In early Pearsons, the A4 installations were raw water cooled, so that in
salt water the engines were toast after 15 years or so. A good fresh-water
A4 might be a good replacement. In any case, the original Pearson work on
tanks, exhausts and engine beds was awful and should be re-engineered.
I owned such a boat and re-powered with a Westerbeke. It was somewhat
bulkier than the A4 and we therefore lost some space in the galley. I never
regretted the investment.
"Thomas Wentworth" wrote in message
news:%tAqf.1851$kb1.1844@trndny09...

"rhys" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 14:29:02 -0500, "Jonathan W."
wrote:


On the other hand, a rebuilt as good as new Atomic 4 engine, which has
served the boat well already for some 30 odd years, can usually be had
for just under 5K, and they are usually quieter than diesels to begin
with.

I had my '73 Atomic 4 block rebuilt for $1,200 by auto rebuilders. I
reassembled the engine myself with new gaskets ($100) and got a
mechanic to test it, paint it and help me install it. That was $900.

I spent another $600 for a new tank, hoses, exhaust, Vetus water lock
(got for free in mint condition) and AquaPro fuel/water separator,
various clamps and ballcocks.

I put it in the boat August 1 and had over 100 hours on it by haul-out
Oct. 22. Ran like a champ. I picked up a second A4 and rebuilt the
block and it's in "cold storage" for immediate drop-in (which is about
a six-hour job to cycle out the engines and transfer various bits).

It's cheap insurance when your season is May 1-Oct 22. And with a
32-year-old boat worth at best $25K, putting $10K or better of new
diesel into it, plus the mods I'd need to do to the shaft log, fuel
system, etc.,would be foolhardy. I can buy/install about four Atomic
4s for every diesel, and as I've picked up a whack of spares for
trade, barter and sale, I have a nice little sideline.

Do what you will, but it's better than 50% that A4 can be revived,
refreshed and rebuilt to drive the Pearson for another couple of
decades.

R.

=========================================

I had a call back from a Westerbeke engine rep.. He said the replacement
engine for the Atomic 4 was $7100.

It weighs around 275 lbs. It goes on the same mounts as the AT 4.

There might be some other work ... fuel tank, etc.

I am learning soooo much.