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silverghost
03-15-2011, 10:10 PM
Are there any New Old Stock or NEW reproduction Volvo~Penta 270/280 "E" drive lower gearcase internal parts for sale anywhere ?

I was offered a used & abused "E" drive lower gearcase locally for $200. !
The case itself is fine~~~
But the internal gears are a nasty chipped mess !
Does anyone know of any stock of New Old Stock or NEW reproduction gears & shaft internals available for these older Volvo~Penta "E" speed & racing lower gear-cases out there anywhere ?

I saw nothing at all on the web !

mrfixxall
03-15-2011, 10:56 PM
Are there any New Old Syock or NEW reproduction Volvo~Penta 270/280 "E" drive lower earcase internal parts for sale anywhere ?

I was offered a used & abused "E" drive lower gearcase locally for $200. !
The case itself is fine~~~
But the internal gears are a nasty chipped mess !
Does anyone know of a stock of New Old Stock or NEW reproduction gears available for these older Volvo~Penta "E" speed & racing lower gear-cases out there anywhere ?

I saw nothing at all on the web !

Sweeden from what i have been told or try french creek marine ask for will 315-686-3621
be prepared to pay 2k for the gears tho...if i had a good set a friend said he could make them..

f_inscreenname
03-16-2011, 09:19 AM
Ahhh, you have moved on to the E drive. The holy grail. And in most case worth more then gold.

Sweet little 16
03-16-2011, 09:20 AM
There is a 16 in upstate ny with and e drive . The owner of the 16 had to make replacement gears and internals parts himself . factory replacement parts were not available from anywhere.

Kirbyvv
03-16-2011, 11:31 AM
Brian on Lake George also had gears made for the e drive on his x-18. He had two sets done, just so he'd have an extra set for the future. He paid some big bucks to have them made.

Conquistador_del_mar
03-16-2011, 11:58 AM
Brian on Lake George also had gears made for the e drive on his x-18. He had two sets done, just so he'd have an extra set for the future. He paid some big bucks to have them made.

Do you know how much he paid to have them made? Were they hardened and work perfectly? I ask because I have 3 E-drive cases (2 with gears and prop shafts - one with nothing) and High Life on this forum has 2 with broken gears - these could be rebuilt if someone made the gear sets, prop shafts, bearings and seals. I have one near perfect E-drive without the bottom skeg plate and am running another on my 1971 Donzi 18'. Bill

silverghost
03-16-2011, 12:24 PM
Right now I am trying to decide on an engine & drive set-up for my benchseat 18 project before I jump into my transom & stringer recore & repair.

I may just pass on this old damaged "E" drive since there does not seem to be a ready supply of internal repair parts . He ony has the damaged case & three prop types.
Props to be sold at extra cost !

I am not really looking for top screaming speed from my benchseat 18 project.
I would rather have a tough bullet-proof drive that will put my 18 Donzi in the 55-65 mph range along with power trim !

I had a TRS drive with a SpeedMaster II lower case for 15 years; and I just thought that the similar "E" drive might be pretty cool !

Conquistador_del_mar
03-16-2011, 12:34 PM
Right now I am trying to decide on an engine & drive set-up for my benchseat 18 project before I jump into my transom & stringer recore & repair.

I may just pass on this old damaged "E" drive since there does not seem to be a ready supply of internal repair parts . He ony has the damaged case & three prop types.
Props to be sold at extra cost !

I am not really looking for top screaming speed from my benchseat 18 project.
I would rather have a tough bullet-proof drive that will put my 18 Donzi in the 55-65 mph range along with power trim !

I had a TRS drive with a SpeedMaster II lower case for 15 years; and I just thought that the similar "E" drive might be pretty cool !

Probably your best bet is finding a complete 280T trimmable outdrive setup from a donor boat. Craigslist or Ebay are good sources. Bill

silverghost
03-16-2011, 01:37 PM
I had no idea that these gears & internal parts for the old "E" lower gearcase were made of "unobtainium" ! ;-)

He plans on putting this damaged "E" gearcase on ebay or craigslist~~~He only wants a few hundred dollars for the gearcase. Great Deal~~~ I guess~~~ if you can make the gears & shafts ? !

