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Bought my first ski boat - 93 Echelon LX


iwam

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Just picked her up yesterday, its a 93 Malibu Echelon Lx.  I bought it because the interior and carpet were done a year or two ago so they are pretty much in perfect condition, although the Prince color scheme wouldn't have been my first choice. 

In terms of work it needs, I bought it with a seized 5.7 liter Merc and I intend on dropping in either a reman motor, or more than likely a chevy 350 crate motor.  Maybe someone can chime in and offer advice on the subject  You can see the trailer went through quite a hack job in order to create a removable tongue, I'll be correcting that as well as the off-road height before I put any more serious miles on.  Luckily it held together for the 400 mile trip home

Once the necessities are taken care of (engine and trailer) I'll turn my attention to re doing the dashboard, and restoring the swim platform

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Ha! I just saw that one this morning on CL!

Great purchase. Check out @Michigan boarder 's thread on his 388 stroker motor. Might be worthwhile to tear that one apart and see what it needs before buying a complete. Parts for the Chevy 350s are some of the most reasonable around if you have someone to help you through the process and a good local engine machine shop.

Congrats and :welcome:

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That boat looks great.  The front of that trailer is really kludged together, in addition to removable tongue, the side frame rails not really being attached in the front and that whole front winch mount.  But, that boat's the kind of project I enjoy, nice interior, just needs something simple like an engine to get it going.

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Congrats on the new project. Sounds like you're going into it with the right mindset.

BTW, what's with the upholstered piece on the back of the engine cover? Isn't there usually some cup holders & a vent there?

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
  • Like 1
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Very nice find!  Makes me miss my 95 Sanger DLX, very similar boat, ski, wake board and barefoot friendly. Will be a fun project.

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@Iwam:  Congrats on the purchase & welcome to the Crew.  As for engine, if you go the reman or crate route, make sure you swap over or maintain all the marinized elements of the powertrain, things like alternator, starter, distributor, carb as they are different than automotive in the aspect of spark suppression and fuel vapor / spill issues.  The engine is probably a Merc Tournament Ski edition so it is 265 hp and is pre Vortec cylinder heads so if the upper end needs an upgrade, the newer (post '96) cylinder heads are a nice option & will put you at the 310 hp range.  That engine comes with a GM Marine cam, which is very good and is different from what the automotive applications will have.

As noted, the attached panel at the back of the engine box normally has a bungee net on the back side and the top contains 4 drink cup holders that do have holes in them to allow some warm air to escape.

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7 hours ago, footndale said:

Have leak down test done first. It might just need head gaskets.  Glad to see someone here got it.

Apparently engine ran last year after a major overheat, but cooling water caused the engine to hydrolock while running.  The seller did clear out the water and winterize it, but the engine wont turn over this year...I pulled a few plugs and found rust..

 

7 hours ago, Woodski said:

@Iwam:  Congrats on the purchase & welcome to the Crew.  As for engine, if you go the reman or crate route, make sure you swap over or maintain all the marinized elements of the powertrain, things like alternator, starter, distributor, carb as they are different than automotive in the aspect of spark suppression and fuel vapor / spill issues.  The engine is probably a Merc Tournament Ski edition so it is 265 hp and is pre Vortec cylinder heads so if the upper end needs an upgrade, the newer (post '96) cylinder heads are a nice option & will put you at the 310 hp range.  That engine comes with a GM Marine cam, which is very good and is different from what the automotive applications will have.

As noted, the attached panel at the back of the engine box normally has a bungee net on the back side and the top contains 4 drink cup holders that do have holes in them to allow some warm air to escape.

Thanks for the info.  I've been shopping around a bit, but haven't settled on a motor yet.  The only issue is the crate motors don't seem to be set up for a mechanical fuel pump.  I hope I'm wrong, otherwise the crate motors won't be as plug and play as I hoped

 

On 5/22/2016 at 1:07 PM, jk13 said:

Ha! I just saw that one this morning on CL!

Great purchase. Check out @Michigan boarder 's thread on his 388 stroker motor. Might be worthwhile to tear that one apart and see what it needs before buying a complete. Parts for the Chevy 350s are some of the most reasonable around if you have someone to help you through the process and a good local engine machine shop.

Congrats and :welcome:

Cool I'll have to take a look

 

On 5/22/2016 at 1:18 PM, MadMan said:

That boat looks great.  The front of that trailer is really kludged together, in addition to removable tongue, the side frame rails not really being attached in the front and that whole front winch mount.  But, that boat's the kind of project I enjoy, nice interior, just needs something simple like an engine to get it going.

Its sketchy.  The removable tongue device is coming off, and the botched cross member and winch set up are going to get a re-do

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If you go crate motor... not only do you need to retain your marine alternator, starter, etc... You will also need to change your freeze plugs to brass, update cam to rv/marine... I would go re-manufactured or rebuild what you got... I put a thunderbolt marine re-manufactured engine in my sunsetter and have not had any issues.... there are also other providers for the marine re-manufactured engines.

