replacing an 82' 470 merc

[ProudFather1215]

yea, the outdrive is about worthless. its been leaking gear oil for quite sometime, and from what i was told, was NEVER serviced by the original owner. im partial to my i/o set up however. had an i/o on all 3 boats ive owned, and wish to stick with them

can we say i got screwed on this deal?

[spareparts]

with the outdrive needing work, then you may need to rethink your repower. A bracketed outboard is an excellent way to go if you have the ability. If you have to pay for everything, then its going to get expensive. be patient, look around and see if you run accross a deal on anything. There aer a lot of boats that are going to get repoed in the next couple of months, keep an eye out on the salvage and auction sites. You could find a deal on a crappy boat with a good outdrive package, or a good OB set up that coule be bracketed to your boat. Whats teh transom on your boat look like now. If its bad or in need of repair, its hard to justify going back I/O.

[ProudFather1215]

the boats transom is actually extremely strong i was told. this was the first season the boat has ever been left in water. it was trailered and used in freshwater until i bought it.

like i said, im extremely partial to my i/o set-ups. ive ran several boats with OB's before, and maybe im just a creature of habit, but i like my IO much better.

so since im dead set on an i/o, would the 4.3 v6 be the best solution otherwise?? or would any of you guys chance rebuilding or looking for a decent 470 again, since when they are running, you cant beat the bang for the buck they put out.

[THEFERMANATOR]

If speed isn't a major concern, maybe a repower to the new 3.0L would be feaseable. With this market you may be able to get one heck of a deal on a new unit witrh a warranty.

[spareparts]

the compresion on your engine isn't that bad, what worries me is the drive, I'd hate for you to rebuild the engine and then the drive and transom plate goes to crap, then you end up with about 10,000 more than the boat is worth. Keep your eye open on craigs list or local sites around large fresh water lakes. I've run across complete boats with Alpha 1 gen II drives, 4.3 engine for sale because the floor was bad or the traielr and interior went to crap. I've seen boats like that for $2500, just ignore everything but the drive line. Alpha ! Gen II ( 1991 and newer will get you the latest stuff. MAke sure you don't buy a motor thats been under water. Check with banks and wet slip/dry stack marinas that don't offer service. There is no way around the fact that its going to cost you money, but at least you've got a decent boat to work with. You may want to have an expert check out the transon, just to make sure you're not throwing good money after bad.

[spareparts]

Proud Father, I think I may have found you a doner boat. What part of the country are you in.

[ProudFather1215]

im located in long island, ny. willing to make a day trip anywhere in the north-east to get a motor if need be and load it into my van, if the right one were to come along some where.

spareparts....you say the compression isnt that bad. could there be a reason you could think of the cyls are so off in numbers?? if i can get away with rebuilding her for a few years, it would be better for me, until i can afford to blow 10-15k on a crate motor and drive. im budgeting about 5k right now, but thats also in hopes of finding a decent 470.

[WinniDave]

Here's one for $2000...
http://burlington.craigslist.org/boa/973407555.html