alpha 1 to bravo 3

[garryowen]

well finally got the b-3 on and ready to run. no more white drive or transom ass. :smt038

hooked up muffs a cranked engine with plugs out and hose from sea water pump off to make sure i had water flow.:thumbsup:

now just need to stick plugs in and start.
one question i have for you bravo guys. should i get and install a sea water pump psi gauge? where would you tie it into? and how much pressure should it run?:smt100

 

[BarryCF]

That's purty. Good Luck!

 

[garryowen]

thanks barry; going to do a lake trial tomorrow or sat. got it running on muffs in drive way this afternoon. so far so good

 

[garryowen]

Re: alpha 1 to bravo 3 up date-on water

well the merc prop chart said i needed a 24 pitch prop set and they were right. i bought a 22 pitch because it seemed i was always a little over pitched when i tried to use this on the a-1. had it out at 6500 ft ele. and got 41 gps mph at 4500 rpm. this would be great at this ele. but will be running at lower more so will be looking to pick up a pair of 24's.

all in all very happy not near as much wig wag at lower no wake speed and backs up straighter. really snappy handling.
it always has planed quick, but i would say it planes now, at 6500' like it did at 1000' before.

also when trimming up running on plane i could play with the trim up and down a little and the gps would respond with each input. now it gets is speed and unless i trim a lot it holds speed. also can run at 18 mph and not have to dink with the throttle to keep on plane like before

the only draw back i have and not a big deal+might get back with prop pitch change. before 3000 rpm netted 28-30 mph. this was a real nice speed for economy and motor rpm. every thing seems to run real nice there. now 3000 rpm is 25 mph or 3500 rpm to get 29 mph.

 

[garryowen]

Re: alpha 1 to bravo 3 up date-on water

just thought i would add a before
URL=http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2974380980103006965jyQBGR]

[/URL]

 

[jaburgoon]

garry that is a beautiful job. but I still need to what is involved in the swap like what all has to be changed inside and outside the boat it looks as if you really know what your'e doing. hope I can do as well. my boat is a 1987 268 sundancer 454 mag/330 hp alpha one. Ihope there is not to much difference. would appreciate any advice you could give me

ja burgoon

 

[keokie]

You have to remove the engine and transom assembly. the cutout in the transom is the same, but you do have to drill 2 new holes. It's pretty straight forward.

 

[garryowen]

i would think it would be the same as we are only 1 year apart. remove motor, drive, and transom assembly.

the cut out for the bravo is the same as the alpha with one more pair of 5/8" holes needing drilled. i needed to sand my cut out to open it up because when they cut it in at the factory, they tapered the cut and the bravo transom ass. is deeper and hit the taper. easy fix.
you need to swap the shift to a bravo. easy swap
you will need to add a sea water pump. i ordered all parts (bracket & mount, drive pulley, belt, and hoses for a bravo 1 the same year as mine so every thing is factory and easily replaced in any future failure
you will need to change to the bravo engine coupler, and so makes changing engine fly wheel cover, bell housing, the alpha is to small for the larger coupler.
i bought a new transom assembly and it came with every thing but the remote drive oil bottle.
the trim lift lines and cylinders ect. and steering. were a direct swap so other than hooking up new quick work.
no fabricating every thing was bolt on merc. just a matter of swapping parts. out with the old and in with the new.
if you have a handy way to lift motor, in and out thats the hardest part. i rented a rough terrain fork lift for two 1/2 days at a time. it took maybe a half hour out and 45 min or so in. 1/2 a day was the shortest term the rental store i use would rent.
if i can answer any more questions be sure to ask.

 

[jaburgoon]

Garry thanks for the info I can see this is going to get very expensive fast. so I am going to have to think about this for a while. since there is nothing wrong with the alpha one I have now. I'm getting about 40 mph at WOT now and about
1 1/2 mpg crusing at about 26 to27 mph I'm not shure I can
improve performance enough to offset the cost. so I will think about this for a while. what do you think ?

Thanks again for the info the whole idea was to improve performance and to save fuel cost.

J A Burgoon (first name is Jerry)

 

[garryowen]

jerry;
been at the lake. just got back on line.
if your alpha has the proper gear set in it and its running ok.!!!!!DON'T MESS WITH IT!!!!!ours had been changed by the PO, from the 1:32-1 gears and didn't use the heaver duty 7.4 gears. mine didn't and and i kept breaking drives.
it had been repaired when we got it and gerry and i put 3 more drives in it before we said enough.
in the end it's a real nice up-grade, but it is a little costly for an older boat.
if gerry and i weren't so happy with this boat and could have found a newer model just like it we most likely would have traded it and moved on.
as it is we wouldn't do any thing else an couldn't be happier.

gary