He also has three different props also for this Volvo "E"drive !

Did they use a special prop drive shaft & spline, & center hub set-up that differed from the standard Volvo 270/280 lower units on the "E" drive ?

He wants $300 each for the props~~~ 1 Stainless Steel & 2 NiBrAl !
I do not know the prop brands, model, pitch, or diameter but all are said to be special for this "E" race drive !
If anyone might be interested ? These too will be listed on ebay or craigslist soon this spring~~~ he says .

As I mentioned before I know little about Volvo~Penta outdrives~~~and NOTHING at all about the old Volvo "E" race drives !

HIGH LIFE
03-16-2011, 03:35 PM
silverghost, I f your looking for good motors & Volvo 280T drives call : Brian ( in Ct.) 860-729-5135 . "HIGH LIFE"

silverghost
03-16-2011, 03:39 PM
I just got word that the damaged Volvo "E" Speed Master drive & three props were just sold to an un-named forum member, that most of you know very well here, for $ 1100.

WOW~~~That was quick !

He possibly got a fantastic deal here If he can have new gears & shafts made for a fairly reasonable price ?

Perhapps the new owner will tell us all his future plans for these rare Volvo speed parts ?

Some day if some person dares to re-make new gear-sets & shafts in a small batch run we will see all these damaged Volvo Speed Master racing "E" drives that are sitting around will finally come out of hiding !
We can only hope ?

From my short time researching these rare race drives~~~~
I cannot believe some of the prices that I have seen while doing a google search on the web for the very few complete & undamaged used "E" drive units that are/were For Sale out there !

$ 5000. ----$ 9000. !
WOW !!!

smidgen too
03-16-2011, 04:53 PM
If the water on Lake St Clair drops any lower we will be able to find all the e drives that Wally Harper Lil SMIDGEN,, & Ken Black Lil Rhino, lost out there. :nilly: I have heard there were at least 10 drives lost..:boggled:

Conquistador_del_mar
03-16-2011, 07:24 PM
I just got word that the damaged Volvo "E" Speed Master drive & three props were just sold to an un-named forum member, that most of you know very well here, for $ 1100.

WOW~~~That was quick !

He possibly got a fantastic deal here If he can have new gears & shafts made for a fairly reasonable price ?

Perhapps the new owner will tell us all his future plans for these rare Volvo speed parts ?

Some day if some person dares to re-make new gear-sets & shafts in a small batch run we will see all these damaged Volvo Speed Master racing "E" drives that are sitting around will finally come out of hiding !
We can only hope ?

From my short time researching these rare race drives~~~~
I cannot believe some of the prices that I have seen while doing a google search on the web for the very few complete & undamaged used "E" drive units that are/were For Sale out there !

$ 5000. ----$ 9000. !
WOW !!!

I was surprised that no one jumped on my offers a couple years ago. Here is a little more information on them. Bill

http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=52034&highlight=volvo+speedmaster

http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=52684&highlight=volvo+speedmaster

mphatc
03-16-2011, 08:57 PM
Bill,

as you know I was tempted, but have chosen reliability and more power and 2 280 drives . .

If someone really wants E drives, they need to be set up with a dry sump lube system and run Redline Shockproof . . there's virtually less than a cup of fluid around the lower gears and bearings . .

The shaft is small, and the re-entry loads are just to much for these units . .

Has anyone ever looked into the design and build of a custom Volvo lower unit? Utilizing the pieces from other drives?

Mario L.

Conquistador_del_mar
03-17-2011, 12:51 AM
Bill,

as you know I was tempted, but have chosen reliability and more power and 2 280 drives . .

If someone really wants E drives, they need to be set up with a dry sump lube system and run Redline Shockproof . . there's virtually less than a cup of fluid around the lower gears and bearings . .

The shaft is small, and the re-entry loads are just to much for these units . .

Has anyone ever looked into the design and build of a custom Volvo lower unit? Utilizing the pieces from other drives?

