Buying A Stratos Boat With A Bad Powerhead.

[lkn4bss]

I am looking at a 91 stratos 201pro Dc with Evinrude 225. The owner said one of the cylinders was scoured. My question. Is the boat worth $1000.00? Is this a bad idea?

[lkn4bss]

No opinions?

[Triton21]

Take it to a outboard mechanic and get an estimate for repairs and go from there.

Kelley

[Way2slow]

A remaned power head from a reputable company is going to cost approx $3,500 plus close to another K to have it installed. Now, you can find a lot of people that will claim they can do it for a lot less, but then you are taking a gamble on just what you end up with. Now, if someone honest did a rebuild, it's a good chance you could get away with boring it, installing new pistons, gaskets and lower main bearing (replacing that is a must). Crank seal rings my need to be replaced but those are not overly expensive. Usually a couple of the recirc valves need to be replaced and a few other items, like a water pump and carbs rebuilt. This can be done for around $2,000 but like I said, there are not many mechanics out there I would trust.

A lot of is going to depend on what kind of shape the boats in. Wouldn't make much sinse to spend a bunch of money on the motor when the boat is used up. A bad transome can cost as much as a motor.

Wholesale cost to build engine is:

$200 to bore it

$450 for set of after market pistons

$200 for gasket set

a couple of hundred for other items, so you're looking at $1,000 - $1,200 for wholesale parts and 8 - 10 hours labor. The rest is going to depend on how much the mechanic marks them up and how much labor he charges.

It cost me about $1,200 to rebuild a 3.0 powerhead and about 30 hours labor because I do a little extra, but when done, it's about 325 hp at 6,200 rpm and will push that old, heavy Stratos about 80 mph with two people. I've done a 90 and 94 201 with 3.0s and both ran almost identical 80.4 mph and jetted a little richer to run 78.6 mph.

[lkn4bss]

Thanks for the replies! I missed the sale anyway.

[GLADES]

A remaned power head from a reputable company is going to cost approx $3,500 plus close to another K to have it installed. Now, you can find a lot of people that will claim they can do it for a lot less, but then you are taking a gamble on just what you end up with. Now, if someone honest did a rebuild, it's a good chance you could get away with boring it, installing new pistons, gaskets and lower main bearing (replacing that is a must). Crank seal rings my need to be replaced but those are not overly expensive. Usually a couple of the recirc valves need to be replaced and a few other items, like a water pump and carbs rebuilt. This can be done for around $2,000 but like I said, there are not many mechanics out there I would trust.

A lot of is going to depend on what kind of shape the boats in. Wouldn't make much sinse to spend a bunch of money on the motor when the boat is used up. A bad transome can cost as much as a motor.

Wholesale cost to build engine is:

$200 to bore it

$450 for set of after market pistons

$200 for gasket set

a couple of hundred for other items, so you're looking at $1,000 - $1,200 for wholesale parts and 8 - 10 hours labor. The rest is going to depend on how much the mechanic marks them up and how much labor he charges.

It cost me about $1,200 to rebuild a 3.0 powerhead and about 30 hours labor because I do a little extra, but when done, it's about 325 hp at 6,200 rpm and will push that old, heavy Stratos about 80 mph with two people. I've done a 90 and 94 201 with 3.0s and both ran almost identical 80.4 mph and jetted a little richer to run 78.6 mph.

Very impressive.

I am curious, how much additional power can be squeezed out of a 1987 150 HP (standard motor) 2.0 Mercury when rebuilt?

Would it make more sense to rebuild a 2.4L, or 2.5L?

[Way2slow]

Well, I'm not a merc guy but I do know, the 2.0s didn't have much extra power left on the table. The motor to build in the merc's is the 2.5's. Some guys are building the Merc 3.0's and getting pretty good hp and getting them to stay together. Modified 2.5's are not ideal for heavy bass boats because to get the extra hp from them, you turn a hellava lot more rpm. A stock 2.5, 300hp has to turn approx 8,000 rpm and has to have new rings every 100 hours. To do this, they have to run such high ports, a big boat like a 201 would have a very bad hole shot.

Now, with the OMC/BRP 3.0's, they left so much horsepower on the table when they build them, 300 hp @ 6,200 rpm is no problem at all. The only difference between a 3.0 200 and the 3.0 250 is the carbs and size of the exhaust port. Take that same 200, put 225 carbs on it, widen the exhaust port .160" and raise them .100", a little port cleanup and matching (by someone that knows how and where, which I do) and you have motor that's putting out 300 hp @ 6,100 rpm and 295 ft#'s of torque @ 4600 rpm. Being able the keep the rpm down on them, the rings last hundreds of hours, I've got one I built for a friend tournament fisherman (club stuff) that has over 700 hours. It looks like the totally stock 200 we started off with so no one knows it's makes over 300.

A stock 225, 3.0 can me made a 300 for just the cost of new gaskets, and about 30 hours of die grinder work.

That's why I'm and JohnnyRud guy.

Get into the 3.3's and they make mountains of power, I know one drag racer that's getting almost 600 hp from one. I had a friend took his 300 Merc race motor of and installed a professionally modified 3.3 on his Allison and it had so much power, he was scared of it. He ended up putting his Merc back on.

[GLADES]

Very interesting and informative. My first outboard was a 1979 Evinrude V4 140 on a Formula, so I guess I am a Johnnyrude fan too. I few years ago I boat a procraft hull that was rigged for a Merc, so I went to the dark side. The Johnnyrudes are lighter on the transom I have heard. The next boat I buy will have a 3.0L JR on the back. Thanks for answering my question.

[scrutch]

Interesting stuff. I had no idea it was so easy to bump up the horses on the 200.

[Way2slow]

Now, before you get too excited about the hp gains out of the johnnyruds, understand, I'm strickly talking about the 2.7L, 3.0L and 3.3L "loopers". Those were the 200, 225's, 250's and the HO's made from 1985 on.

All the other 90 degree motors are Cross-Flows and the will not give you the power gains you see from the loopers, plus, they are pretty much like the merc's, any additional hp you get it from increasing the rpm. Doing this, you get back to having to rob Peter to pay Paul. Anything you gain in top end horse power, you will loose in bottom end hole shot, so it's not pratical to start trying to modify one for a heavy bass boat. Plus it boils down to the plain old simple fact, it takes cubic inches to make bottom end power/torque. That's why a 2.4L formula one engine turning 18,000 rpm can make 800 hp and needs 16 gears to get to approx 1,300 pounds to top speed, and a 5.6L Nascar engine turns 9,000 - 10,000 rpm, makes 800 hp and only needs four gears to get to a 3.400 pound car to top speed. A standard saying in racing, there is no substitute for cubic inches.

If you ever look inside a 3L looper, you will see why they leave so much power on the table. The ports are extremely, poorly matched, casting slag and glue lines all through the motor and closes off half of some of the ports, plus some of the port angles are wrong and lets a lot of fuel bypass right out the exhaust port. When I get through with one, mid range fuel economy will be as good, if not better than some of the DFI motors. They used a big block, they could easily mass produce without having to get critical about internal specs and still make the advertised HP.

[Sfritr]

Way

I would love to spend a month in your garage absorbing like a sponge........ Full disclosure, I am a mechanical MORON..... and it drives me crazy