Merc 420 Cyclone engines

[MILD THUNDER]

Two grown men can remove and lift those drives and move them around. They are heavy, but not too crazy. Or like Scott said, use a engine hoist. Theres a lifting ring on top of the drive just for hoisting.

Just beware. The SSM Drives are kind of a specialty drive. Dont trust any old merc mechanic to rebuild them. There is a lot involved in setting them up properly. Thats why its worth it to ship them to guys like Jerry Haney or Craig Collabella. The gearsets are way too much money to have some joker botch them up and ruin them becuase they werent shimmed properly.

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

Hey Brian,
Aside from what has been discussed I have a few suggestions. Be careful not to take too many of the parts of the boat apart at once. It is not hard to get discouraged and loose track of where everything is. I suggest step one is to account for all the brackets and mounts that were on the missing engine. Its these pieces that will 100 dollar for days later if you are missing them. Take inventory of the stb motor brackets and assemblies that are mounted and find the matching pieces. All of the pieces I am talking about like alternator brackets and braces, sea pump bracket and braces, wiring harness and brackets, oil filter and adapter, thermostat housings, pulleys , linkages ect. need to be cleaned, prepped and painted. All of the same pieces will be installed on the replacement engines you purchase. Only a "complete take out " includes them. If you can sell the existing engine make sure you remove all the pieces I mentioned. { I did notice a power steering pump and you do not have power steering. That is the only thing IMO you may want to consider later as an upgrade. Once everything else is done.}

I find the best way to stay motivated in a job like yours is to get it clean and making noise. Engines and trim motors noise get my blood pumping.

Try to get a few parts of the boat complete before taking more apart. You can test and trouble shoot all electrical switches and such on the dash without engines. You can detail the entire boat minus the engine bay spending little money. You can make a lot of progress without spending while you save for engines.

[MILD THUNDER]

I absolutley agree with Jim. Things like scrubbing the bilge, even giving it a fresh coat of paint, stripping down brackets and stuff and painting them, etc. Take your time, keep asking questions along the way. If your not sure about things, just ask here. You will be surprised on how much you learn along the way.

The great thing about this project, is what you will learn. Im sure your Dad would be very proud of you taking this project on yourself and putting in the elbow grease to get it going. In the End, I think you will have a very nice boat to be proud of. The beauty of getting in deep yourself, is that you will get to know the boat inside and out. When something malfunctions, leaks, or breaks, you will know how to repair it. Ive learned so much over the past several years, and I owe most of it to these online forums. From what I have found, local knowledge from other boaters in my area, was marginal at best. Its the guys online, who know whats the latest and greatest, and most cost effective. I have ran into so many local old timers who are stuck in the 70's. The guys who tell you your cleavers are junk, will tell you their TRS drives are worth 8k dollars each used, and they set their timing by ear on big blocks. Or you get the bravo crowd, that will tell you to convert the boat to bravos. Stay away.

[old377guy]

Brian, I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to make it over to your house on Saturday but our schedule just kept changing hour by hour.I trust that you won't fall into the trap of trying to do too much to your boat. When I last saw it it seemed like it was nearly perfect aesthetically. I can't imagine why you'd need to go much over 500 hp to meet or exceed the original performance of this boat.You know the use history of this boat. Keep it simple. Carefully inventory and re-do the engine components, brackets and equipment. When you know exactly what you have you'll have a clearer idea of what you still need. Call me and I will go over drive and transmission options with you as I know someone local (Oregon) that has Merc Hi-Perf knowledge and certification. Hopefully next time when I'm down we can re-visit the project.

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

I have ran into so many local old timers who are stuck in the 70's. The guys who tell you your cleavers are junk, will tell you their TRS drives are worth 8k dollars each used, and they set their timing by ear on big blocks. Or you get the bravo crowd, that will tell you to convert the boat to bravos. Stay away.

I agree with you too. That is so funny and true.

[ROGUE]

Oh and digital camera the heck out of everything before and during any disassembly.

[BDC1013]

Best bet for major progress is to take all the accessories off this engine and take the other parts and brackets I have and put them in boxes. Then take that engine out and starting cleaning up the bilge. Then once that's taken care of I can get the drives checked out. Whether or not I take them off or take the whole boat somewhere is kind of up in the air until I find out who is going to do it.

