302 ford with 888 leg

"Dont know much about this com

"Dont know much about this combination but have a chance to purchase the outfit to put in my 21 ft.does anybody know where i can get details (drawings) to put this motor & leg into my boat.like the hole i have to cut out in my transom and how far does the leg hang down brom the bottom of the boat,etc.the motor i believe has been run without the fan belt(it broke)and overheated.they say it only needs a head gasket.would this be a major job,or could it be lots of other things wrong.is it best to stay away from this deal.the motor has been completely reconditioned 18 months ago.any help would be appreciated."

"forget the recon. it's da

"forget the recon. it's damaged now. it's a pretty old unit. is this a really cheap deal? be careful.
if you are sold on this thing, I think I have some info on drive height. (x dimension) also have a cutout template, but it's too big to scan.
what was in the boat before?"

"I would stay clear of it, unl

"I would stay clear of it, unless it's almost free.
If it was overheated you could be in for a world of heartache, and you won't even know about it's overall health until you have gone to all the trouble of installing it.
The 888 was in production from about 1976 to 1982; so it's at least 25 years old. The numbers mean 8 cylinder, and 188 hp, BTW. This was Merc's idiotic model numbering system they used for a few years back then, and thankfully abandoned.
Sorry to be so negative, just my opinion.
Rod"

"The motor in it at the moment

"The motor in it at the moment is a Hemi 225, 6 cylinder Chrysler(hard to come bythese parts at moment,i need a ring gear) coupled to 1 Chrysler 300 outdrive.i think its about 165 HP.Its about 1965 .The bloke wanted Aust $5000 but will accept $3000 after a bit of negotion.your advise is valable any thing to add."

"888 goes back to 72' mayb

"888 goes back to 72' maybe a few years earlier.
Is the engine in a boat now or on the ground?
I have a 72' 888 that is still factory and over the years, due to sand bars, mud flats, water pump failure, running over sea lions and filling the intake ports full of blubber (ever smelled hot blubber before? gag me with a fish club!), plugged heat exchangers, plugged hoses etc, it has been overheated countless times and it has never blown a head gasget.
If you are sure the engine is reconditioned, that is rebuilt and not just cleaned and painted. Do a compression check. Even if its sitting on the ground, give it a comp check anyway. If it is rebuilt, the compression should be to spec on cyl that are not blown to gasget. Record the values for each cyl.
Overheating a 302 Ford is no biggie. It has cast iron heads and the heads will not warp like engines with alum heads. If a compression check shows a blown head gasget and it is a rebuilt engine, I would think something other than overheating was the cause. Not assembled correctly, not broke in corectly, abused, run out of oil etc etc.
After a compression check, fill it with water and perform a pressure test on cooling system to check for either a crackd block, cracked head or a compression leak to water system that a comp test may miss.
This makes my head hurt. If the engine is rebuilt and only a blown gasget, why sell it and not fix it? Maybe more to this than what you are told or telling you more than actually is. Right now, it is a quarter ton of scrap iron (.25 per pound) and without testing it, the motor is worth $60 and the 35 year old outdrive??
Now, if you are allowed to do a comp and water system test and it is ok and when cranking the engine it does not sound like crushing rocks, you could have something to work with. If any test fails, see if you can do a onsite tear down of the heads for inspection. If it is not allowed or you do not want to do these tests than RUN don't walk RUN the other way!
Keep us informed
Olrutysaltyphardt"

"well,buy your opion what is a

"well,buy your opion what is a fair price to offer for this combination.concidering the feedback i am getting."

if you decide to go ahead. ord

if you decide to go ahead. order part #90-79135006. this is a paper template for transom cutout. also tells how to determine height. (x dimension)

Stan:

Tell the owner you&

Stan:

Tell the owner you'll take it off of his back if he pays you. I would RUN and don't look back because something may be gaining on you. The money he wants for that anchor could nearly buy a new engine. Sounds like another one needs to go to "Davey Jones' Locker".

One more question.Is this setu

One more question.Is this setup sea water cooled or does it have a heat exchanger

"Mine and a few others I know

"Mine and a few others I know of use a heat exchanger system. However, there are some out there using sea water (regular system) cooling.
You will have to look at the engine to determine if there is or was a heat exchanger. If it had a heat exchanger and it is missing, a new one is $450+ depending on who is selling it. If you never run in salt water, converting it to fresh water may be possible by rerouting hoses."

yes had a look at the motor an

yes had a look at the motor and could see no tank that would normally hold the fresh water.and having a look at the engine the joining of the head to block indicated rust seapage .maybe that is why i think it is sea water cooled.there is a substantial amount of surface rust between the head and the block which scares me a bit.any sujections