Let's Make a List

[macojoe]

I said it once I will say it again!! Bracket and outboard!!

By what everyone is saying the last owner didn't do you any favors by just droping everything auto in there, you going to spend a ton getting it all right!!

[THEFERMANATOR]

Well I found a few items on Ebay to help you out.

Here is a new points type distributor.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercr...QQcmdZViewItem

And this is a new MALLORY electronic distributor.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercr...QQcmdZViewItem

And here is a marine 351, notice how the hoses are routed very differently than yours are.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/351-F...QQcmdZViewItem

[drbarbara]

The way I am understanding I either need to change about 1000 dlls worth of marine parts into the engine I currently got or I need to pull out the engine and the outdrive, fiberglass the transom, buy a 300 dll bracket and a 1500 dll 200 hp engine. I guess it is true when you buy a boat you buy a hole in the water to put money into.

How hard is to do the conversion yourself. Remember I am a complete newbie, never worked with glass before.

[bradford]

I think a bracket and outboard will be cheaper in the end. I think with the help of people on this site you could handle the conversion yourself.

[macojoe]

I have had bad experience's with I/O's and will never own another!!

That said if you had a I/O working and ready to go I would say stay with it till its time to re-power.

When you re-power the choice is yours! I/O or O/B depends what you are looking for?

IMO

Outboard, easy to replace, made to be on the water with less problems then I/O

But use more gas, in most cases nosier, and more to replace, if going new.

I/O cheaper on gas, quite, cheaper to replace.

But IMO they were never meant to be in a boat!! you are always working on them for one thing or the other! and I rather be fishing then working.

If you were to go new, the newer OB are much quieter, great on gas!! They are just as good if not better then a I/O.


Conversion is pretty easy if you decided to go that route.
First you have remove all the old parts, and don't throw any of it away!! Its worth its weight in Gold to the right people!! I sold all my IO parts for $1000

After that you need to plug the hole left behind. For that you go on the inside of the boat and you cut the inside liner and the plywood square (do not cut the out side glass!!!!) Now you want to cut just the first layer of ply only (3/4") about 1 or 2 inches bigger then the second layer.
Now take a new piece of ply the size of the first hole and coat with resin and cloth (make the cloth 2" bigger then the ply) paint the bare glass in the ole with resin and then put the ply in the hole, using the extra glass to glue to the wider cut ply.
Now take you 2nd ply and do the same thing and glue to the first ply you just put in the hole, again over lapping the glass by 3" to the inside liner.
Now cover the whole thing with glass till you are the same thickness as the inside liner.

Now go on the out side of the boat and fill the hole with matt and resin till its the same level as the outside glass. Sand smooth and gel coat or marine tex over the glass again sand.

Hole is now fixed and ready for you to install the bracket.

Go with a 25" shaft Out board and nothing less!! On the bracket go with the shortest set back that you can and still get the motor to tilt up off the ground.

Install bracket and motor and you are good to go!!

Theres more to it, and if you decided to do it we could get into it in more detail. but this gives you a general idea.
I never did it before and I had it done in 2 days!

Its up to you what you want to do!! But no matter what I believe you should start fresh with a outboard or new marine Motor.

[macojoe]

And a 150 HP is all you need for a V20! Some here have got away with 115!!
200's are to heavy, and to much of a gas hog for these days!

[THEFERMANATOR]

Originally Posted by macojoe

And a 150 HP is all you need for a V20! Some here have got away with 115!!
200's are to heavy, and to much of a gas hog for these days!

There's one or two here who are running a 90 on there V-20's. They would be considered underpowered though. Like MJ said, each set-up does have it's merits. The I/O wins in the economy department compared to old school 2 stroke outboards. Outboards tend to take alot less maintence to keep running. I/o's do take more maintence, and old iron tends to keep you busy keeping up with it. Check CRAIGSLIST and see if you can't find a 302 or 351 that is blown to get most all of the parts you need off of to convert it. I/O's are nice in the fact that quite a few of the parts are cheaper as you can use some automotive parts. Outboard parts are pretty pricey for the most part. A rebuilt powerhead on an outboard will set you back at least $3000(this is why alot of people buy used running engines and part out the old one), where as an I/O's engine rebuilt can normally be had for $1500 since an auto can be substituted with a different cam in many cases.

If it was mine I would evaluate the whole I/O package and go from there. If the old VOLVO outdrive is going to need some work soon, then a bracket and outboard would be cheaper. I haven't worked on a VOLVO outdrive before, but I know on a MERCRUISER you need some special tools to replace the bellows and re-align and service them. Most side shops charge almost $1K just to replace the bellows in a MERCRUISER, and most of them charge ungodly fees when you mention the word VOLVO. Evaluate everything you have, and then decide how much you plan to use the boat. Then go from there.