Hi all, bought my boat august knowing it had engine problems. Its a 97 commander 21 open bow with dominator jet. I got the engine pulled and found the main bearing spun and practically gone. anyways I am figuring out what I want to do, mechanic said if it were him he'd buy a long block and start over in terms of reliability. There was lots of metal sent throughout the motor and in terms of machine work it would be cheaper to start over than pay for machine work. I am contemplating doing the machine work and punching out to 468, I'm not trying to break the bank and want something that will last. I prefer to stay around 4k and stay on pump gas. Not trying to go 80mph, just want to cruise with family and maybe go 50/60 mph max. It is a gen 5, 454, 4 bolt in there now, has some automotive parts on it now that i need to replace (distributor is not marine, intake manifold doesn't match the Holley 800 it has on it. headers are Barr Marine CHVA 192, but other than that I plan on using everything that came on it. Any thoughts on what you would do? Should I just start over do a mild cam and stay 454 or punch out to 468? I have a buddy who builds engines who will help me out now.

Problem with buying a long block is buying one with marine spec clearances. Bearings, piston to wall, valve guides, all need to be a little larger clearance than a street car engine. I think it is better to find a good machine shop who knows boat engines and rebuild your engine if its salvageable. Good rod bolts, forged Pistons, mild cam, matching valve springs, and you should have a nice reliable 450hp or so depending on which heads you have. You could probably do that within your budget if you are careful and run a flat tappet cam (with Lucas zinc additive of course in your oil)

That's just my idea and my .02. That said hope it all goes well for you


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Get a quote from Bostick. I think you will be pleased with the price and definitely with the end result.

From what I've seen my motor is probably salvageable, But you can get a stock marine long block from summit for 2800 shipped with $125 core charge(keep my core and rebuild later).   I am scared to buy a motor from someone on craigslist or forums unless they are well know. I need to do more research on that from my end. to many horror stories from friends that have been ripped off with bad motors.

Cool I'll look him up