1977 454 Crusader Rengine

New guy question. Have a 77 Viking 43. It still runs the original 454 350s with 1400 hours on them (knocking on wood!). Raw water cooled. The only saving grace, I think, is that it spent all but the last 3 years in fresh water and seemed to get decent care and maintenance. When I bought the boat, cheap, I had long debates on the gas vs diesel issue, but came to the conclusion (with some good input from local gearheads that work on a lot of commercial boats) that Crusader had a real workhorse engine in the 454 - 350.

Crusader still sold new 454s, etc, when I bought the boat. So far so good. As of right now, after the demise of the 454, it appears that the 8.1 is on its way out of the Crusader lineup.

Due to torque, it seems that while the 8.1 more or less bolts up, repropping ($$$) is in order if you can still get an 8.1. This leads to "how about a 454 rebuild?". It seems to me that a lot of the older 454s were raw water cooled. Here's the question: If a lot of the 454s were raw water cooled, what are the chances of getting a rebuilt 454 with a good block that doesn't have cooling channel corrosion and/or heat transfer issues? Are there any objective criteria that can be used to evaluate that condition? Lots of good stuff on this forum - really appreciate the help.

Re: 454 Crusader Rengine

That would be Re-engine

Re: 454 Crusader Rengine

I have a pair of Fresh Water cooled Mercruiser 7.4 multi port Fuel injected engines complete with transmissions. They are plug and play. $9k for the pair. They have approx 400 hrs.

Re: 454 Crusader Rengine

Appreciate the response, Dock. However, I'm not ready to pull the trigger - just trying to get info to make an intelligent decision when the time comes. "Intelligent decision" and pleasure boat probably do not belong in the same sentence. But, since you're in the business, let me ask you: when dealing with a FWC block, how do you evaluate it's condition with respect to cooling water channels? For that matter, how do you clean them up for rebuild? Thanks again.

Re: 454 Crusader Rengine

Any quality rebuilt 454--and there's lots to choose from out there--will have a good block. Quality rebuildesr test them BEFORE putting time and effort ($$$) into rebuilding them. When you're ready, look for a good long block and put your parts on it.

Jeff

Re: 454 Crusader Rengine

You really will have no worries as far as the cleaning of a FWC engine block, anti freeze does not do the damage sea water does. When the block goes to a professional for reconditioning, all of that will be taken care of.

Are you planning on doing the rebuild yourself?

Re: 454 Crusader Rengine

Thanks Jeff and Dock. Got pulled to a location for a while where unofficial internet use wasn't available. When the time comes, I'll be farming out the rebuild.

Re: 454 Crusader Rengine

Those engines are good for at least 5000 hours, given proper maintenance. I suspect that you'll be dead before they need replacing. Change the oil, change the oil, change the oil!