Volvo Penta identification please?

rbcoomer

rbcoomer

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The Tropics of the English Riviera!
www.swfbr.org.uk
Can anyone help identify this inboard - I believe it could be an AQ231A, but unsure. I can't find a plate giving model etc - despite hanging like a bat inside the engine bay! :D

2nd picture shows a number but molded on a part not main block so presumably not a serial? Any idea where serial might be?

Boat is a Fletcher Arrowbolt circa 1980 if that helps.

Thanks in advance.

arrowbolt_PICT0033.JPG


arrowbolt_PICT0010.JPG
 
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same engine as mine 4.3 gl v6 aq230
red engine pic is original in boat the day i picked it up the whole boat had no cover on it for 7 months, over the winter

3 years later to this sprayed up version to match the colur of the boat interior, absolutely beautiful engine thou have loved working on it. I have a V/P manual on the engine, any info needed give me a call, my engine number was on the top intake manifold behind the carb

mark,

ps down your way Saturday, any ideas on the weather side of things, all internet sites weather look ok to good,
 
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Craning it in that day was not funny:eek:

Sorry you have the V8 I recon its the big brother of mine the aq431, with the rochester 4me carburetor.

Lovely project on your hands,?????:D:D

mark
 
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Hi Mark,

Great pictures! I may have to remove too as quite a bit of cockpit floor needs replacing along with bulkheads either side of fuel tank. The floor hasn't actually rotted, but boat has been without cover for many years and the laminate has rotted and separated from the blocks. It's a block-board floor and whilst the blocks themselves are not rotted, they have moved and 'sunk' in the middle without the laminates to keep them in place. She should be a great project and I will start a thread shortly, but still working through initial assessment - hence wish to identify parts etc.

I'll try my bat trick again later today for engine details - now that I know where to look!

Thick mist down here today in Kingskerswell - about 150 yards vis! Yesterday was mostly sunny and calm with an occasional gust or two. Mist will probably lift mid-morning - I'll let you know later!

A few of us are still meeting up on the water next weekend weather permitting - are you still up for it?

Regards,

Robin
 
Yeh still up for next weekend, weather permiting, kids will be with us thou, cant get anyone to look after them any idea thou sat or sun or both ?

best thing ill be in contact mid week.

cant wait to see the project thread started:D:D

mark
 
markcw said:
Yeh still up for next weekend, weather permiting, kids will be with us thou, cant get anyone to look after them any idea thou sat or sun or both ?

best thing ill be in contact mid week.

cant wait to see the project thread started:D:D

mark
Click to expand...

Both Saturday and Sunday I think is the plan! Anthony is coming down Friday and will probably put in Friday night, John's on a Mooring on the Dart anyway and I'll launch/recover each day - probably Teignmouth. Not sure about Adrian - he'll probably launch Saturday and stay at MDL Brixham with Anthony perhaps.

I'll aim to start the project thread at the weekend. Started pulling up the flooring last night and fitted the camper cover so the inside can dry out. The cover had shrunk so had to soak and stretch! Couldn't figure where the bits of stainless frame used to attach :confused:, so have tent-poled using the rear seat for now so any rain runs off! (Should drain the water out of the seats too!)
 
Hi Robin,
The engine looks like either an AQ231 (v8 5.0l) or AQ271 (v8 5.7l) The blocks and layout are identical except for the bore size (been working on both over the last few months so know most of this first hand. As you have realised the makers plate is at the rear next to the oil filter housing....... what might be easier to see is the block cast number which is in the middle of the block on each side under the manifold. 628 will be the AQ231, but can't remember the number for the 5.7.
Hope it helps....... out of curiosity, why do you need to identify the engine? Is it for specific parts or just so you know what it is? :)
 
Prospect and Sunray said:
Hi Robin,
The engine looks like either an AQ231 (v8 5.0l) or AQ271 (v8 5.7l) The blocks and layout are identical except for the bore size (been working on both over the last few months so know most of this first hand. As you have realised the makers plate is at the rear next to the oil filter housing....... what might be easier to see is the block cast number which is in the middle of the block on each side under the manifold. 628 will be the AQ231, but can't remember the number for the 5.7.
Hope it helps....... out of curiosity, why do you need to identify the engine? Is it for specific parts or just so you know what it is? :)
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Thanks for that. The vendor said it was a 5.0, and I determined AQ231 as a likely contender from trawling the web and 'comparing' features. The reason I wanted to know was a bit of both. I'll obviously need parts and as the boat has laid unused for about 3 years, there are some bits I'll change as a matter of course before running up - oil, plugs belts etc, but will probably find other tired bits!
 
markcw said:
ps down your way Saturday, any ideas on the weather side of things, all internet sites weather look ok to good,
Click to expand...

