Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines 4 bangers

Hi
I've read in the past several months or years, all the same at my age, an article about inline engines that mentioned a Mercruiser 4 cylinder as well as a munber of other 4 and 6 inline engines, just can't find or remember where I read it. Can anyone help, Hot Rod, Rod & Custom, Street Rodder? I've looked through the ones I have, but didn't see it.
Thanks Bob

not sure which post.
the gm 2.5 and 3.0 liter engines used in forklifts, industrial and marine applications are great candidates for reuse.

they use a common SBC bellhousing bolt pattern.
3.0 has a 4" bore
cross flow heads are available for the 4 bangers too.

i have 2 extra 3.0 from forklifts. rebuilt another in the past, they are great engines. tom

The 470 Mercruiser is a four, pretty awesome too. Same as 1/2 an aluminum Ford 460. Can use the Motorsport head as well. Can't say about the article though.

I remember reading about a drag roadster running one of the Ford Mercruiser four's with a 6-71 blower and he ran in the high 8's. He was out of the Southeast somewhere.

Ron

Hi
Thanks guys, I think it must be the 470 Mercruiser I was reading about, I'll persue that further. Anyone got one?

Thanks Bob

I have one. Its close to its first start up after about 3-4 years of working part time on it.
Jan

Our own "12-Port News" ran an article on the Mercuriser 4-banger several year ago. I'm looking through my back issues to see if I can find the issue (year/month) and will give you a heads up if I locate it.

It's a pretty impressive motor and the ability to use a Ford 460 (aluminum) head should provide some very good flow numbers.

Found the article:

It's in the March/April 1999 issue (Vol 19 Issue 2) with Bill Carrlson's GMC/Arias dragster on the cover. The short (1 page) article is by Stuart Nichols #261 and can be found on page 12.

While the article isn't very long, it sure caught my attention to remember it a decade later. There is a small box with some useful specs (bore, stroke, rod length, etc.) that should be of interest.

Stuart? His friends call him "Sarge" and he's the tech adviser for the 470 Merc here at Inliners. You should see the one he's building now. To check valve stem clearance, you reach in the port and grab it!

I think the R&C or Street Rodder article you were refering to was about the Quad 4 engine and linked to http://www.Quad4rods.com in Denver.

Chased down the articles it was written by Chris Shelton in the June and July 2002 Streetrodder magazines.

WOW!!! Looks awesome. What displacement is it? Can it be made into a 270? How is that done? Where can I get a manual on this engine? Please write up an article on your engine, you'll get tired of me asking questions. Are those freestanding wet liners or are they supported in the head? See what I mean.
Thanks Bob

Go to the Mercruiser dealers in Roseburg for a manual, an added bonus for some is the bellhousing pattern is Chevy.

Hi
Just had one of those "duh" moments when Russk suggested I look in 12 Port News, the one place I hadn't looked and sure enough May/June 07, page 20, the Big Four, a 274 CID Mercruiser. You know it, the very article I could remember reading , but forgot where. I want to put it in a street drivable car and use it for daily transport, what say all of you, Pinto, Chevette, or some import econobox?
thanks guys, Bob

FORD MOTORSPORTS USED TO LIST THE mERCRUISER BLOCKS IN THEIR CATALOG. YOU MAY BE ABLE TO FIND A NEW BLOCK IN THEIR SYSTEM.

Local Ford dealer and Mercruiser dealer haven't a clue, casting my net wider.
Bob

You can download the manual from this link:
http://www-alt.mercurymarine.com/mnetdata/SERVICE/CRUISER/Servmanl/08/cover.pdf
Jan

[quote] Hi
Just had one of those "duh" moments when Russk suggested I look in 12 Port News, the one place I hadn't looked and sure enough May/June 07, page 20, the Big Four, a 274 CID Mercruiser. You know it, the very article I could remember reading , but forgot where. I want to put it in a street drivable car and use it for daily transport, what say all of you, Pinto, Chevette, or some import econobox?
thanks guys, Bob [quote]

Depends what you want out of it, if you want economy, with some power I would get the engine, trans, computer, and harness out of a wrecked Solsice (or any of it's GM variants) and go from there.

If you want an engine that can pull stumps, then I would lean towards the built up Mercruiser.

FWIW the current news stand issue of Hot Rod has an article on how to get (IIRC) 374HP out of the Supercharged Ecotec, it involves replacing the cams and blower though, so not especially cheap (but they speculated on possible '30s' MPG depending on if what it's in is light enough).

"If you want an engine that can pull stumps, then I would lean towards the built up Mercruiser."
Yep, pretty much what I'm looking for, strong puller right off of idle and good to 5k and most of all, something I can tune, i.e. carbs. Have to admit though that GMC twin cam sure is pretty.
Bob

You can get some real horsepower out of the mercruiser, but they have their issues like all engines. You can get them used on boat forums all the time, but those guys are a little prouder of their stuff than we are. There's a guy in florida that has a turbocharged one in the 7's, but he cracked a lot of blocks getting there.

"but they have their issues like all engines."

Would like to know what issues this engine does have, I understand prices from Mercury will he sky high and the usual corossion on/in alloy blocks, what else? Is the starter specific to this engine or do other starters work? Water pump?
Bob

Prices are a little higher because of the uniqueness of this engine. However, there are marine parts suppliers that can supply parts. They buy the parts from Mecruiser and other vendor and give better prices.

I haven't seen any corrosion issues. If anything corrosion would occur because of lack of maintenance.

Yes, the starter is specific because it has the standard Mercruiser 2-bolt mounting flange. They are available in a Delco type case. I'm using a 7lb geared starter that I found available.

The water pump is built into the engine block, and does have seal problems with water leaking into the oil sump. The cure is to keep the seals fresh.
Jan