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King Cobra Outdrive Conversion Options?!? Please help - thank you!!

sl0flyer

New member
Hi everyone, thanks in advance for the help here.

I am considering purchasing a 1992 Four Winns 215 Sundowner. It is in decent condition, and would make a fantastic boat with a bit of cleanup and enbow grease. There are no major problems that I can see with the boat and the King Cobra 351 engine says only 180 hours. If anyone else has thoughts on this boat, please feel free to mention them. I'm getting this boat for super cheap, and anticipating $1500 to $2000 for new outdrive. I'm told the motor works, but no way to test it.

Engine: King Cobra 351 5.8L HO
Outdrive: OMC King Cobra
(I can't seem to upload pictures yet, will continue trying)

It's major flaw is, the original OMC King Cobra outdrive is removed and in pieces. It's pretty clear that it failed and the previous owner tried to fix it, and they were unsuccessful. My plan would to purchase a conversion kit and a rebuilt modern outdrive. I am techincal and plan to do the work myself over the winter.

Question: Is anyone aware of compatible conversion kits and outdrives for this setup? Which ones are recommended?




Thank you!!
 
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Engine: King Cobra 351 5.8L HO
Outdrive: OMC King Cobra
(I can't seem to upload pictures yet, will continue trying)

It's major flaw is, the original OMC King Cobra outdrive is removed and in pieces. It's pretty clear that it failed and the previous owner tried to fix it, and they were unsuccessful. My plan would to purchase a conversion kit and a rebuilt modern outdrive. I am techincal and plan to do the work myself over the winter.

Question: Is anyone aware of compatible conversion kits and outdrives for this setup? Which ones are recommended?

OK... first off, note that OMC has been out-of-business since 1994. Volvo Penta now owns the company!

There is a conversion kit for the OMC Cobra drive. I am not aware of a kit for the OMC King Cobra.

The kit allows for a conversion from the OMC Cobra to a Volvo Penta SX or DP-S drive.
There is also a kit for a conversion that takes us from a Cobra to a Merc A drive...... however, these are Dog Clutch drives, and I would never recommend going from one Dog Clutch drive to another Dog Clutch drive.


So.... since there is no kit for the OMC King Cobra to SX/DP-S, or for that matter, to a Merc A drive, you are limited.


Now the good news:
I once helped a man named Al do a conversion from a KC to a DP-C drive. His engine is the 460 Ford, but this can be also be done to the 335 series 5.8L Ford engines.

With the DP-C drive (or the SP-C), there is no Gimbal suspension system, no annual engine alignment required, no lower shift cable and no ESA system to fiddle with in the future.
You end up with a better main suspension fork/pivot tube geometry, Cone Clutch gear engagement, of which is far superior to that of the Dog Clutch system.
If you go with the DP-C drive, you will gain an approximate 25% thrust increase.
If you go with the SP-C drive, your performance will be very similar to what the KC drive would offer.

Parts required:

Volvo Penta AQ series flywheel cover for the Ford engine.
AQ series Ford FC.jpg

Borg Warner drive coupler.
AQ series BW drive coupler.jpg


AQ series C transom shield.
AQ series DP-C stern drive.

AQ series DP-C drive.jpg


It will require enlarging the transom cut-out area some..... but this is simple and it removes any soft material that would be near the smaller OMC KC transom area.
It also gives the Volvo Penta C style transom shield a larger foot print against the structural transom area. In other words, the stern drive torque is placed against a larger area of the structural transom.



Al is very happy with his conversion.


.
 
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Right the best option is a boat with a drive system you can get parts for. There is no way that will be a good deal for you, unless they pay you about $5000 to take it off their hands. DO NOT be lured into what looks like a good deal by a low price. You can’t even run the boat on the water to verify that the engine is good. 180 hrs means nothing...all kinds of things could be wrong with it.
 
Right the best option is a boat with a drive system you can get parts for. There is no way that will be a good deal for you, unless they pay you about $5000 to take it off their hands. DO NOT be lured into what looks like a good deal by a low price. You can’t even run the boat on the water to verify that the engine is good. 180 hrs means nothing...all kinds of things could be wrong with it.


Not bad advice, and I do agree with the old adage that even "free boats are never free"!

However, you may not be considering that the OP wants a project, has the budget, has the experience, and has the time and knowledge to take on a project like this!
I think that we would need to know the condition of the hull, how much he likes the hull design, if the sale includes a trailer, and how much he would be paying for this boat!


I will say that boats are NEVER investments, and are always expenses.
We just simply use it up in the form of family fun and enjoyment.



.
 
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If you like the KC and have all the parts and the specialty tools & knowledge needed to assemble the lower unit. I would say go for it.
On the other hand you can always ship out the lower to George at Drive Spe******ts, Send him the pic's and he will let you know what it will take
to repair. Awesome place to do business with, fair and honest not many of them left ! Mike D.
 
I also had a boat with the King Cobra outdrive coupled to the 460ci big-block (basically ford) motor. The whole get-up was damn near bullet proof... except for the exhaust manifold. That is what finally went (on the guy that bought the boat from me.) Sadly, the manifold was hard, or impossible to replace, since OMC has been out of the game for so long.

I have also heard that Volvo has an upgrade path from the King Cobra, but I didn't pursue that avenue, since my powertrain was fine as long as I owned the boat.
 
I have also heard that Volvo has an upgrade path from the King Cobra, but I didn't pursue that avenue, since my power train was fine as long as I owned the boat.

I realize that this is an older thread...... however, as an FYI and FWIW....... there is an aftermarket company (Marine Parts Express) who sells a conversion kit to go from an OMC Cobra to a Volvo Penta cone clutch SX or DP-S drive..... but this is for the Cobra, not for the King Cobra!

At one time there was an old BOC forum thread whereby a member did a KC conversion, but unfortunately it is no longer available to read!

There is also another way to go using the OMC Ford 460 in front of a Volvo Penta SP-C or DP-C drive.
The SP-C and/or the DP-C are superior the the SX or the DP-S.
If interested, let me know.
 
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