remanufactured engines?

I just bought a 1992 Mastercraft Prostar 190. It's a project boat, I paid $4,200 for the boat in all disassembled and am worried that I bit of more than I can chew. The boat was in pretty bad shape and the engine was a total loss. I have to get a new engine and was wondering what the best, most cost effective engine to buy was. The dealer service manager told me to get a chevy instead of the ford engine that was in originally. I want a strong reliable engine but don't want to spend to much. I have researched a few engine remanufacturers and was especially impressed by a company named Hi-performer which has a 7 year warranty. Has anyone ever bought one of their engines? They seem to be a large professional operation. Any direction would be appreciated.

I havent heard of Hi-Performer, most of the marine shops in our area use Jasper - Marine Division engines. Be very careful switching brands. I made a very costly mistake on an i/o a few years ago. Bought a used Mercruiser 3.0 liter to go in place of a OMC 3.0 liter - both used Chevy but the motor mounts, outdrive coupler, and several other small items were different costing nearly $500 to make it work. Investigate very throughly before the switch and understand exactly what else has to change to make everything work.

The stock motor that came with your ’92 Prostar is a Ford 351W (240hp). Although there may be certain advantages to be had by switching to a Chevy 350, I think they are far outweighed by the cost and effort required to make that switch. Not to mention, the 351W is really a pretty good motor.

If by some chance you have the High Output 351W (285hp), which was an option in ’92, then you may want to consider having the motor rebuilt locally. If you were to exchange it for a remanufactured long block, you would be giving up the sought-after GT40 heads, which are the primary source of the hp increase. If there are 3 raised bars on the ends of the existing heads, then you have the HO engine.

What is the current condition of your existing motor? (i.e. what does "total loss" mean?) Completely missing? Disassembled? Missing parts? Rebuildable? Etc...? How would you rate your mechanical ability? This information would increase your odds of receiving helpful input.

Good luck with your decision(s)!

(Message edited by rsc on July 10, 2006)

I bought a crate engine from Napa when I cracked the block because impeller on water pump crapped out on me. It had a 350 250hp and I went with the 350/265hp. You have to use your carb, alternator, etc. If you want to go over 265hp you have to go to electronic iginition which I would not recommend!!! Truthfully, we never got the engine working properly because it'd dropped a cylinder under load, techies at mecruiser said that was because of the big cam. I didn't believe them and bought a newer boat!!! Very satisified that when I turn the key on it starts ;0). From experience, I'll never replace an engine again. Oh, and the impeller gets replaced when it's getting de-winterized!!!!

Thanks for the feedback, the specific reason the service tech said to go w/ a chevy was that the parts for that specific Ford engine are no longer being manufactured, so getting parts is extremely difficult. The boat has been sitting for over 8-9 years with the distributor cap open, carburator open, spark plugs missing, air filter half crushed, missing waterpump and alternator. I assume the inside of the engine is just as rusty as the outside. The boat is currently @ Chicago Mastercraft while the service department is exploring different options for me. I'm not sure if it's the high output motor but will call and find out. My thinking was that I would be throwing good money after bad towards making a rusty old engine work, or if I should just bite the bullet and get a crate engine. Hearing stories like Ken's makes me cringe. I'm so afraid of spending all that money and not having any reliability. Thanks for the input George, RSC, and Ken. It's really nice to be able to get an opinion from someone who isn't trying to empty your wallet.

this is what you want http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/COMPLETE-5-7-350-marine-engine-NEW-motor-Mercruiser_W0QQitemZ250007110290QQihZ015QQcategory Z50442QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem