advise needed on engine size for a V20

[mgraniello]

What is the biggest mercruiser that can fit into engine compartment of a V20? I am looking to replace the 165 straight 6 with a V4 or V6 and I am not sure what I can do???

[randlemanboater2]

Welcome to the site mgraniello.


CTT has a 350 Chebby in his, and he is so darn good lookin.

[phester]

I'm sure a few of our resident motorheads will be along shortly to help you out. I know we've got one or two members here w/ 350 c.i. power.....maybe that overly handsome man CTT....Lotsa guys here that know what they're talking about ;)and welcome to v20.com

[phester]

wow Randle, we are on the same wave length....or we both have a crush on Charlie

[randlemanboater2]

wow Randle, we are on the same wave length....or we both have a crush on Charlie


He is just so cute!

[Franco]

Here is a pic of my old V20 engine

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/Flafranco/P3260096.jpg

[macojoe]

165 motor is a dog!! I know I had one for a long time!!

I am sure the 350 is much better but its a lot of work!!

If I was you I would be converting to a OB, I and many others have done it and it is not hard at all!
as long as your transom is solid.

Then you can ad any motor you want to it, when ever you want to!

[mgraniello]

That sounds like a good idea how do you go about converting to an outboard? How does the boat handle with the outboard? Do you not have it sticking out for from the boat? is there a ploatform that I need to buy to do this?

[mgraniello]

did you convert yours to an outboard? do you have any pictures of it from the stern I can view? the more i think about it the more i like it. it can free up a lot of room in the back of the boat. i am just concerned about how the boat will handle with the extended motor

[THEFERMANATOR]

You can check out his Ebay ad for better pictures of MJ's boat. Go in the general section, first topic on the page.

[macojoe]

You can see all the repairs here, not as much detail as I had hoped, but I can answer a lot for you, I fixed the hole in a afternoon and the install of the bracket in 2 dfays cause I measured mesaured mesured till I thought it was right ;)

But you can be boating in a week if you have the time and all stuff there when you start.

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album09


And my boat is forsale here with lots of pic's

http://www.wellcraftv20.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=for_sale;action=display;num=1187641 051;start=0#0

[frayed_knot]

There's a little bit to consider when going from the 165 to a V style engine. I'm not sure if the stringers are the same distance apart, gotta check that first. Also, depending on what engine you decide to go with, you will need a different upper gear box ratio on the outdrive. For instance, my 5.0L Mercruiser has a 1.5 gear ratio, I'm positive yours doesn't. The easiest thing to do there is to buy a new upper, sterndrive engineering has a great unit at a great price. They can also help you select the proper gear ratio. Of course, like has been mentioned already, you can go with an outboard on a bracket, a very popular modification. The only downside I see with that is buying the engine, but there are plenty of used ones for sale at decent prices. Good luck and keep us posted.

[garagenc]

I had a 305 and when it went bad I put a 350 in it, that was just a couple of months ago.

garage

[frayed_knot]

And that is likely what I will do as well.

[spareparts]

the 165 engines had a 1.84 ratio from the factory, some did come with the 1.65 ratio that was standard on the 5.0L engines. You may be able to make up some of the gear diffeence with prop, but sooner or later you'll want to change to a 1.50 HD gear set( especially if you repower with a strong 5.7). Most of the boats had the stringers in the right location, but they didn't have the pads installed for the motor mounts to sit on, not that hard of a job to install. You will also have to change the input shaft on the drive, the exhaust will have to be changed over to a Y pipe for a V engine configuration. Your 165 probably didn't have power steering, its a recomended option if your going to install a V8. What it boils down to, it would be best to find a complete 5.7 set up( engine, transom plate, drive) in a junk boat to install rather than piece meal one together. The easiest solution is to replace the 165 with a rebuilt longblock( ebasicpower.com has them), or if you want more power, find a 292 truck motor, it will fit in the same place, you will have to install a longer exhaust hose, and may have to raise the engine box a few inches, it would also be best to put a 4bbl carb on teh 292(thats what the 4bbl flange on your manifold is for, they used the same manifold for both engines).

[randlemanboater2]

I'd put in one of these.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r222/randlemanboater/101_0148.jpg

[mgraniello]

Thank you for your reply! If I convert to an outboard motor configuration does the boat handle any differently? Is it much different from having the I/O installed. I would imagine with the I/O installation it would handle and ride better because it was designed for it. However, the boat would have so much more room with out the engine box! How much can I pick up a good used 200 hp outboard motor for?? If I was to have the conversion motor mount installation done by a proffessional, how much do you think it would cost?

[spareparts]

I've got a friends 200 Yamaha listed in the for sale section for $2750

[macojoe]

Well it i easy to fix yourself if you are handy, if you go to a glass guy I bet he would want almost $1000 to fix the hole!

