Boat viewing help required

Viffer

Viffer

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Joined
1 Aug 2018
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24
Location
Thatcham West Berkshire
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Hi
Well so far my attempts to buy a boat have met with failure for a variety of reasons. I'm hoping to view one at the weekend and am looking for some help identifying the engines. Anybody know what these are?232205_-_photo_1_1536232524_big.jpg
 
Yes and no.

Lots of horror stories with blocks being left outside, engines assembled on dusty floors etc...

I had a pair of GM v8 6.2 but not done by samurai. The marinisation was good. Stainless water cooled exhaust manifolds, Bowman oil cooler/heat exchangers etc...

They where noisy and a bit thirsty but never let me down. One wouldnt run to full revs and after lots of digging, the fuel pump is a stanadyne and the housing from memory is softer than the internals so wears reducing fuel pressure. I had it rebuilt with a new housing and all was well.

i think the engines are well thought of however, they where never designed for marine duty and the marinisation needs to be good but that’s no different with any conversion engine.

Parts are cheap though. https://american-vehicles.com based in Wolverhampton.

You pays your money and roll the dice....on any boat really:):)
 
Chris_d said:
Look alarmingly like Samuri GM Diesel conversions, needs to be bought very cheaply.
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Personally I am not sure I would at any price, if they do turn out to be Samurai. Too many horror stories. Having said that, that engine bay does look very clean and well looked after.

Edit: I may have to talk my second comment back. Looking again, there is evidence of blue paint on the hose and alternator of the port engine. They may have had a quick tart up to look good for the pictures. Tread very, very carefully.
 
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Yes, I can see that, there also appears to be overspray in the bilges. The wiring looks a little shabby too. the rest of the boat appears tidy and well kept in the photo's I'll keep an open mind but will try to be extra vigilant.
 
Who doesn't touch up their engines with paint regularly on an ageing boat though? If I didn't my engines would all have a nice patina of rust on. It would be nice if I could pull the engines to paint properly and correctly but that's not practical. As such there are always bits of pipe that show paint markings. It's not desirable but I'd rather paint than not and neither painted or not is not a reliable indicator of whether an engine is sound or not.
 
BruceK said:
Who doesn't touch up their engines with paint regularly on an ageing boat though? If I didn't my engines would all have a nice patina of rust on. It would be nice if I could pull the engines to paint properly and correctly but that's not practical. As such there are always bits of pipe that show paint markings. It's not desirable but I'd rather paint than not and neither painted or not is not a reliable indicator of whether an engine is sound or not.
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Maybe, maybe not. The point is, that these look freshly painted, and not with much care, so it would at least raise a concern. I have seen plenty of oldish boats with spotless engines still on their original paint. Any that are painted would make me look a little closer, is all i'm saying. (especially if the engines are ones with quite possibly the worst reputation of any you will find in a mobo)
 
Fair enough. I am guilty of being liberal with the paint but what one could never accuse me of is skimping on engine maintenance.
 
Reputations gained from the internet dont always hold true. These engines are not new and if they are working well chances are that they will continue to do so. Check for paperwork/bills done on them, that might hold a clue, and maintenance / replacement parts availability etc. I have KAD42's which supposedly are also bad if you read the internet. Yet despite their "failings" they have lasted 27 years and still going strong. Resale and devaluation quite another story, but if it works in your favour it may still be worth having a look.
 
Injector lines on starboard engine look like they have been off as little or no paint. Worth asking if anything has been done.

Every boat is worth looking at as long as it’s not putting you out too much IMHO
 
Thanks guys, it's only an hour from me and if I didn't go somebody would only have me doing stuff at home :rolleyes: so a viewing I shall go forewarned with the info' provided, many thanks. Keep it coming.
 
I did not mean to pee on your chips, but just wanted you to go in with your eyes open. If the boat suits, make sure you get a good long sea trial showing that the engines will run at full/high speed without overheating, will reach full revs and will achieve a speed that is acceptable for the boat they are in. If they do all this, then assuming the rest of the boat is good and the price is right, it may just be worth buying.
 
Can offer no comment about the engines themselves. the only observation I would make about that picture is that the engines look really really tight in their space and would likely as not be really awkward and difficult to work on.
 
It's a shame the ad only states 190hp GMC's. It does look well looked after though.
 
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