How difficult is it to convert marine engine to a truck engine?

[30-30man]

I have an old sunbird boat with an OMC outdrive and a Cheverolet 4.3. I bet it doesn't have 100 hours on it.  I am thinking of selling the outdrive and salvaging the motor because the transom along with the floor is rotten. It has a 2barrel carb but is rated for 210hp.  I know it would have to have a water pump and exhaust manifolds but would it fit in an old S10?  I have a chance to buy a $300 1988 s10 that has a blown engine and other than that it is in great shape.  I was looking for another beater to run back and forth from the turkey houses. Anyway thanks, in advance.

[R.W.Dale]

.  I know it would have to have a water pump and exhaust manifolds but would it fit in an old S10?

 Like it belongs there. I just recently sold an 86 Chevrolet Caprice that I had installed 325 EFI mercruiser 5.7 into. Boat motors are usually equipped with camshafts that provide gobs of low end and midrange torque. They also come with all kinds of forged internals and in some cases higher nickel content blocks.


 If your 88 S-10 has a 4.3 already in it your boat motor will be almost a direct bolt in. If the truck has a 2.5 or 2.8 you'll have to find a different transmission. The 4.3L V6 engines will use the same bell housing pattern as a Chevy V8. The 2.5L four banger or the 2.8 V6 will use the GM corporate "metric" bellhousing.

[quickdtoo]

The electronics would be my first concern, my '88 Jeep was OBD, I would expect the '88 S10 to be also, I don't think there was such a thing for older marine motors, but it would be something to check out before you tear things up, it would be nice if it was plug and play, but that wouldn't be my luck if ya know what I mean.

Good luck,

Tim

[R.W.Dale]

it would be nice if it was plug and play, but that wouldn't be my luck if ya know what I mean. Undecided

 LOL as far as I'm concerned a 2bbl carb is ALWAYS plug-n-play. Especially if you live in a state without emissions testing as I do.

 A boat should have a one wire alternator 12v directly to the battery+, You'll need to hook up the plumbing to get GO juice to the pump. And then a switched 12v to the dist/coil add a couple of radiator hoses and you're in business. Roll all the unnecessary wires up into a wad and cram them behind the windshield washer bottle. If your S-10 is fuel injected you'll have to drop the tank and swap out the electric fuel pump for an old fashioned pickup tube. And lastly pull the check engine bulb.

[30-30man]

No emission laws to contend with here so I'm pretty much free to do whatever I want except the cat in the exhaust.  I may forget to install that too if you know what I mean. The boat engine runs strong and I think it would make one heck of a truck engine.   I was offered $1000 for the complete omc Cobra outdrive at the boat place down the road.  It seems that they are not making omc outdrives anymore. The 4.3 even has the old points/condensor distributor in it.  I will probably change that out too.  The old s10 is fuel injected but then I'd rather have the carbs. I wonder how hard it would be to fabricate the linkage to the carbs?  It would be much simplier and I could work on it.

[Luckyducker]

If the S10 has a manual transmission don't forget to press the correct pilot bushing into the back of the crankshaft of the boat engine.  Just a heads up, as they will run without the bushing but you'll have a lot of vibration and this can lead to trans failure or a spun main bearing in the engine.

[goodwrench6710]

Check rotation direction on the crankshaft of a marine engine. Some are clockwise & some are counter clockwise. This could really be a bummer to find out it's wrong after it's installed & have 5 gears in reverse if its a manual transmission or won't move at all if an automatic!!! Trust me, it can happen. Even if the boat only has one engine.

[gypsyman]

Goodwrench is right on this one. Had a 1971 Penn Yan that had a 350 GM motor in it. The owner before me, filled up one time with diesel fuel, and blew the motor. Whoever did the rebuild, didn't do a very good job, as I had it less than 2 years, and the motor went bad. When I went thru it, a friend of mine, who worked as a boat repair mechanic, said it was a counter clock wise rotating engine. The main shaft bearing seals had the wipers in the opposite direction, to keep the oil in the engine. If I had left the original ones on, in the motor I was putting in, the oil would have been pushed out of the engine, instead of pushed in. -gypsyman

[30-30man]

Everything matched up OK fellows.  I got it back from my mechanic.  The first thing I need to do is get rid of those pesky points and change it over to electronic.  Over all, I was impressed with the power it had.  I used it yesterday to haul some fence posts (cut power poles) to one of my new buildings.  It acted like I was not carrying anything at all. I had about 1000lbs in it at least.