formula of this sort of size and vintage with a friend, but being so rare over here, our choice is rather limited, and people are asking silly money for boats which are just not selling... Our fuel is so expensive and diesels are what people want.

We want a V8 (or two) with straight through pipes....!

What do you all think? What could be the best and worst case scenarios? Head gasket and cracked block respectively?

Many thanks in advance...

All the best - Nick.

when thinking of bying a boat with engine problems you should expect the worst because it usually is not the easy fix,in this case i would plan on replacing the engine.

With understanding of the potential of a total re-power and the lack of parts readily available in the UK...I would pass on this one. There are several agents here in SE Florida that could help you with a drop in re-power but not sure if you want to go that route.

I have connections here with a supplier that ships good re-furbished Mercruiser engines and drives to Sweden, Germany and the Balkans on a regular basis. There is a big market for that type of equipment in Europe. If you have a marine mechanic that you can hook up with there I am sure arrangements could be made to export good second hand equipment to you there.

Your call...but always a gamble.

What's the exchange rate pound sterling to US Dollar...about 3.5:1?

Currently about 1.54 USD - GBP.