Boat currently has 1969 carbed 350s (points ignition) with the starboard engine and trans needing to be rebuilt. Going to cost $8000 to have the engine and transmission pulled, rebuilt, and installed. I have a pair of "low hour" 1990 (electronic ignition) carbed 454s with transmissions and cooling system I can get for $2500. Boat does have a flybridge so its a little heavier than original. Would it be worth it to go up to the 454 or should I stay with the 350s? I know more power means more fuel consumption but running lower RPMS with 454s over 350s would be how much more? 350 vs 454 reliability? Anyone with experience please chime in!
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If your 454's are in good runniong condition they make sense. I replaced my 350Q's with a pair of 454's Marine Power and the difference in performance was much improved. The boats originally came with 327Q's or 427's. Frankly the boat was underpowered with the 327's but was adequate in smooth water. We boat on Lake Michigan and getting stuck in the bottom of swells was not fun. Mine had the center hump risers which made the fit very tight. Stringers were cut but they will fit. The 327's came with Paragon P34's and the 427's had P44's. The 454's had P25's and I was told by Kalamazoo Marine Gear, now closed, to trash them. They recommended that I keep the P34's as the boat is recreational and they would work fine. I also kept the original 1 3/8" shafts. I used the props that came with the engines, it was a 360 and they worked fine with no adjustments. You'll need to compare the drop and length of your existing transmissions. Hopefully everything lines up. While the engines and transmissions are out you should make sure all is well before putting them in.
Thomas Sullivan in the club now owns the boat and he may have additional input. If you have Q's there are some parts that have value. Especially the intake manifolds if they were always in freshwater and winterized properly. I sold one years ago for $750. Still have one for my SS if ever needed. Best of luck.
Forgot but you will need new wheels. $$$
@Michael Watson I currently have the P34 transmissions, are you saying that they will work with a 350hp 454 motor? I am not looking to go WOT just cruising speed. I tried to look up specs online for max horsepower ratings and could not find anything. By new wheels do you mean flywheel?
@Michael Watson Current setup
Nothing wrong with 454s but I think it would be a mistake to not first open them up to inspect the internals , replace gaskets, seals, all hoses , and throw some fresh paint on em.
The quote you got to rebuild the 350 is very reasonable as long as the shop is reputable.
Either way you go , there will also be a whole host of "while your at it" tasks you'll want to tackle . Perhaps the biggest one would be potentially replacing the original gas tanks while you have access to them .
You don't have a Q and given yours is a 69 I find the 350 Crusader a bit of surprise. My first guess is that the originals were replaced with those. I see no reason why it would not bolt up to the 454's and they will work if bolted up. But you may want look at the bolt pattern. I'm no motor head but have pulled and replaced multiple engines. By wheels I was referring to props. Check or replace exhaust hoses, mufflers, ..... as Jeremy mentioned. It's a lot of work.
Like Mike said, it is a tight fit with the center rise exhaust manifolds on the 454s because of the shaft angle (15 degrees) that CC used and the off set drop of the Paragon transmissions. If you have Velvet Drives on your 454s, that will drop the height 1.5 - 2 inches. You may get better fuel economy with the 454s because they won't be working as hard. I cruise at 16 - 17 mph and only turn 2600 rpm with the 2.5:1 reduction gears. The P34s were rated for 260 hp, but my cruise speed is under that according to the published hp curve.