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Lots of potential there!  Not regretting my hyped up engine at all, ran her around last night with the new prop, boat freaking hauls.

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@iwam:  it sounds like a cracked cylinder head / block or bad head gasket from the overheat allowed water in to the cylinders, leak down test would confirm which is the offender.  I would certainly do an autopsy and determine what parts are "broken" and what actually needs replacing to use as a good guide on what direction you take moving forward.  Mechanical fuel pump should be a simple swap over, just verify the replacement has the mounting pad and you use a cam with the fuel pump lobe, or simply go with an electric pump, Indmar used them on carbed engines.

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23 hours ago, kerpluxal said:

If you go crate motor... not only do you need to retain your marine alternator, starter, etc... You will also need to change your freeze plugs to brass, update cam to rv/marine... I would go re-manufactured or rebuild what you got... I put a thunderbolt marine re-manufactured engine in my sunsetter and have not had any issues.... there are also other providers for the marine re-manufactured engines.

I havn't yet looked into reman motors, is there a short list of reputable companies somewhere?

10 hours ago, 95echelon said:

Cool project, where are you from if you don't mind us asking?

Minneapolis MN

9 hours ago, Michigan boarder said:

Lots of potential there!  Not regretting my hyped up engine at all, ran her around last night with the new prop, boat freaking hauls.

Nice, what did the engine rebuild cost if you don't mind me asking?

8 hours ago, Woodski said:

@iwam:  it sounds like a cracked cylinder head / block or bad head gasket from the overheat allowed water in to the cylinders, leak down test would confirm which is the offender.  I would certainly do an autopsy and determine what parts are "broken" and what actually needs replacing to use as a good guide on what direction you take moving forward.  Mechanical fuel pump should be a simple swap over, just verify the replacement has the mounting pad and you use a cam with the fuel pump lobe, or simply go with an electric pump, Indmar used them on carbed engines.

I'd do a leak down if I could get the engine to turn over! 

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11 hours ago, iwam said:

Nice, what did the engine rebuild cost if you don't mind me asking?

About $5,100 plus labor (I got a good deal on the labor).  We also spent $500 to dyno test it.  I then updated the exhaust including manifolds and back, fuel lines, another $1,600.  My wife loves me.

  • Like 2
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18 hours ago, iwam said:

I havn't yet looked into reman motors, is there a short list of reputable companies somewhere?

Minneapolis MN

Nice, what did the engine rebuild cost if you don't mind me asking?

I'd do a leak down if I could get the engine to turn over! 

I am not sure where you are located, I used Thunderbolt in Houston Tx. Jasper also provides them. There are quite a few when I googled.. but the only "reputable dealer" I know is the one I used, I have not used anybody else... and hopefully won't have to again ;)

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Anyone have experience with Center State Engine? They have the best deal I've found so far on brand new marine 350's.  $2695+249 shipping.  

 

Sounds like reman motors generally have a good reputation, but for ~$500 extra I think I might look towards new

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2 hours ago, Michigan boarder said:

And we're off!  Do you see anything that shows what went wrong yet?

Head gasket blew in 2 cylinders and engine was ran that way for a looong time.  At least 3 qts of water in the oil pan!

2 hours ago, oldjeep said:

Only one place you need to look for a motor

http://www.michiganmotorz.com/marine-engines-c-31.html

 

And - Hello neighbor

Hi, I'm in St. Louis Park, not too far from you

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Just now, iwam said:

Head gasket blew in 2 cylinders and engine was ran that way for a looong time.  At least 3 qts of water in the oil pan!

Hi, I'm in St. Louis Park, not too far from you

Cool, my office (that I never go to) is in SLP.   Looks like you have things well in hand, but let me know if you need any help

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What are your rebuild plans?  Just a couple of notes from the pictures - those shiny valve covers are aftermarket & the 4 holes at the back of the engine box are where cupholders normally reside.

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44 minutes ago, oldjeep said:

Cool, my office (that I never go to) is in SLP.   Looks like you have things well in hand, but let me know if you need any help

Sounds good!

35 minutes ago, Michigan boarder said:

Are you going with vortec heads or keeping the old ones?

Decided to go with the pre vortech motor to keep things simple.  Haven't done an engine replacement before, so I'm going to keep it plug n play

4 minutes ago, Woodski said:

What are your rebuild plans?  Just a couple of notes from the pictures - those shiny valve covers are aftermarket & the 4 holes at the back of the engine box are where cupholders normally reside.

Ordered a new marine long block, should be going in in the next week or two.  Good eye, the current engine is a reman engine put in in 2012

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Looks like fun. :)

Remove you engine cover from the boat to make it easier on you.

Since you are removing the engine, I would put new fuel line from tank to engine, just so you know that you have new good line.

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