V 8 Outboards?????

[tprice]

I had a friend/client of mine call me today about a boat. He is looking at an older Chris Craft(late 80's) and it has twin 300 hp V8 outboards.

He had never heard of this but I recall years ago Johnson or Evinrude made some V8 outboards but I never heard much about them.


This guy loves to re do old muscle cars and is always trading cars/boats for hobby. He came across this boat and it is a fresh water boat with limited use, I told him to expect to repower before long with engines at that age.

Best I can recall the V8 outboards were very heavy gas guzzlers.

He is going to go look at the boat this weekend for S & G's and I told him I would ask the smartest group of men/women in the world at least when it comes to boats

[ScarabChris]

Those V-8s were pretty reliable engines in their day. And yes they were gas hogs, but back then gas was cheap. I still see a few on the water today and with todays gas prices the novelty hardly seems worth it. Other than the gas issue I hear the only problem with them these days is getting parts for them. I have a friend that had a 34' Scarab Super Sport with twin 300 Johnson V-8s, I loved the sound that they made, my buddy didn't like the fuel bill so much.

[Gulfcoastbreeze]

Why not? Guys have V8 Harleys.

[kerno]

Yeah, they made 'em. They are big, heavy, noisy and fun. If it is a play boat (and it sounds like it will be) why not? They are tough on gas, but he's not going to save enough fuel by repowering the boat to ever make up for the cost of re-powering them. Scream and Fly has several staunch devotees of the OMC V-8's.

[tprice]

Thanks, they are mounted on a 31' Chris Craft from what I understand and this guys LOVES toys

Sounds like a pretty decent deal on the boat as well so we will see what he does

[Eyehooker]

Merc made a V 8-- 300 in early 80's

[evernic]

Eyehooker - 4/12/2007 9:07 AM

Merc made a V 8-- 300 in early 80's

they made a 300hp(and a 275)...but is was a V6...

[Seacat FL]

Eyehooker - 4/12/2007 9:07 AM

Merc made a V 8-- 300 in early 80's

I remember the Merc 300 bit it was a big V6 not a V8.

[sundancekid]

Seacat FL - 4/12/2007 11:48 AM

I remember the Merc 300 bit it was a big V6 not a V8.

That's correct, 3.4 Liters!

[brazzy]

They are still around, wish I could convert it over to DFI of EFI somehow. There are two sizes of block though 3.6 and the 4.0. Running a single on a larger hull works pretty well. It does like the fuel, but considering the cost of a re-power, it's not all that bad . I have had no problems getting parts at all. I do all my own work on it; it is relatively simple with an OEM manual to follow.
If you do buy one they are different in setup from the average V6. Optimally it will turn over 6K at WOT. The fuel supply is also critical, no bulb, its gotta have a prime pump with 5/8 hose throughout. No elbows in the line or other restrictions.
The torque is impressive, and with a paddle wheel speedometer showing 51 MPH at WOT it gets where I want to go. Course I can't afford run at WOT; it will go through 30 gallons in an hour.

[sailcrazy]

brazzy - 4/12/2007 12:38 PM

Course I can't afford run at WOT; it will go through 30 gallons in an hour.

it seems it would burn more than 30gph. The zuke 300 V6 4S burns 28gph

[brazzy]

It might... I never run at WOT for any length of time. I'm just estimating. Most older loopers will burn an estimated 10% of HP rating per hour. I cruise at about 3700 -4300 rpm, thats in the lower to mid 30's in mph. Ill have to check it to really see the real consumption.
Going from Leesyvania Park down to Tim's River Shore on the Potomac (bout a half hour each way) burns about 20 gallons round trip.
I am afraid to fill up the tank, I was told its about 175 gallons. From what I read thats about right for the year and model of this Hydra Sport. This is an old boat I am nursing it back to health. For me it just 1 yr old

That's a bueatiful rig you have!