Alpha SS mounting to Gen II Gimble

[Rootsy]

NOW I KNOW it isn't a direct bolt up... BUT i've heard and been told that you can modify the drive and or transom assy to mount an alpha SS drive to a Gen II transom assy. I do believe the bolt pattern and housing size match as well as the water passage... and i do know that the shifter lever has changed with the Gen I to Gen II design change... is this the major issue? the shifter that is, or does something else need to be modified to get the SS to bolt to the Gen II Transom Assy? I know there are a few out there that are quite knowledgable about the SS including Forrest... and i researched the archives but found no distinctive answer to this question... i really don't want to remove my Gen II transom assy if i don't have to... i'd rather modify the sterndrive to fit in case i ever want to put the straight alpha back on for whatever reason... oops forgot that the SS has no provision for the remote drive oil tank...

lastly, 2K or maybe slightly less a decent deal on a 1.5 ratio alpha SS that is supposed to be in fair to good condition?

Thanks eh

Root

[CDMA]

I love putting ideas in memebers heads....

The remote oil thing is not a big deal. Just close it off at the drive and use a remote oil like you can add to a Gen 1 drive. It is a similar set up other then the hose goes through the transom and screws into the top oil fill. Basically the remote oil thing was such a good idea merc incorporated it into the re-design.

In terms of shifting I can not be as much a help. I am not too familiar with how a Gen two shifts. It would seem that the way a Gen one shifts though it would be easy enough to drill the housing and just run a cable using some of the Gen 1 parts.

I guess whenever I get to a spot like this I always come back to the fact it is easier and cheaper to just replace the housing. You then also know that there will not be any unforseen problems.

Also be warned the Alpha SS has a reputation that some of them can be hard to shift. If I were to build another hi po boat with an alpha I would most likely eliminate the shift cut out switch on the plate. I would add a small microswitch that I could "blip" on the throttle when I wanted to shift. It sure would not be as convienient but I really hated that shift mechanism. Anyway I am the only one who drives my boat and with a bigger cam then stock it might make juggling the shiftablity with the not stalling aspect a little easier to handle.

Chris

5 finals down...one to go...my class is down to 15 frown

[Forrest]

I too hear that the SS can be mounted to a Gen II transom assembly with some machining hear and there, but I really do not know what involved. Myself, I woud probably not want to experiment with a perfectly good and hard-to-find SS upper. You could always pick up a Gen I(MR) type transom assembly for cheap and put your Gen II transom assembly in storage until you want to change back. BTW, $2K is a BUY IT NOW price for an SS in good shape.

[CDMA]

Root get me on a plane....I will do the swap...

Forrest is right 2 K is a steal...now think if it had all the accessories and maybe even a sweet boat with it....

Chris

Devil in disquise...

[Rootsy]

actually gentlemen... he said a few folks were interested in the boat WITHOUT a sterndrive which would mean he has 2... personally he said somewhere around 2K.. so i am thinkin.. oh 1750...

what accessories chris? and the gen II has the same shift interrupter mechanism mounted on the riser as the Gen I...

what i was getting at with the shifting mechanism.. on the alphas there is an L shaped bracket extending from the drive below the U-joints and behind the speedo fitting. on the transom assy tghere is a mating shaft with a groove that the L slips into... nothing fancy... On the GEN II's this is a slender stainless piece. On the GEN I's this L is wider and aluminum and the mating slot receiver on the transom assy differs a bit.. this is the only visible difference. as far as the shifting mechanism that the cable goes into... it is the same.. and the fork and roller up where the drive shaft inserts doesn't appear to have changed... i shoulda investigated this when i had the motor out... but who woulda ever thought i would find an alpha SS let alone 2 in one day for 2K or less... now if i could find a perfectly good 1 transom assy i might consider it...

The gentleman says Very good condition... apparently they were take-offs from a boat with 320's and he bought em a few years back... he says both are standard rotation, is this correct? wouldn't one be counter rotation? in the photo they look ok.. a bit old an ddirty... as long as the internals are A-OK a bit of PPG base/clear and some DP can fix most anything... said he would pressure check and vacuum check before he shipped...

[Scott Pearson]

Jamie,
Its funny you bring this topic up . Just tonight I was on the phone with a close friend about this exact set-up. I came accross a brand new Gen II Gimble set-up with power steering. This was an Idea I had for my 14 baby. I want to run an Alpha SS and "DROP" ,not raise the X-Dim so that I will have more hatch clearence. So I was checking to see if it was possable to run it with a Gen II.

Well....Its turns out that #1 it wont look right at all. #2 It does need some machining done.

So....I will go with the Gen I with out a doubt.

(NJ)Scott

[Forrest]

All Alpha SS drives turn RH.

[turbo2256]

tHE Alpha SS will fit on later versions of the "I" Drive(having newer style linkage going into the drive), Alpha 1 Gen 1(no changes) and the Gen 2 with mods to the gimble hsg ... about 150 dollar mod.

[Rootsy]

hmmmmmm... this drive doesn't have water pickups which means no impeller or pump housing... is this correct? which would mean a motor driven pump...