Can anyone help me identify my boat and engine?

I got this boat off a friend of mine a few months ago. He's had it for around 5 years, and it was running when he bought, it also had a new floor. He sadly decided not to cover it up for the past 5 years while it sat under a bunch of trees. Anyways, now it has water in the oil, the carb is rusted shut, and I haven't tried to turn the motor by hand yet. I've got the hull cleaned up pretty decent for right now, but I can't seem to figure out what kind of motor it has on it, or what kind of boat it is at all. I just know its some sort of 4cyl motor. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Please bear with me, I'm a noob to the boating world, so my knowledge is rather limited.

 

Chevy 3 liter 140 hp. Just a wild guess.

 

That sounds good, where would be a pretty good cheap place to buy parts? I'm pretty sure this engines gonna be rebuilt.

 

Actually, based on the serial number, that's an early 70's Ford V8 225(-S?) 4bbl.

(It's amazing what you can find by plugging serial numbers into Google. )

 

Whoa! That's going to be a problem, half the engine is gone!

 

See if there's an identification number somewhere on the upper right hand corner of the transom, to the right of that decal. Probably just below the black rub rail. Possibly partly under it.

What's the engine serial number?

Does it tell you anything on the title?

 

Merc bought a ton of 3 liter 140 hp from GMC over the years so I agree with Redtick.
Manifolds seem different though.

 

I'll have to see if I can find the tag for the engine when I get home. It's got tag around the bell housing of the engine, I assume that would be the correct one to go off of.

And I have no title for this boat actually, they don't really crack down on that kind of thing out here.

 

That's a 153 CID (2.5 liter), GM 4L, Mercruiser, but I can barely see well enough to tell what type Mercruiser drive. It's probably a type 1. The drive number (not an engine number) suggests its a very early 120 HP. The transom doesn't appear to have a HIN, so your guess is as good as any. The title or registration should yield a manufacture name or at least a model.

Get yourself a repair manual first thing and second, pull that damned automotive fuel pump off there and toss it in the trash before you blow yourself up. From the looks of her, she needs everything. I hope you got a really good paying job. The hydraulics are shot, you'll love breaking open the distribution fitting to change hoses. Just buy all new and don't even bother screwing with replacing only what's leaking now,a s it all will be soon. Replace all the hoses on the engine and have fun with the fan belt, you'll just love how that's designed. The bellows, seals and shaft bearing probably need replacement too, so while you're there check the shift linkage and cables, because you don't want to have to pull the drive twice, just because you low balled the project. Check the manifolds and elbows for cracks (a common issue) and hold your breath when you look up the price for replacements.

Again get the book, Seloc has a good one for like 30 bucks. It saves a lot of guessing.

 

Ugh, that sounds like a real pain lol. I have a really terrible paying job. I planned on this boat taking a Long time anyways, probably by the end of next summer or something.

So you're thinking 2.5 instead of 3.0? Do the 2.5 and 3.0 interchange? Like can I put the 3.0 on the current setup that I have now? From what I can tell, the 3.0 seems to be a little easier and cheaper to come by.

 

Although it is very hard to see the difference, PAR is probably right that it's a 2.5 lt.
That doesn't matter much for your plans because all external parts are interchangeable. Only if new pistons and/or rings are needed the number of suppliers may be a bit disappointing. On the other hand that might make you decide to give up: this is a real money pit that you should not underestimate.

If the hull is worth restoring, throwing out both the engine and drive in exchange for a 3.0LX and an Alpha-1 either used or new is probably cheaper and certainly faster.

 

So, if indeed I do have a 2.5 as opposed to a 3.0, the drivetrain won't interchange? Would I have to buy an entire 3.0 setup, engine and transom, to make this work? The hull is fine, just need to put some new flooring down, and that's not an issue for me. I'm just worrie about the the drivetrain.

 

Pht,

You could spend a year and a couple thousand dollars trying to rebuild that motor. My advice is to go buy a marinized engine and new out drive. I haven't bought an out drive in years so I can't guess price, but a properly sized marinized engine shouldn't be more that $3,000 new. Add an out drive to that and you just have to spend a year rebuilding the boat.

Personally I would wait on the engine until the boat is back in good shape though. If you can't get the hull in decent shape then you scrap everything. Once you buy a new motor you are stuck.

 

Rebuild parts for that motor are available and not terribly costly. It's the bolt on pieces that will kill you. The manifold and related gear, commonly corroded out will cost more then the engine rebuild parts. Assuming the drive will turn, parts for it are also available, though getting scarce, you'll still need a far bit of catch up maintenance, just to make it work reliably. Typical issues will be the usual replacement items, such as the impeller, the pump, the bellows and full transom kit (bearing, seals, etc.), cables may be serviceable, but if the drive has to come off anyway (it has to for the transom kit) you might as well deal with this stuff while you have it off. The same is true of the hydraulic system, it's pump may be serviceable, but you can bet the hoses and distribution block will need replacement, maybe the rams, Engine controls are another area of issue and lets hope the steering is working pretty good. This says nothing of the hull shell, electrical system and required equipment.

The 153 is a 181 with a 1/8" smaller diameter bore and a 1/2" less stroke. All the parts will interchange, except you can't put a 181 crank in a 153 block without some clearancing work and the deck height may not be sufficient. Externally they are the same casting and receive the same bolt on equipment.

The real problem Phtboy, is you haven't the skills to really handle a project like this. No offense intended, but that's a basket case waiting for each an every ten pack of hundreds, you can toss at her. If I had it, she'd go through a series of tests and standard evaluations (20 minutes of work), just to see if I'm wasting my time. If she passed these basic tests, I toss some parts at her, knowing the common issues and see how it would work out. You on the other hand have to learn the hard way and this is a really costly way to get an education.

There's an old sign I once saw; "Free boat, with the purchase of engine and trailer". Most boats of this vintage are depositories for the engine, drive and equipment. The hull shell is just along for the ride and hopefully to keep your socks dry. Do yourself a big favor and give this boat back to your friend and wish him luck, then go find a better example of a tired old boat, preferably one that's isn't pushing a half a century in age.

Not much of a welcome to the forum I'm afraid, but none of this is meat to be personal. In my area, there are 20 year old boats that are free or nearly so, with the economy the way it is. You can find a $500 boat that need a buffing, some minor work, a new battery and some fuel stabilizer and you're good to go. Look around and don't pick the fat ugly girl for the prom next time.

 

You should also check to see if the hull is distorted from sitting on the trailer for X amount of years. Things need to be straight, not cupped or dented where the supports are or sagging down at the aft end of the hull.