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Soooo, I was gifted my very first boat.

W

Wet_Newb

New member
Hi everyone. I was just given my first boat and trailer which is a 1994 reinell 197bxlr with a busted 351w 5.8l engine and a cobra lower gear. I am a mechanic by trade and am not scared of the engine problem (cracked block due to not winterizing). However, my problem is that neither Reinell or the Cobra drive outfits seem to be in business anymore and I understand parts are hard to come by. A little internet research leads me to believe that Volvo makes some replacements for the outer drive but I am not sure which gearing I should be considering to match well with the new engine I am building (stock). I am completely new to the water and would appreciate any input about this or any other input on what I just dragged home. Thx.
 
Just build another 351 & stick with the stock gear ratio. A 19' boat with a 200+ hp engine will be plenty fast. The OMC engineers did a good job matching gear ratios to engine sizes.

Yes OMC may be out of business & yes they did have a "Joint Venture" with Volvo starting in 94. So IF your engine is a JV (joint venture) then parts will be available thru Volvo, ebay or this site. Many may be NLA by now.

It is extremely possible your 94 boat could have a left over 93 OMC drive. They were similar but also many changes were made in the JV units. You will need your model # to be sure you buy the correct parts.
 
Most parts are available on this website, and if unavailable, I have had good luck with Ebay. You should also get a manual available on this website and rely on the professionals in this forum. Grok is a good backup for anything quirky - https://x.ai/grok
 
Before ordering any parts it’s important to know which drive you have, the original OMC Cobra with dog shifting in the lower unit (1986-93) is flat across the top of the upper gear housing and has the raw water pump under a plastic housing at the stern end of the upper gear housing. The Joint Venture Cobra (really a Volvo SX) has a hump on the top of the upper gear housing and the raw water pump is on the engine….
 
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