Mario L.

I bought the E drive that is presently on my 1971 Donzi in about 1975 after abusing the original 270 lower foot (I never changed the oil - :bonk:). It has held up through many owners and abuse, but it is showing some wear. The last owner had a 400+HP engine that broke the shaft between the engine and outdrive, but the E drive survives. I am now running the same lubricant that I use in all my drives and differentials - Dyson Syngear which is a synthetic with lots of additives - probably comparable to the Redline. I don't think they are quite as delicate as some might believe. I should add that the original racing props made for these drives have a lot of surface area and pitch. Add that to the fact that many were raced offshore with the powerful engines might be an indication of why they got a reputation as not very durable. The three I have personally seen broken are due to the gears chipping - not the shafts breaking. Just passing along my thoughts and experience with them.
Building a custom lower unit would be highly cool, but my guess is that there is too small a market to justify the expense of development and production. Bill

Kirbyvv
03-17-2011, 11:32 AM
Check in with Brian73 on this site for the details on having the gears made. I don't think he checks in here often, so shoot him a pm or email.

maddad
03-17-2011, 02:16 PM
Bill,
as you know I was tempted, but have chosen reliability and more power and 2 280 drives . .
If someone really wants E drives, they need to be set up with a dry sump lube system and run Redline Shockproof . . there's virtually less than a cup of fluid around the lower gears and bearings . .
The shaft is small, and the re-entry loads are just to much for these units . .
Has anyone ever looked into the design and build of a custom Volvo lower unit? Utilizing the pieces from other drives?
Mario L.
I talked with a guy who does metal stuff for me about modifying a 280 lower. It hasn't been done yet, but the idea was to cut the lower at the mouting allen bolt seats and then cut and mill the rest so the upper piece now sat on and was welded to the exhaust port floor with access to the allen bolts in countersunk holes in the bottom of the ventilation plate. That would end up 2.25" shorter.

BRIAN73
03-17-2011, 03:05 PM
Hey Guy's,
Wow, this is the longest thread on an E-Drive I've seen in ages!!!!!
I did get pricing on custom made gear sets and chickened out at the 11th hour due to the 6,900.00 price tag for the input shafts and (1) double helical beveled prop shaft gear.
What I did find was (1) used set that was a 9.5 out of 10 condition wise and a second set that was a 8 out of 10. I purchased them from marina that went out of business around 3 years ago.
Personally speaking, I put 460 HP through the E-Drive for 3+ years without one hiccup. The previous owner had run 500HP through the drive for close to 5 years without failure.
With all that being said, I was always super careful on re-entry and holeshots which kept the drive unit alive until, the day I was foolish enough to let my buddy drive the boat. The result was one throttle miss over a wave and POOF went the gear set (I’m Still Pissed To This Day). Oh well, such is life.
I stuffed the E-drive with the second set of gears, bought a 250 lower for backup and life is good again.
E-Drive Top Speed On GPS 78.6 @ 5200
Brian
PS, How Are You Kirby.......

silverghost
03-17-2011, 03:32 PM
All this resulting discussion on the lack of spare internal parts for the fragile "E" Speed Master drive makes me glad that I decided to pass on buying it~~~

It would have been just a doorstop for me !
I have no regrets.

I hope the forum member here, who called me about buying this damaged drive from it's local owner yesterday, and did actually buy it, is finally able to get good internal parts for it, or is at least able to use parts from it for another "E" drive !
The three special props that were included for the drive I suspect made this entire deal worthwhile.

BILL: I was a bit surprized that you did not wish to buy it yourself just to get the now missing lower skeg-fin & gearcase cover for your almost complete spare unit ?
$200. would have been a great buy just to get that rare missing part !
You might have also used the three props also that were part of the larger $ 1100. package deal ! ?

Conquistador_del_mar
03-17-2011, 06:49 PM
BILL: I was a bit surprized that you did not wish to buy it yourself just to get the now missing lower skeg-fin & gearcase cover for your almost complete spare unit ?
$200. would have been a great buy just to get that rare missing part !
You might have also used the three props also that were part of the larger package deal ! ?

