JamesgangNC wrote:
Most of the stingrays came with several engine selections. I suspect the v8
might not have been one on the 17 footer. I have a 5.7 in my 19 ft
stingray. Stingrays are ok at going fast so I would not let that worry you,
mine does low 60's. Stingrays flaw is they ride hard, but that's what makes
them go fast :-) The v6 is not a lot longer that the 4. All the v6's and
v8's are very interchangable as long as there is space for them. A lot of
the brackets are identical because the v6 is really just a small block
missing a couple cylinders. But the inline 4 is a different beast. You
will need to get a pretty complete v6 or 8 with brackets and many of the
accessories. This means getting an after market long block is proably not
the route to go. You would need to find someone selling a complete engine.
And as others have mentioned the drive ratio might be too far out for a v
engine. And that means changing the upper gearset. Working on the drive
internals takes a lot of tools so you would have to take your upper unit to
a shop for that. Unfortunately the 4 banger is sold on a lot of boats to
makle the entry price low. But in many cases it is underpowered. To new
buyers they seem pretty fast at first, especially when it's just the buyer
and the salesman. But then you get them loaded up with a bunch of gear and
the family and then try to pull up a slalom skier it's a whole different
story. I highly suspect you can get enough for this boat to not have to
spend a lot more to get a v6 in a similar runabout. Easily less than you
would spend to convert it. Unless you are really attached to the boat or
have some cheap sources for parts I'd sell and buy a bigger one.



"trainfan1" wrote in message
...

Is there anyone here who has done this - or can point to an internet
reference? Am looking at a Stingray 17 which seems severely
underpowered with the 3.0. Do the bellhousing patterns match? Are
there conversion kits / adaptors available?

Thanks, Rob



I'm not concerned at all with the labor aspect (my labor) or the parts,
the job would likely be completed with the use of an entire donor
boat... I just would like to know of someone who has done it to expand
on the finer points of the swap... bellhousing/flywheel/coupler, etc.

The Stingray is a great boat for some good speed - I only wish they
didn't fade so quickley...

Rob