5.0 Mercruiser Rebuild with Added Horsepower

[karmatattoo]

I have found the problems to my smoking issue and am going to go ahead and hop up the 5.0 motor that i got. There are a few things that i would really like to know. i hae an alpha 1 outdrive with 220 hours on it and i would like to know if it will hold up if i build my motor to have between 500-600 hp? Also my boat is a 1999 searay 215 express cruiser and will that hp make my boat be alot faster and more quicker? thanks in advance

 

[kbsunlovers]

No, you don't want to put 500 hp in front of an alpha. It will eat the upper gears.
Lots of threads here and and other forums about building SBC's for sterndrive use. Plan carefully, it may be torque you're looking for rather than peak HP....and you still have the alpha limitations to work around.

 

[Larry]

The alpha drives are only good till about 300hp

 

[CliffA]

IMO if you put that much power in a boat that is not designed for it you are asking for trouble....do you know what the max speed is the hull design of a 215EC can handle?....if you push the speed to a point the hull cannot handle you have a serious safety concern....not to mention the additional fuel it will cost to run a high performance engine and the likely hood that a high performance engine will not be as reliable as a standard engine and may require more frequent service and repairs....if you want a speed boat buy a Fountain or something similar that is designed for speed....

cliff

 

[edsmax]

This guy is obviously kidding....

 

[CliffA]

This guy is obviously kidding....

i hope you are right, but you never know.....