Sorely tempted to purchase old boat with Volvo/Penta drive, don't know anything about 'em

...and can you tell me what a reasonable compression for this engine should be?

If you looked at my thread a couple down, not sure it's the same type of engine? But If I knew then, what I know now. I would have passed on the boat I picked up.

That said I have confidence I will get it up and running.

Good luck to you!

MIke Dempster said:

Hi, thanks for considering giving me a piece of advice! I'm retiring a beloved mid-70s 17' Bayliner with a Mercruiser 120 I/O system that's worn out, looking for a relatively inexpensive replacement, on account of my finances. Seriously considering a 17.5' '81 GlasPly, powered by a 145 Volvo penta engine, 280 penta outdrive, asking price is $2800. The engine has a heat-exchanger cooling system, unlike my Merc. I plan to use it in salt water. I will check the compression in a couple of days. What can you experienced Volvo folk tell me I should know in order to make a wise choice? Is this potentially a good power plant, and good outdrive, or are there characteristic issues in this age equipment that I should be warned about? Thanks a million!

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The AQ145 is a good little engine. And yes, all of the OHC 4s were fitting with closed cooling systems.
The engine and the 280 drive will be bullet proof if the maintenance has been kept up.
The 280 drive will outlast and outperform the Merc A drive.
This is a Cone Clutch drive.... not a silly Dog Clutch drive.


Always do a sea trial.
Load the boat as you would normally if you owned it.
If the boat has not been used for a while, ask a "tag-a-long" boat to follow you.
If you are not mechanically inclined, have the boat surveyed.
Check the condition of the transom core material.


Maintenance items and/or items to check and/or replace:

seawater pump impeller..... a must!
drive shaft bellows..... replace if no recent history of it being replaced.
water neck fitting...... replace if no recent history of it being replaced.
drive gear oil...... use 30W engine oil ONLY.
make sure that the propeller can be removed.


.

Wow, thanks, Ricardo! There seems to be competition to buy this boat. If I insist on a sea trial, I might lose my current first place in line to buy it. What serious problems might surface with a sea trial that wouldn't be obvious examining the boat, running with stern drive in big tank, on dry land? I appreciate immensely your (or anyone else's) input on this decision. I have limited funds, but getting out on the water in a boat like this is (planes, holds up to 6 people, safe) is very important to this old man.) Best wishes to all!

..........

MIke Dempster said:

Wow, thanks, Ricardo!
You are welcome.

There seems to be competition to buy this boat. If I insist on a sea trial, I might lose my current first place in line to buy it.
And if you DO NOT go out for a sea trial, and if later you find out that something major needs repair...... where will you be?

Keep in mind that if these other potential buyers DO NOT do a sea trial, they may be shooting themselves in the foot.
Also, keep in mind that if the seller is not willing to take you out for a sea trail, he may be hiding something.

What serious problems might surface with a sea trial that wouldn't be obvious examining the boat, running with stern drive in big tank, on dry land?
There is NO substitute for a sea trial. Any issues will most likely raise their ugly heads.


I appreciate immensely your (or anyone else's) input on this decision. I have limited funds, but getting out on the water in a boat like this is (planes, holds up to 6 people, safe) is very important to this old man.) Best wishes to all!
Some sellers are willing to split the cost of a Marine Survey...... it would certainly be worth asking!


By the way, you're asking quite a bit of a 17.5 footer for a group of 6 people.

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I'd love some feedback my experience with this boat today: Checked out the boat (1981 17.5' Glasply with Volvo 145 engine, 280 leg), it's in excellent cosmetic shape, nice trailer, all controls & gauges work. Engine started from cold easily, idled kind of rough, compression is 130, 128, 132, 130. And did a sea trial! Good idea, thanks, Ricardo. Engine didn't seem to produce the acceleration of my old 120 Mercruiser on my similar length Bayliner (which may be considerably lighter, I guess), seemed not real smooth and pretty noisy, and WOT took it to just 4000rpm, and didn't seem to be going as fast as my Bayliner does at 3800 rpm. Slight water leak dripping from somewhere under the coolant expansion tank box (the silver box in the photo). Wish I'd looked more closely at that. Because the asking price ($2800) is so low, I figure I could spring for some moderate repairs, if it'd help. Owner said he'd have mechanic tune up the carbs to smooth things out. Advice at this point? Thanks a million to anyone who takes the time to reply. I'm trying to make a good decision here, and hope I don't make a costly mistake, being retired on limited funds. (Not sure photos I tried to attach stuck...)

engine issues aside... I purchased my current boat in 2006. It had a 260 drive on it. After re-engining the boat in 2007 with a brand new MERC crate engine, I ran it with its original from 1969 260 drive for one season and then bought a salvaged (from a sunken boat) 280 drive ( mostly because of its better designed gears). Total repairs... after several seasons Ricardo redid the uppers for me and replaced the thrust washer and several seasons later I had to replace the universals due to a vandal puncturing the drive bellows and salt water getting into the bearing crosses. I do change the oil and replace the zincs ( aluminum ones these days) annually.... A basic bullet proof drive. Only other regular maintenance is replacing the drive bellows every 3 or 4 seasons with a new OEM one. The only mod I did to the drive was to add a washer on the shift cable fitting to the drive to reduce slop when shifting. Also,since I don't like thru drive water inlets I changed over to a thru hull with an external wedge style strainer with a SS mesh. This allowed me to set up easily for freshwater flushing and winterizing.