Mercruiser 188 Ford 302 rebuild or replace

[calviclassic]

Hello
A friend has acquired a boat with a mercruiser 188 that needs potentially rebuilding, any recommendations of where to take it or perhaps a suitable more modern alternative to replace with?
Tia

 

[B58]

Thats quite an old Mercruiser the 302 bloc might be more available than any Mercruiser parts...Your best option is too look for a good 4.3MPI or 5.0MPI with Alpha package, or a new 4.5MPI 200hp which would be a great replacement.

 

[AndieMac]

Hello
A friend has acquired a boat with a mercruiser 188 that needs potentially rebuilding, any recommendations of where to take it or perhaps a suitable more modern alternative to replace with?
Tia

As already mentioned very old gear, possibly back to late 1970's. You could invest a lot of money on rebuilding and still not get it right.
A lot depends on boat size and weight and what you friend intends to do with his boat, but it's nice to have plenty of spare horsepower and torque. A new MPI key to prop package will certainly improve their boating experience