[BDC1013]

Also like I stated before, this is why I'm here. I basically know what it takes to get all of this done, as I've built a car with the help of an online forum. I wish some of you were more local too, it's a lot easier to get going on a project when you're having fun with someone doing it. A boat is really a whole different beast compared to a car but at least you have a lot of room to work around the engines compared to a car.

[ROGUE]

Another trick I use is to ziplock bag the hardware for each piece of stuff and attach or ID it so I know what bolts went where. Another way is to stick the bolts through each bracket after I removed it and hold them with rubber bands. Saves lots of time

[BDC1013]

Here is a local shop close by to me. What do you think? westcoastoffshoreunlimited.com

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

Looks like a welding machine fab shop to me.

How far from Valencia are you?

[Ratickle]

He's at the south end of San Francisco Bay, closest to San Jose area.

[BDC1013]

Brian, I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to make it over to your house on Saturday but our schedule just kept changing hour by hour.I trust that you won't fall into the trap of trying to do too much to your boat. When I last saw it it seemed like it was nearly perfect aesthetically. I can't imagine why you'd need to go much over 500 hp to meet or exceed the original performance of this boat.You know the use history of this boat. Keep it simple. Carefully inventory and re-do the engine components, brackets and equipment. When you know exactly what you have you'll have a clearer idea of what you still need. Call me and I will go over drive and transmission options with you as I know someone local (Oregon) that has Merc Hi-Perf knowledge and certification. Hopefully next time when I'm down we can re-visit the project.

No worries, there will be another time. I'm glad you let me know, I took the boat to storage right when you told me you werent coming.

Yeah anything from 450-500 horse sounds perfect for what i want to do with the boat. I plan to remove all of the accessories and eventually get the one engine out of the boat so i can prep the bidle and clean it all up for the new power. I'd really like to have my garage back for this project. Its time to get some of the furnature out of the garage so i can have a place to work.

[600sci]

THESE ARE 100% A GOOD DEAL and they are BRAND NEW !!!!

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...hp-motors.html

[endeavor1]

THESE ARE 100% A GOOD DEAL and they are BRAND NEW !!!!

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...hp-motors.html

I thought this was a budget build.... Lets keep searching for some nice 450-500 horse engines that are in a budget range.

[600sci]

I thought this was a budget build.... Lets keep searching for some nice 450-500 horse engines that are in a budget range.

Now, if 25 K for to complete 650 HP BRAND NEW engines...isnt a budget... WOW

PS, thats the price of one and less....i kinda know this guy and i can tell u he does not cheat with cheap parts ...RELIABLE POWER on PUMP GAS !

[Ratickle]

You're right, it's a good deal, write him a check........



Anyway, it's out of the budget range we're discussing here.....

[MOBILEMERCMAN]

Now, if 25 K for to complete 650 HP BRAND NEW engines...isnt a budget... WOW

PS, thats the price of one and less....i kinda know this guy and i can tell u he does not cheat with cheap parts ...RELIABLE POWER on PUMP GAS !

He doesn't know the meaning of budget. I will spell it out for him.

Budget does not mean good deal. Budget means you have a target price range.

[600sci]

He doesn't know the meaning of budget. I will spell it out for him.

Budget does not mean good deal. Budget means you have a target price range.

Budget means ... its a dream word since it never works out !!!!! ATLEAST NOT IN THE BOATING WORLD !

That beeing said, call this guy and maybe he can finance or make an even better deal..trade what ever ..

I am a 0 budget racer/boater..and so far it kinda works !

U could probably sell the HP420 for 5K running and remember these are complete incl all acc. this beeing said...they will 100% bump up the resale value since they are new and worth around 30K +each, if u would have them build.
DO IT ONCE AND DO IT RIGHT !!!!
60MPH will get boring real fast in that boat and then u gonna say ..man , i should of !

EVERYBODY can tell u that ..OK, MAYBE NOT JIM !

[old377guy]

God bless ya, 600. You're 100% correct that 25k is a great price for these motors. Hopefully Brian will pipe in here, but even that great deal is not in the cards at this moment. It's sure good to hear and see all the support for this project.