Originally posted by 76GMC1500
You can buy a brand new 260 hp 350 from GM for $1200. Change out the freeze plugs for $15 and head gaskets for $65 and you'll be set. I have one in my boat.
As long as the boat has a heat exchanger instead of raw water cooling, none of that is needed, the plugs or gaskets that is. As the heat exchanger runs regular antifreeze through the engine, the exchanger box has the water pumped over it, cooling the antifreeze. the water pumped over it is the raw water, in effect, it is a water cooled radiator. Our boat has a 488 Mercruiser I/O ( 3.7 L 4cyl ) with this system, it's an '84 Imperial VC230, don't know how common this set up is tho, and he did not say if his boat had it.