Big block short block.

The friendliest place on the web for anyone who enjoys boating.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

CooperBrewer

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2017
Messages
66
Location
USA
Vessel Name
Hiatus
Vessel Make
Cooper Prowler
Best place to get a reman. gas 7.4 Mercruiser short block. Atlantic, Mabbco, Marine Engine Depot, Michigan Motors? Thank you :)
 
I was looking at a boat that needed new engines. I checked around and Michigan Motors had the best prices. Asked my mechanic and he said he had used them before and has no issues. But the boat deal fell through so I didn’t buy the engines. No affiliation.
 
I have only done business with Michigan Motors. I have never bought a long or short block from them. I did turn an old '83 vintage 454 in to an updated gen 4 motor and they were very helpful. Sent me all the correct parts and everything worked great. With that as my past experience they would be my first pick for doing a block replacement but they certainly are not the only game in town. Right now I think you are going to find it challenging to even find a long or short block ready to go. You might be forced to use who ever actually has one in stock.
 
There are many on ebay. From $1800 up.
 
I have only done business with Michigan Motors. I have never bought a long or short block from them. I did turn an old '83 vintage 454 in to an updated gen 4 motor and they were very helpful. Sent me all the correct parts and everything worked great. With that as my past experience they would be my first pick for doing a block replacement but they certainly are not the only game in town. Right now I think you are going to find it challenging to even find a long or short block ready to go. You might be forced to use who ever actually has one in stock.



Been checking them. They, like most others... only want to deal with long blocks. I need to short-block the engine, just to get it into the boat... and I already have heads. All that said, long-block may be my only choice.
 
There are many on ebay. From $1800 up.



I've been checking that, too. I found a company called gmpowertrainwarehouse.com through eBay, that will sell me a short block, but I can't find any reviews on them.
 
The engine rebuild is only as good as the warranty,

A rebuild is a lot of work to R&R , I would choose NAPA or O'Rilley one of the other name brands.

Saving a couple of hundred is not worth the effort for a another R&R.

Otherwise a local rebuild shop with a good reputation should work.
 
Last edited:
The engine rebuild is only as good as the warranty,

A rebuild is a lot of work to R&R , I would choose NAPA or O'Rilley one of the other name brands.

Saving a couple of hundred is not worth the effort for a another R&R.

Otherwise a local rebuild shop with a good reputation should work.



Now I'm looking at S&J.

Napa and O'Reilly sell ATK reman. engines. There are mixed reviews on ATK.

It seems that for the price, S&J has the best warranty. I also see that honoring warranty work can be a headache at all these places, but I think I'm going to go with S&J.

There is one local shop I'm considering, but the turnaround time is longer than I really want to wait.

It's not an easy world to navigate for sure.
 
Have you checked out Doug Russell Marine? They are a popular source for marine replacement engines.

A few years ago NAPA handled rebuilds on a wide variety of diesels and gas engines. A place I worked quit doing in house diesel rebuilds due to NAPA's excellent warranty and low failure incidence.
 
Have you checked out Doug Russell Marine? They are a popular source for marine replacement engines.



A few years ago NAPA handled rebuilds on a wide variety of diesels and gas engines. A place I worked quit doing in house diesel rebuilds due to NAPA's excellent warranty and low failure incidence.



I seems that right now they don't have any inventory of my engine :/
 
If your anywhere near St.Petersburg, I just recently used a mechanic there who just recently rebuilt two 454 (1989) 330hp Mercruisers for me. Did a great job. One of the engines was in such bad shape, that he found another to rebuild for me. Total cost for each was short of $3,000. He even changed a starter to get it test run. I don't know how this works, but I could email his name and phone number. He will reman installed for $4500.
 
If your anywhere near St.Petersburg, I just recently used a mechanic there who just recently rebuilt two 454 (1989) 330hp Mercruisers for me. Did a great job. One of the engines was in such bad shape, that he found another to rebuild for me. Total cost for each was short of $3,000. He even changed a starter to get it test run. I don't know how this works, but I could email his name and phone number. He will reman installed for $4500.



Thank you. I wish I would have read this a week ago. I found a block (this is the part of my old engine that was trash).

Between me and the machine shop, we're going to try and get one together.
 
Back
Top Bottom