Actually, I didn't see the package for sale or I would have bought it for those very reasons. Bill

silverghost
03-19-2011, 07:02 PM
To the new owner of the above "E" drive~~~

When are you going to let all the forum members know who you are ; and what your future plans are for this old damaged Speed Master "E" drive ?

I know you are in fact reading this thread !
You got the owner's contact info from me~~~But it is up to you to post your identity !

To Axel in Germany~~~

Do you know of any Volvo~Penta Speed Master "E" drives still in use in Europe ?
Are there any hidden supplies of gears & internal service parts for this old race drive over there anywere ?
There seems to be none left , at least for sale , here in the USA !

mphatc
03-19-2011, 07:22 PM
I talked with a guy who does metal stuff for me about modifying a 280 lower. It hasn't been done yet, but the idea was to cut the lower at the mouting allen bolt seats and then cut and mill the rest so the upper piece now sat on and was welded to the exhaust port floor with access to the allen bolts in countersunk holes in the bottom of the ventilation plate. That would end up 2.25" shorter.

Maddad,

I'll volunteer one of my damaged 250 drives to cut up and try this . . .Ask Phil, and I discussed this a year or so back . . .it's totally feasible!

Mario L.

maddad
03-19-2011, 07:34 PM
I've got a 280 case just sitting around waiting. Maybe I'll scrounge up a 270 and then see which one will adjust easiest.

Just Say N20
02-26-2012, 02:02 PM
To The Top.

I'm too bull-headed to let this die. I too have a perfect e-drive housing/skeg. And I have all the gears/shafts/bearings/etc, that are junk.

Fixx directed me to a place that had ALL the parts necessary to completely rebuild the drive. All new, except one good, but used part. $5,900.

I couldn't pull the trigger. That is just too much money for a variety of reasons. If you consider what else you could do regarding outdrive changes for $6K, there are probably some nice alternatives. If you also consider that parts for these things are virtually non-existant, spending $6K for something that has a proven history of breaking, should it then break, you would be back at square one. Again.

I have spoken with Conquistador, who seems to have the largest collection of e-drive parts and drives, trying to figure something out.

These are such cool lower units, it seems a shame to let them just disappear, dying a slow death as the remaining units cash in, one at a time until there are none left.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be enough market to support this type of drive. Or, the drives can't be built to withstand the use/abuse they get in the performance world.

Witness the e-drive's history; they were produced for only a very few years. Then Sternpower came out with a similar, very cool low drag lower unit, but they have been in and out of business under a variety of different owners over the years. Then there are the Mercruiser SS lowers, still available, but I believe out of production, so eventually they will be an unsupportable product too. Even the Mercruiser Blackhawk drives, which took a different approach to the drag reduction target, had a very limited production life.

A while back, someone posted on here about a shortened alpha-style drive (3.5" shorter if I remember), that seemed to have good results, although the poster was attacked pretty strongly, and there seemed to be some question as to the legitimacy of his claimed results.

There are a LOT of DONZIs out there running Volvo 270/280/290 drives. We tend to be a pretty performance oriented group. I would be inclined to believe that if someone came up with a successful modification for this style drive, that didn't cost a fortune, there would be potentially a pretty size-able market for it.

Personally, I would like to stay Volvo for at least a few reasons. The drives are very strong. I don't know that I have ever heard of someone blowing up a Volvo 270/280/290. You never seen drive showers on them to correct an overheating issue. They shift very smoothly, versus Mercruiser's meshing moving gear teeth together. And I don't want to redo my transom, with all the work (including repainting) associated with that to install a Mercruiser product anyway.

So here we are. Who has a viable suggestion to present as a solution to this dilemma? Was the shortened Volvo leg ever tried?

