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72Hornet
07-09-2013, 10:55 PM
After having the Volvo 250 outdrive take a leave of absense on my March trip in Florida, I found a rebuilt hybrid outdrive put together from a mechanic friend of mine. We had a 270 upper mated to a 290 lower leg for added durability and for the most part, an original looking drive for the boat if you don't look at the lower leg. I played "MacGyver" and had a left over Solas Stainles prop that I picked up for my Hornet, and fit it to the 290 lower. Had to grind about 5/8" of the spline so it would fit the longer prop shaft. Then I machined the prop cone so the allen bolt would attach the cone to the shaft.
Dropped the boat in the lake Friday and all was great! 4500 rpm's on the tach at WOT, good hole shot, alot of mid range acceleration, a bit more bow lift with the tabs in the neutral position and although I did not GPS the boat, it seemed to have a marked increase in top end. I am thrilled to say the least. I absolutely love the ride!
Had a buddy with his two teenage boys with me and they get it...They were tubing with friends in his 130K Cobalt and they remarked, "Wow, nobody notices us in the Cobalt, but when we came under the bridge in the Donzi, everyone is commenting on how cool the boat is!" Priceless...
I am thus far very pleased with how the "Hybrid Volvo Conglomeration" that I had built is performing. While I was waiting for the drive to be put together and rebuilt, I detailed the gimbal assembly. When the drive arrived, I added my gear shift cover with the Holman Moody plate to the new drive to make it look period correct. This Fall I will repain the outdrive and the rebuilder did not get the correct period of Volvo paint for the outdrive to match the gimbal assembly. Good Fall/Winter project.

mattyboy
07-10-2013, 06:46 AM
Nice work Royce

Just Say N20
07-10-2013, 09:58 AM
Nice job.

Pictures are always appreciated!

72Hornet
07-16-2013, 11:02 PM
I will try to get some pictures. This weekend, I had some time on Sunday to dial it in a bit more. set the idle down to about 650 RPMS, so it shifts nice and smooth. It just keeps running better every time I take it out. We brought out the GPS and did some runs with it and recorded speeds at 500 rpm intervals. Reached 47.8 MPH at wot and 4500 RPMs. I was a bit surprised that it was that slow. But we had full fuel, and two heavy guys in the boat. One thing that I really noticed was the mid-range acceleration was so much stronger with the Solas prop. Even with the slow top end, I really love how the boat handles and sounds. It is just an absolute joy to drive. Hole shot is very respectable and it just runs so nice. I had Jeff take it out with me as well. Jeff has the identical boat with his original aluminum Volvo prop and he was amazed at how much more acceleration I have. Top end we are not so sure of. Now we hope to take both boats out and have a "Grudge" Match. Jeff's boat is identical to mine and about 10 hull numbers newer. More to report after we run them...
Nice job.

Pictures are always appreciated!