Potential Purchase of MD 11C with 110S Saildrive

"Hello to all. I have almost

"Hello to all. I have almost no clue, but am looking at potentially buying a boat with a 1980 MD 11C with 110S saildrive. Seller has two extra saildrives that come with boat. The MD 11C has the head off of it right now, but the rest is in the boat. I am told by the owner it needs to be rebuilt and he has been quoted $1900 for parts alone for this rebuild??? This sounds pretty high to me for a little two cyl diesel, but that's why I'm asking here. Does this sound right? Is it a good idea to rebuild this engine? Is there another engine possibly made by another mfg. that mates with the saildrive? Is there another engine made by Volvo that fits? I also located a running MD 11C in Massachusetts that is a 'smoker' for $400. Should I get that engine and install it? Or should I just stay away from the whole boat?

Thanks for your help and sorry for the many questions.
"

"Last year I went through the

"Last year I went through the misery of rebuilding a MD5B the little brother to your engine. Along the way I ran into governor problems and some minor issues that had to be addressed. By the time all was well and running properly the bill for the one cylinder engine was close to $5000 CDN, so $1900 sounds like a real bargain! I was stuck because of the 110S saildrive would not mate up to any of the new engines that were available. I think you are in the same situation so to re-engine you will have to replace the saildrive and engine bed also and that means more money.

My engine needed a new cylinder liner because the old one was badly eroded due to the raw water cooling system. I’m not sure but I think the MD 11C is also raw water cooled. Before you commit to a rebuild have the rebuilder open it up to see what is involved.

The MD5, MD7 and MD11 also fit the 110S. The smaller engines don't have the HP that you probably need. New Volvos don't fit."

"I appreciate the response. D

"I appreciate the response. Did it cost $5000 CDN including labour, or only parts? I also understand that the Beta engine will use the same engine beds as well as the saildrive... we'll see. Basically, if it costs $5000, I won't buy the boat...

Did you have the rebuilder remove and reinstall the engine as well. I plan on doing this myself and just bringing the parts that need work to the rebuilder myself.

Thanks."

"The $5000 was for both parts

"The $5000 was for both parts and labour. I got the parts for the re-builder as he needed them. It was faster that way and prices were the same. My engine needed a new governor ($1100 CDN) and a piston/sleeve kit plus gaskets and some bearings. Labour cost was $2,711 CDN. I pulled the engine myself as it only weighed about 300lbs, yours is heavier.

Let me know if you go ahead with this project because the governor in my engine is very very delicate and there are some things to watch out for during assembly. Your engine may be the same. The re-builder damaged the new governor and had a difficult time finding out why it failed. A second governor was installed at no cost to me. I’ll share the governor information with you if you need it.

I’m not familiar with the Beta engine you mentioned -what is it, do you mean MD11B? If you are interested my boat is a Canadian registered vessel (O.N. 0396066) and specifics are listed at www.tc.gc.ca/ShipRegistry"

"[url=""]http://www.betamarine

"http://www.betamarinenc.com/

This is a link to a North Carolina dealer for Beta engines. My understanding is that it is in fact a Kubota diesel. If you look around the web a bit more there are some other links. Supposedly they can factory order with motor mounts in the Volvo MD11C configuration and it will work with a Volvo 110S saildrive.

I will let you know what happens with this rebuild. I'm still not sure whether we're doing it or not.

Thanks for your replies."