Conquistador_del_mar
02-26-2012, 10:33 PM
I agree about their cool and fast factor, but finding replacement parts or someone to make them at an affordable price is the problem along with finding the right person to assemble them. I have a near perfect one, a running one, and I believe enough workable parts to make a third one run. The running one has had a chipped gear in the bottom end for the past 15 years of running and I bought it back in 1975 or so!! It has quite a few hundred hours of run time on it now. I don't believe they are nearly as breakable as some people think. Maybe something will develop, but I am not holding my breath. Bill

mattyboy
02-27-2012, 09:47 AM
we have 2 members in the LGDCC that have them they are good for 4-6 mph over a normal aq lower.this is in the ballpark i was told every mph you want to go faster is 1000 dollars. one member actually machined all the internal parts and spares for his own use. i agree with CON DEL MAR these are pretty stout drives these two guys drive their boats pretty hard. they were race drives and once merc took that world over they died before they really made it to the recreational go fast world. donzi did put a few on boats at the factory

as i have said before if i were redoing a volvo boat i would not cut any thing lower than a 290 . the 290 usues the same cutout as the newer volvo so a dpr unit would be an option.

things to keep in mind the shaft is splined for merc racing props, the increased speed may mean a steering upgrade as well.
i have passed on them in the past but still hope to find one somewhere in a boneyard

Just Say N20
02-27-2012, 09:59 AM
one member actually machined all the internal parts and spares for his own use.

I would love to know who this is, so I could contact them.

mattyboy
02-27-2012, 10:09 AM
I'll have to see if I have his contact info . He hasn't made an event in a few years. If I remember correctly he was retiring as a machinist and made spares only for him self and the 16 project was his "gold watch" so to speak. he also made a modification to the original 3 hole non trim setup to get alittle more trim out of it.

I didn't see it but brian 73 is the other member with his x18

btw I am a member of the blown volvo drive club i grenaded and upper the lower is now on jay's 16

HallJ
02-27-2012, 11:57 AM
Raise your drive up. Run a Mirage.

Jeff

Just Say N20
02-27-2012, 02:16 PM
Raise your drive up. Run a Mirage.

Same issue issue with having to re-do the transom. I only finished the 27 month resto-mod rebuild last July 4th, so I don't want to pull everything off the transom, fill it in, repaint it to match, cut it for a higher outdrive placement, and reinstall everything. And, raising the drive enough to make a difference would put the engine too high, and create hatch interference issues.

HallJ
02-27-2012, 04:50 PM
Have you looked at running a Merc lower using an adapter plate?

Jeff

Just Say N20
02-27-2012, 05:25 PM
I didn't know there was such a thing. I would be interested to learn more about this. With such an adapter plate, would I be able to pick up an SS and run that?

HallJ
02-27-2012, 05:33 PM
I'm not saying such a thing does exist but you should look in to it.
It would sound much easier than shortening a Volvo lower.
I ve been told this was done with Volvo uppers mated to Merc speedmaster lower units, probably 30 years ago.
I don't think using Alfa stuff is a good idea. Remember the shifting mech. is in the lower on those.

Jeff

Just Say N20
02-27-2012, 05:44 PM
Or something like this.

70257

HallJ
02-28-2012, 09:17 AM
I wonder what your prop shaft height would be with that?

Does Conquistador have a Merc speedmaster lower to check the feesability of putting one on a Volvo?

Jeff

Conquistador_del_mar
02-28-2012, 11:07 AM
Does Conquistador have a Merc speedmaster lower to check the feesability of putting one on a Volvo?

Jeff

------------------------------------

If I get the chance, I will let you know the huge size difference between the III Merc speedmaster and the E drive. I don't think this would be feasible - :nilly:. Bill

HallJ
02-28-2012, 11:31 AM
One more thing for you to do!

Jeff

mattyboy
02-28-2012, 12:00 PM
just a note I was wrong on the 290 cutout. I knew was not the same as the 200-280 cutout, but i thought that is when they unified the cutout but not so . the 290 is not the same as the merc , it is the volvo sx/omc cobra cut out that is the same as merc.

so that being said if I were doing a project that had transom work needed i would not cut anything less than a merc cut out


JN20 that is a nice find and an option before a total transom rework


courtesy of Don S on the iboats forum

Just Say N20
02-28-2012, 10:00 PM
That is a great template diagram, Matty. Thanks for posting.

