88 Sorrento 23 Resto Questions

[Kirche]

Hello everyone,

I am working on my first serious boat project, a 23 Sorrento BR. It has a 454 Merc paired with an alpha1 (question/concern about this later). I bought it last year for a grand with the double axle trailer and spent the fall getting the engine running and now that it is getting warm here I have started digging everything out of the hull for complete stringer and floor replacement.

Few issues and questions have arose since starting this,
1 - when I pulled the gas tank out it was sitting in a pool of water and seems to have been quite corroded. Would you guys recommend attempting patches or replacing? If replacing would you do aluminum again or plastic and where have you bought yours from in the past?

2 - the previous owner swapped a 350 for a 454 without changing the outdrive. I have read mixed opinions about the ability for the A1 to handle the torque on smaller boats, do you think this is just a ticking time bomb?

3 - I could potentially sell the 454 and swap to an ls engine and do a closed cooling with interchange but is it worth the gas/weight savings?

 

[BillK2632]

Looks nice - especially for what you paid.

These are my opinions:
Fuel tank: most new boats of that size have a plastic fuel tank. I would try and find a ready made one that would fit.

Outdrive: Alpha’s have a max hp rating of 300. Doesn’t mean it won’t work with larger motors, just have to be a little gentle with it. If it is currently working ok I would leave it and just be easy on it.