Glorious sunshine since about 9ish - I can't guarantee for tomorrow but looks promising at the moment! A bit of scattered high cloud but very little 'obstructive' stuff! :cool: Taking son to beach this evening for an hour, so hopefully will hold up... :)
 
rbcoomer said:
Thanks for that. The vendor said it was a 5.0, and I determined AQ231 as a likely contender from trawling the web and 'comparing' features. The reason I wanted to know was a bit of both. I'll obviously need parts and as the boat has laid unused for about 3 years, there are some bits I'll change as a matter of course before running up - oil, plugs belts etc, but will probably find other tired bits!
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No worries there Robin, the good news is the 5.0L and the 5.7L are generic blocks which use the same belts, water pump carb etc..... the only difference is in the bores, so don't worry too much about the consumables you can't go wrong. Only real difference is in the early and later engines, where the rocker covers either have 4 bolts down the centre or have the bolts on the outside of the lip of the cover. If you have any questions feel free to drop me a line and I will help if I can :)
 
Prospect and Sunray said:
No worries there Robin, the good news is the 5.0L and the 5.7L are generic blocks which use the same belts, water pump carb etc..... the only difference is in the bores, so don't worry too much about the consumables you can't go wrong. Only real difference is in the early and later engines, where the rocker covers either have 4 bolts down the centre or have the bolts on the outside of the lip of the cover. If you have any questions feel free to drop me a line and I will help if I can :)
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Thanks. I'm starting to doubt my initial guess at the AQ231 now - I've downloaded a VP pdf file with spec of the 231A and it shows in their illustration, the oil filter on the starboard side - mine's on the port side! It's possible of course that what I've downloaded used a 'stock' image, but I think I'm going to have to crawl in and find that plate! :o
 
scottie said:
Try the outdrive if original a VP dealer could tell you from it's plate what it was fitted to!
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Unfortunately this has been swapped with a used Alpha 1 as the original was apparently knackered... Good theory though :)

Camera at the ready however and going out in a minutes to see if I can get anything close to a readable picture by just shoving my arm down there now that I know where id plate should be!
 
rbcoomer said:
Unfortunately this has been swapped with a used Alpha 1 as the original was apparently knackered... Good theory though :)

Camera at the ready however and going out in a minutes to see if I can get anything close to a readable picture by just shoving my arm down there now that I know where id plate should be!
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Robin, try to get a pic of where the water marks are, on your earlier pictures. The waterlines are roughly where the block casting number is :)
 
Prospect and Sunray said:
Robin, try to get a pic of where the water marks are, on your earlier pictures. The waterlines are roughly where the block casting number is :)
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Thanks, will try that tomorrow. Took about 2 dozen pics this evening, but nothing apparent - either too dark, too blurred or indiscernible :mad:

Will get better organised tomorrow, cut back some more overhanging rose so it doesn't keep ripping lumps out of me, get some wood to lay across for better access, stick my head in there again and drop in some illumination! :D

I'm also getting the fuel tank and bulkheads out soon to remove cockpit floor, so that may also improve access.
 
Well, having turned myself inside-out and taken loads of pictures with phone (smaller than camera), I can find no evidence of an id plate or block casting number in the areas expected. I did find a number impressed on the block in the area identified by green circle below, but difficult to read through paint! Looks like ?80777. There are no other identifying numbers I can see, so guessing it must be on transom side and will remain undiscovered until the engine is removed! :(

arrowbolt_PICT0033_edit.jpg
 
Ok, after a bit of digging online and turning up a few manuals, I have some further clues...

This is the label on the carb:

sm_PICT0011.JPG


Looking at the workshop manual timings:-

Basic setting (idling) 500A, 501A, 570 (AQ211A, AQ231A,
BB231A, AQ271C, BB261A) .......................................................... 6° B.T.D.C.

Basic setting (idling) 500B, 501B, 572, AQ271A,
AQ311A, B ...................................................................................... 8° B.T.D.C.

Although there's a discrepancy on the rpm, if 8° BTDC is the correcting timing, then either the unit is a 500B/501B or it's a 5.7L lunit such as the AQ271A (as suggested elsewhere above!) Unfortunately, I've not yet determined year of boat either, but leaning towards early to mid 80's. Assuming the unit is original, resolving one might yield clues to the other.

In taking more pictures however I've spotted some areas of the transom that warrant further investigation, so it's likely that the power unit will be coming out anyway soon. :rolleyes:
 
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