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.