To satisfy my curiosity I took some measurements tonight, from my e-drive, and my 290 drive. They are approximate, but close enough.

E-Drive:
Bottom of cavitation plate to center of prop shaft: 7-1/8"
Same measurement for the 290 drive: 8-5/8"

E-Drive:
Length of foot, just above gear housing: 15-3/16"
Same measurement for the 290 drive: 12-1/8"

E-Drive:
Gear Housing Diameter at back end: 2-7/8"
Same measurement of 290 drive: 4-1/2"

They measure the same from the bottom of the cavitation plate to the upper/lower joint: 3-3/16"

7027870279702807028170282702837028470285

HallJ
02-28-2012, 10:16 PM
The e-drive lower is an inch shorter than the regular foot.
This is where some of the speed is gained.
Jeff

Just Say N20
02-29-2012, 07:50 AM
Shorter helps with the speed, but the substantially narrower gear housing, that is also much longer with a pointed front, creates much less drag.

Picture pushing a pencil through the water at 60 mph versus pushing a softball.

HallJ
02-29-2012, 08:27 AM
[ QUOTE=$originalposter]{$pagetext}[/QUOTE]

I agree!

mattyboy
02-29-2012, 09:39 AM
just a little more info on the cutouts. If you look at the 270-280 cut out that is the same all the way back to the aq200. This was not changed until they came out with the 280T . the cut out for the 280 t was the same plus two holes outside of the transom seal for the trim lines. It is pretty clear they knew this wouldn't last as the water gets into that area. On the 290 the lower part of the cutout is extended out to keep at the trim connections inside the transom seal.

Conquistador_del_mar
03-03-2012, 01:08 PM
I keep forgetting to get some comparisons between the E drive and the TRS III speedmaster. I will try to get it posted by this evening. Bill

joseph m. hahnl
03-03-2012, 03:04 PM
Sorry Bill I don't have access to that type of machinery to build a gear set. That said. Gears come in a lot of flavors. It maybe feasible to modify/rework an existing gear and shaft to fit.

Takes some measurements and pictures of the assembly and parts.



Try this gear quote to see what it entails to make one from scratch .


http://www.rushgears.com/Tech_Tools/PartSearch8/partSearch.php?cadAdHeader&gearType=SPUR&fromHomePage


You maybe able to have this guy do a production run and sell the gearing yourself

silverghost
03-03-2012, 07:17 PM
Some time ago when my friend Jim was looking into the old Volvo "E" drive parts situation for his damaged "E" drive lower he was told by someone at Volvo Marine that in Europe , & Sweden, the gears, & shafts +bearings, could sill be found over there; but not here in the USA.
It seems USA Volvo parts suppliers do not wish to carry them in their warehouse stock.
It also seems that there are still quite a few old "E" drives still in use overseas.
Rather than digging into this "E" drive parts problem any deeper he just sold the old damaged lower unit "as is" to a forum member here very cheaply.

It seems we need to dig deeper into this Volvo"E" drive speedmaster-syle racing lower unit parts stiuation ?
I suspect it;s the old case of supply vs demand.
With so few still in use in the USA Volvo Penta Marine, & their USA dealers, just do not bring these parts into the USA any longer.
In fact we all know that most USA Volvo parts dalers
no longer stock Volvo 200, 270, 280, & 290 drive parts~~~
Those that do in fact stock these old Volvo drive parts are well known here.

Conquistador_del_mar
03-03-2012, 09:19 PM
Here are a couple pictures which show some differences in the E drive vs Merc III speedmaster drives and the E drive vs an IMCO Extreme SC drive. Bill

joseph m. hahnl
03-03-2012, 10:05 PM
http://www.marinepartseurope.com/en/volvo-penta-schematics-MarineDrivesTransmissions.aspx

Just Say N20
03-03-2012, 10:56 PM
Great pictures Bill, thanks for posting them. The e-drive certainly is a narrow unit.

