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Swap a 38 into a 50 cobra

M

muddriver

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"I have an '84 Marlin with

"I have an '84 Marlin with the OMC 3.8 engine and 800 outdrive. Boat has some serious floor issues plus the two stringers have both split (long ways) about 3 or 4 feet(why?).I have access to a solid '87 boat that originally came with an OMC 5.0 engine and Cobra outdrive but they are long gone. How difficult would it be to swap my 3.8, 800 combination into this boat? New to boating; thats why I bought a rotting boat. Thanks"
 
"Would this be a straight bolt

"Would this be a straight bolt in operation or would I have to fabricate the transom to make it work? Is the outdrive hole the same for a Cobra as it is for my 800? Motor mounts might have to be dealt with, what else would have to be considered to make this swap possible? Thanks everybody"
 
"It is a new cut-out of transo

"It is a new cut-out of transom, make new engine mounts, a lot of fun with glass fiber, not to mention installation of the new engine.
This is most definitely not a plug-and-play job!
A floor and stringer job is probably less of a challenge unless You have done engine swaps and installations before."
 
you would have to fabricate th

you would have to fabricate the transom. Once you fab the transom you would be better off going mercruiser rather than a downgrade to Cobra. Sounds like it would be a good boat to trash and part out if the stringers are gone.
 
"Oh Hang on - just reread your

"Oh Hang on - just reread your post..... I had it backwards...What you want to do actually fairly easy as the stringer hole is much bigger.... Just a case of setting the engine and itermediate in place and cutting the hole -as long as the new hull will accomodate that big of a hole (not interfere with stringers etc..) just need to make sure the anti-ventilation plate sits at the same height relative to the bottom of the new hull as it did on the old boat. Very important or the prop will ventilate.
However, the cobra hole is the same as mercruiser, so repower the solid boat with mercruiser drivetrain. Then you will have something."
 
"Just got back from work; than

"Just got back from work; thanks for all the great info in the posts. What it looks like is my engine with a Mecruiser outdrive would be a fairly simple (relative)task, pretty much straight bolt in. I have worked on vehicles not vessels, am I diving into something i going to regret?"
 
"well the transom cutout is th

"well the transom cutout is the same on a cobra boat vs. mercruiser alpha... but you want a donor boat - ideally a similar boat with a damaged hull or maybe cracked block (same engine as yours within a model year or so), because you'll want the controls and maybe steering...not sure if cobra and alpha steering the same..."
 
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