1970 Winner 20' need motor and/or out drive

I just acquired a 1970 20' Winner boat. It has an out drive on it but the motor is missing. I have been able to find out that it had a 120-140 HP, Straight 4 cylinder gas engine originally. I am looking for information where I could get an engine, with or without an out drive. I cannot find any numbers on the out drive except for 45520 on one of the trim cylinders. Any information that you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Considering the hull and drive are 50 years old, I would be looking at a newer model. Pretty sure there is some rot in the stringers or the transom and most of the drive parts are no longer available

Agree with BT , if by some chance the stringers and transom are ok, and it doesn’t have a transom cut out for an obsolete drive like a OMC stringer or merc or Volvo where the key hole is bigger than a modern mercruiser or Volvo- then find a complete modern merc Alfa or Volvo SX engine and driveline from pulleys to prop. That’s the best way if you are going to invest in fixing this up.

your best bet for a complete take out package would be eBay. There’s a few guys who advertise complete used turn keys set ups. Otherwise if you want to spend for new try Michigan Motorz, but I’d think you’d spend $12-15 k for a new prop to pulleys set up.

Winner is not a very highly regarded manufacturer. I'd say ditch this project and find something that's worth putting effort into.

Since I have the outdrive. Could I use an automobile engine? I'm a machinist by trade and could fabricate/modify the motor mounts as needed.

nope car engine won't work

As a comparison.... I' ve engined and am restoring a 1969 Chriscraft Lancer. This boat was built with hollow fiberglass stringers, which is a feature today only in top quality boats. The boat has some collector value. The boat came with a Volvo 260 drive which was replaced with a used 280 drive ( a straight swap) The 280 Volvo drives are almost bulletproof and low maintenance, and easily handles the upgraded ( 5.7L FWC 260 HP) engine I installed..

Will I ever get my $$$ back... NO ITS A BOAT!!!! But then again I've had years of "troublefree" ( Hey , it's a boat!) boating. The only issues have been with the engine which was a new factory crate Mercruiser engine. I've redone seats, recovered deck hatches ( this era Chris has Nautolex over marine ply decks) and a pending redo of the engine box the previous owner made. Oh yeah... 10 years ago I had Ricardo rebuild the upper part of the tranny on the drive as a precaution. BTW... Bimini installed backward ( i.e. towards the bow) folding so I can flyfish easily. Some older boats IMHO are worth the trouble of a restoration, most aren't.

Todd, if you wanna get this going for cheap you have to think outside the box. Go to every boat yard within, what, 50 miles? ask them if they have any old take outs that you can have for a few bucks. Maybe ask if they have some derelict boats in their yard that you can haul away for them. If you put the word out that you're looking for scrap that you can use to build up your project you might be amazed at how much falls out of the trees.
If you're as handy and resourceful as you appear, I'm sure that you'll find all you need for very little actual cash.

sandkicker said:

As a comparison.... I' ve engined and am restoring a 1969 Chriscraft Lancer. This boat was built with hollow fiberglass stringers, which is a feature today only in top quality boats. The boat has some collector value. The boat came with a Volvo 260 drive which was replaced with a used 280 drive ( a straight swap) The 280 Volvo drives are almost bulletproof and low maintenance, and easily handles the upgraded ( 5.7L FWC 260 HP) engine I installed..

Will I ever get my $$$ back... NO ITS A BOAT!!!! But then again I've had years of "troublefree" ( Hey , it's a boat!) boating. The only issues have been with the engine which was a new factory crate Mercruiser engine. I've redone seats, recovered deck hatches ( this era Chris has Nautolex over marine ply decks) and a pending redo of the engine box the previous owner made. Oh yeah... 10 years ago I had Ricardo rebuild the upper part of the tranny on the drive as a precaution. BTW... Bimini installed backward ( i.e. towards the bow) folding so I can flyfish easily. Some older boats IMHO are worth the trouble of a restoration, most aren't.

Click to expand...

Todd, this is a perfect example. This is a classic that someone has brought back to life. Believe me there are thousands of candidates like this one out there that you'll be able to get for almost nothing.
Boats die of neglect and it only takes one or two seasons of disuse to kill one.

You said it! We've all seen boat sitting out in the open, totally uncovered.

Jeff

Todd Smith said:

I just acquired a 1970 20' Winner boat. It has an out drive on it but the motor is missing. I have been able to find out that it had a 120-140 HP, Straight 4 cylinder gas engine originally. I am looking for information where I could get an engine, with or without an out drive. I cannot find any numbers on the out drive except for 45520 on one of the trim cylinders. Any information that you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Click to expand...

I agree with everyone else that this may not be the right boat to waste a bunch of money on..... but, if you could tell us what make the outdrive is, that would help answer your question... or post a picture of it and someone could probably tell you what it is.... if it is an omc stringer drive, dont even waste time sending us a photo, as you can sink a few hundred into the boat fixing it up a little and very likely not even be able to give it away for free....

the 4 cylinder engines are around, but you just need to search craigslist and ask around your local marinas for the nearest boat salvage yard.... or im sure you can find another free boat with a usable engine in it if you are patient and keep looking...


and BTW, free boats are NOT free.... the ONLY time someone should take a free boat is if it is running and in good condition, OR, has a good engine or outdrive that is needed for you existing boat, but never as a fixer upper....

there are so many usable old boats for sale in the 1500 2500 dollar range, that its senseless to take someone elses scrap and sink a thousand or two into it, only to end up with less of a boat than you could have purchased for the same money, "turn key" without doing anything to it....