Brad, I'm not so sure there are still e-drive parts in Europe. I contacted a board member from Germany who had been on a pretty thorough search for e-drive parts, and he ended up having a machine shop custom make him a set of gears. Said it cost him $4,200 several years ago. He also mentioned he had not yet put the drive together, so he wasn't sure if they work.

silverghost
03-03-2012, 11:06 PM
Check-out this Frankenstein Monster Volvo outdrive build-up with a Volvo "E" drive lower unit gearcase I just found on a Google web search.

I think this guy got just a bit carried away with his aftermarket custom mods.

Never saw Mercury trim/tilt
cylinders added to a Volvo outdrive before~~~Have you ?

Still this photo gives you a good look at the infamous Volvo "E" drive lower racing gearcse.
.
http://webpages.charter.net/vrod02/volvoE-drive.jpg

mphatc
03-04-2012, 09:16 AM
I'll be installing 2 280T housings on the Magnum 27 and as Matt stated the hydraulic hoses are only sealed with O-rings . . as I expect this install to last many years, I'll use Lifecaulk and new orings, but also extend the hose connection ports with a nipple through the transom. Should I ever need to change hoses the transom shield won't need to be removed to access the connection.

Mario L.

mattyboy
03-04-2012, 10:07 AM
Mario,

you need to get french creek marina in clayton ny on speed dial they have a ton of old volvo parts at good prices

my transom plate was pitted in that area, salt water made an unwanted appearance. I have it sealed well now

I have been contacted thru the LGDCC by donzi owners in europe for leads on parts for e drives as well the parts are not over there either.

I have been tracking down and old donzi from my youth that was equipped with twin edrives and 327 racing motors that lived a very pampered life on my lake . that would be the last hope of finding one. hanging off the back of an old race boat that someone was going to restore but has given up on it.

That e-drive could be very addicting and once exposed to that 4-6 mph it gives you could be a very tough addiction to kick.
for me the "what if it breaks" thing and how do i deal with it has pushed me to the point if I want that great speed increase i will go to a merc product

Just Say N20
03-04-2012, 10:23 AM
My friend's 1974 came from Donzi with an e-drive.

lars
03-07-2012, 05:02 AM
Nobody wants to be the messenger of bad news, but there's a silver lining towards the end of this letter.

The Volvo Penta R- and E-drives were developed in the 60's and 70's in cooperation between Volvo Penta and Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. The first drive of it's kind was a modified VP 100 D-drive that was paired to a Volvo competition 4 cyl. engine. The next development were the 250 and 270 drives in R and E versions. The really slender R-drives were for in-line 4 cyl. Volvo B20 competition engines that were now delivering 170 hp plus. The E-drive was designed for all the Swedish race boats in the about 17'-24' range powered with a single or twins of the sometimes heavily tuned Volvo in-line 6 cyl. B30 competition engines and they often delivered 230 hp plus. Many owners who had 270/280 E-drives also powered their boats with small block Chevy and Chrysler V8's. The E-drives were ALL rated to handle 40 kilogram-force meter (kgf-m) = 289 pound-force foot (lbf-ft) = 392 newton meter (N-m). As You figure plenty of guys that had light 20' boats were doing fine with high revving small block V8's and high horsepower 6 cyl. Volvo B30 competition engines and were running 75 mph. Now there's never enough horsepower and speed, so most sooner or later realized that the limit was around 500 hp if you ran the boat in calm waters and the highest claimed horsepower that could be run was around 600 hp and those E-drives were modified by 'The' Volvo Penta engineer the last 40 years, who came to Volvo in 1961 from Norway. His name is Oddbjoern Hallenstvedt and has been part of teams that invented the R- and E-drives, Volvo's revolutionary sailboat drives and the now famous IPS drives among other products.

So where's the silver lining? The good news is that a Volvo E-drive is pretty strong and that most of the E-drives available on the market are to be found outside of Scandinavia. The U.S. has without doubt most of them and they are laying around shops and sitting on non-running performance boats all around the country. The drives in Scandinavia are almost all accounted for. Enthusiasts over there are now finally restoring a few of the boats that were in salvageable condition. It's not as easy to find boats that can be brought back to life over there as there is over here, in some parts of our big country where nature's forces are kinder to the old beauties than back among the Norse. This has mainly been going on the last ten years and the E-drives in good to decent condition are fetching between $1,500 and $2,500. A select group of people over there with more time than money, (also not too seldom just old money and folks with brains), are usually interested in these drives and native boats, whereas there's a large crowd that want 'Old School' American offshore racing and performance boats with mainly Mercruiser equipment. If the new money deep pocket crowd was into the old native stuff I bet an E-drive over there would cost $5,000-$7,500 all day long, but maybe that will happen in a few years. There's plenty of restored Cigarettes, Magnums etc., but not too many restored, classic, Scandinavian race boats and people are finally getting more nationalistic over there. The generation who were kids in the 1960's and 70's now finally got the time, (kids are out of the house). Most importantly, many also got the monetary means and the E-(energy)drive to realize(restore) their childhood dreams and one day run a 21' Smuggler or Gilbert racing boat with a Chrysler 340 and an E-drive or ultimately twin Volvo B30 competition with 270 E-drives and a combined 450 hp plus.

P.S. Open this link and read the wonderful story about one Gentleman, (racing a Swedish Gilbert 21' with a Volvo B30 Competition 6 cyl.(not a 4 cyl. like the article says) and an E-drive) and one Lady, (racing a Larry Smith Team Scarab 9 Meter Kevlar49 with twin Merc. O/B's), who had an adventure in Baja in common and who both would inspire many motoring enthusiasts in their own different ways. Honorable late Bob Sinclair and the one and only, beloved late Betty Cook!
Link; http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCMQFjAA&url=%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3D%26source%3Dwe b%26cd%3D1%26ved%3D0CCMQFjAA%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252 F%252Fwww.powerboatarchive.co.uk%252FMagazines%252 F1970s%252F1978%252520BAJA%252520RACE.pdf%26ei%3DO EJXT9vLJazTiALihcnbCw%26usg%3DAFQjCNF3V-LcQrAKl9PhFkGs2YHpFbtsyg&ei=OEJXT9vLJazTiALihcnbCw&usg=AFQjCNF3V-LcQrAKl9PhFkGs2YHpFbtsyg D.S.

Just Say N20
03-07-2012, 06:17 AM
Lars,

Thanks for taking the time to post. That was an interesting read, and good information.

I still have an excellent housing in my basement with all the parts, that doesn't work.

maddad
03-07-2012, 07:02 AM
I noticed that on all the boat where you could see the transom, and even on what looks like an advertisment photo, none of the E drives had the steering helmet or fork installed, and had what looks like cable type externl steering. I wonder what they used for the plates on the drive.

Just Say N20
03-07-2012, 07:41 AM
Maddad, perhaps it is the plate that is on Paul's Donzi (pictured above). That was never hooked up to anything on his boat, and it came from Volvo that way, notched cover and all. External cable steering would explain it. That same piece is showing is the engine/outdrive photo from Lars.

HallJ
03-07-2012, 09:32 AM
That's for a tie bar when running twins.

Jeff

BRIAN73
03-07-2012, 10:33 AM
Now this would have been one sweet setup back in the day!!!!



70365


Brian
PS, E-Drives Rule!!!!!!!

HallJ
03-07-2012, 11:46 AM
[ QUOTE=$originalposter]{$pagetext}[/QUOTE]

Note the position of the tie bar.

Jeff

smidgen too
03-07-2012, 08:32 PM
Here are some E drive pic's, the good & bad with big power back in the day. When Kenny Black [Lil RHINO] switched engine builders to a local guy named Jack Roush the E drives didn't stand a chance.:eek:

BRIAN73
03-08-2012, 11:13 AM
These particular gears lasted over 30 years with 500hp spinning them and finally decided to give up at the hands of my inexperienced co pilot


70372




PS,
It must be that Swedish Steel............