SeaRay HELP!!! 68-1971 Unknow SRV 180. Stamped Kiekhaefer Mercury 165HP Stern Drive

[Skattrak04]

Need Help Identifying and figuring out the History of this Boat and engine Markings. Old Man owned it along with many other Boats. He died new owners took over property and wanted the boat removed No paper work. Hasnt been run in 20 years. solid Boat structure but the wood interior paneling has rotted away. Transom still Very Solid. was stored under a carport. Has what i think is an original trailer with Split Rims No Paper Work was available.. I really Hope someone here can identify this engine better or if they know of any other engine with such Markings on it. as well as maybe some help identifying what year it might be.

 

[blaster]

A quick Google search turned up a parts manual for sale on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1241442994...bJao3CjTPG&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[Timeflys]

Not a mechanic but fwiw….this was THE standard Mercruiser engine back in the day 160/165 horse based on a Chevy 250 cu inch truck engine…have no idea when they ceased production or parts availability…but very common.

 

[Skattrak04]

Not a mechanic but fwiw….this was THE standard Mercruiser engine back in the day 160/165 horse based on a Chevy 250 cu inch truck engine…have no idea when they ceased production or parts availability…but very common.

Yeah i realise that the engines themselves were common, but the Uncommon feature are the Kiekafer decals including the Block S/N number with the same Kiekafer stamp. ive not seen that anywhere on the Interweebs

 

[Lazy Daze]

Carl Kiekhaefer was, in a way, the founder of Mercury. So early on, you would have seen just his name... then later both names being used when he merged with Brunswick. It wasn't until Mr. Kiekhaefer resigned that Brunswick dropped his name. I believe this merger and eventual resignation all happened in the '60's.

 

[Timeflys]

 

[JHornsby3]

I have the complete drive for one of those. Bought everything for the lower but ended up not needing it. Inner plate to the prop. Guys father had the boat and used it for a few years then parked it. Block cracked and it sat unused for many years.

 

[DaveKamp]

I believe you have the blood brother to my two SRV180s. The one you see in my avatar was originally built with the 153ci four-cylinder, with 2.01 gears, and would run 33mph with a 17" pitch prop. My interior LOOKED decent, but the vinyl was seriously dried out, the foam behind had broken down to powder, and the wood of the seat bases rotted to nothingness, so I gutted the interior, used the remains for patterns to rebuild everything. I pulled the four, dropped in a 250-ish six with stock crank, flywheel, Mercruiser intake/exhaust manifold and cam side covers, but practically NOTHING else about it was 'stock'.

The hull lines are basically a late '60's Sea Ray Pachanga, that has been shortened two feet, and the last foot-or-so of chinework was altered a bit. If you can make YOUR 250 generate the power curve that MY 250 will, it will easily and comfortably cruise all day at 65mph and get 7.5mpg doing it...

The "Kiekhaefer Mercury' reference appears on many MerCruiser components up through about 1976 or so. Your boat has the R/1R drive, and parts are not hard to find for ANY of it. They're easy to work on, a small kit of special tools will allow you to do just about ANY maintenance/repair operation necessary to keep it operational on a gentle budget.

Aside from coming off the GM Industrial manufacturing line the engine internals are straightforward- same form factor as the 215/230/250/292 engine series that GM utilized in station wagons, light pickups and vans well into the 80's. Inline sixes are blessed with inherently perfect primary balance, so it's a smooth and robust powerplant. If you build it like I built mine, however, it's power pulses will shake the hull like an angry Schauzer at 550rpm idle... and people will swear you've got a small-block V8 under the back cover...