The bracket depending what company and style you go with will cost $800 to $1700

I got my bracket used from am near by mariner for $400 so you might want to call around to see if any one has a take off hanging around.
CK ebay and local ad's for brackets they can be had for short cash if you look around.

Motors are all over the place, all up to you what you want to spend? I have a 175 Evinrude that I got for $700 complete and runs great!

Boat handles great after conversion! Best thing I ever did!! You have better trim and cuddys ride so much better theuy are balanced more.

The only thing is that bracket boat don't like to go in reverse hard. They Idle while backing down great, but hit the gas and they just like to go stright back, no turns cause the wash is pushing against the boat.

I did my conversion for $400 Bracket $100 supplys + motor

[nipper]

I just replaced the 4.3 litre mercruiser in my 1991 V20 with another 4.3 litre mercruiser. The 5.0 litre mercruiser v8 would have fit without any modifications to stringers, etc. I do not know about a 350. The 4.3 does a very good job with my V20, with top end around 45 mph.

[garagenc]

Nipper:
If a 5.0 would fit in your 4.3 hole then I can tell you a 350 ci will fit also, I went from a 305 ci to a 350 ci with no stringer problems or additional parts, I was able to use my intake manifold, flywheel, oil pan, valve, timing gear covers, distributor.

garage

[Hammerhead]

I just replaced my 165 with a new longblock. ( 2K )
I considerd converting to OB on a bracket but, figured it'd end up being at least 10 grand. Goin' with a 5.7 had it's own issues others have covered. How much power do you really need?

[nipper]

Hey garage, I bet your V with that 350 c.i. absolutely flies! As I said, I hit 45 with my 4.3 litre v6 which puts out 190 h.p. You are probably putting out at least 265 h.p. Is it too much for the V? Can you even run it at W.O.T. and feel safe"?

[mgraniello]

I tell you all I am amazed at all the info I am getting from everyone in first few days of being a member. Thanks to all. I happen to have a nieghbor who lives across from my house and his business is called Als Mobile Marine Service. He is a reliable guy who has worked on my previous boat. I just spoke to him and he is a certified to work on mercruisers engines and outdrives. He is going to give me a price to repower the boat with a 4.3 merc and see if the outdrive can just be rebuilt if required. I am guesing to do this, I will be into about $4,000. Does this sound about right?

[macojoe]

Yep he is on the money if he is doing all the work, But out drives can get $$ if they have to have a total rebuild, I had mine done at the time for $1500

Good Luck and let us know!!

[frayed_knot]

You can get a brand new outdrive complete with a 3 year no fault warranty from here http://www.sterndrive.cc/ for $1200.

[garagenc]

Nip
Yea it flies now and the 350 puts out 265HP, I have trim tabs so it makes it easier to trim the boat as it gets squirrley. I haven't fully opened it up yet and I didn't have my gps on determine speed last Sunday but if this weekend is good I'll find out. It has great torque out of the hole, it will sit you back.

[nipper]

I recently re-powered with a 4.3 mercruiser. After looking around a lot, I decided to go with a brand new engine I purchased over EBAY. Pretty scary spending that kind of money without ever seeing the engine or the person from whom buying, but the transaction ended up working out real well. I won the engine with a bid of $3800, then had to spend $200 to have it shipped. It ended up costing about $1200 to remove the old engine and install the new one. Included in that cost was a new bilge pump. I am really glad I decided to go with the brand new engine because when I looked at the old engine that was pulled out, the mechanic would have spent a lot of time pulling off parts to salvage. The engine components were pretty darn rusty after being used in saltwater. Oh, the $1200 also included replacing water pump and some other parts in the outdrive.

I bought the engine from a guy in New Jersey. I can find the name of his shop if you would like.

[mgraniello]

sure let me know because i live in New jersey aand boat out on Long island in the great South bay, and in the inlets at Fire IAsland and Moriches. Did you say the engine was new on Ebay???? or was it used?

[nipper]

It was a brand new engine on ebay with full warranty and Mercury's new ignition system--just turn the key and it fires without setting choke. It is really working well.

The place I got it from is NuWave Marine restoration. He does installations too. Real nice guy named Ken is the owner and guy I dealt with. Apparently he buys engine/outdrive packages from Mercury, then separates them and sell the outdrive and the engine separately for a little profit. I think I may have screwed him on the deal I got, because he is now listing a 4.3 Mercruiser engine for $3999 "Buy it Now" only price. His 5.0 litre engines go for $4999. Go see http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-MERCRUISER-4-3-V6-190-HP-ALPHA-ENGINE-175-200-OMC_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ50442QQihZ004QQitem Z140151652225QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW