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Woodsy
11-07-2005, 11:13 AM
I need some Alpha SS info.

A friend of mine has a boat with twin Alpha SS drives. Both are RH rotation. Of course, he blew a lower...

1. I need to know what lower cases fit?

2. where I might find one?

3. What is a reasonable price for one?

4. Will the Alpha SS drives interchange/bolt on with any other Alpha?

Woodsy

mrfixxall
11-07-2005, 11:21 AM
the lower case of a ss drive is the same lower as the merc bridgport 2.5 outboard motor....good luck finding one......but the internal parts of the 2.5 are different

Rootsy
11-07-2005, 11:22 AM
the alpha SS lower will not bolt to a regular alpha upper... the aspect ratio is different therefore the drives are longer...

from my research you should be able to bolt a 2.5 Litre outboard CLE case or 2.5 Litre Outboard sportmaster case to the upper SS housing with a vertical driveshaft change...

the issue comes in parts.. aside from the water pump and some other stuff like a few bearings and the exhaust hub the the parts are different from the Alpha parts... gears and such are different... as well as the tapered roller bearings...

the OUtboard internal shifting mechanism is different from the alpha also... it uses a cam style shifter in the nose instead of the slide style...

takes a bit of work to get it to shift properly with the alpha cable system but once dialed in it isn't bad at all... i basically left the little plunger and springs out of my shift dog and everytthing works pretty peachy...

guy at merc racing told me that he SS case and the outboard cases are 2 different castings.. the SS case is "beefier"... i asked this question because dougL had been told the same thing... and is verified because of the 2 distinct shifting mechanisms.. the alpha (alpha SS) vs the outboard cam style...

my gearcase is a mid 80's mod VP 2.5 Litre case... it has side water pickups vs low waters... this is verified from the SN stamped in the case itself....

when i put new gears in i had to do a bit of "clearancing" for the pinion on the 1.62 gearset that went in the lower (with the .909 upper that yields 1.47 overall).

BUIZILLA
11-07-2005, 11:27 AM
A true SS lower will have 2 snorkel water inlet holes, 1 each under the forward base of the snout, on each side....

make believe SS lowers, will use the standard side water pickup's

JH

Rootsy
11-07-2005, 11:33 AM
misread a portion of your questions woodsy... the transom assy's are the same therefore you can take an SS off and bolt regular alphas on without issue...

Woodsy
11-07-2005, 11:57 AM
Jamie...

The boat originally came with the twin 350/ Alpha SS setup.

Does it matter if the bolt-ons are Gen I or Gen II? He is thinking about selling his good SS and getting a RH & LH Std Alpha. I assume this is doable?

Do any mods have to be made to the OB cases to work?

Woodsy

Rootsy
11-07-2005, 12:13 PM
have to use alpha GEN I drives...

the vertical driveshaft has to be replaced in the outboard cases to work.. and i'd suggest getting rid of the ball detents in the shift dogs... you also have to find an OB gearcase with a 1.62 ratio in order to end up with a 1.47 after the upper half overdrive...

Woodsy
11-07-2005, 12:26 PM
Thanks Root!

I will post over on Scream & Fly and see if I can't find a 2.5 lower...

Thanks Again!

Woodsy

pantera24
11-08-2005, 11:29 AM
Woodsy what boat was the combo in? Was it a 28 Pantera?

Woodsy
11-08-2005, 11:43 AM
Pantera...

My friend Brad wishes his boat were a Pantera.. The drives are on an old 265 Baja with twin 350's.... Not too sure of the year. He cracked the lower unit right up the seam on the CLE...

Anyone with any leads, let me know!

Woodsy

pantera24
11-08-2005, 08:14 PM
Just wondering..I once owned a 28 Pantera with twin small blocks that had Alpha SS and I thought it may have been that boat. oh well...