My new 2001 and my first!

I suppose at this point you should try to dry fit the engine and trans in the boat with the original cradle. I would think moving the stringers and exhaust is going to be a lot more work than having to possibly drill new holes for the motor mounts on the old cradle.

This weekend I will be using 5he heater while I put the 318 back together. Not much warmer over here. But I will bring it over when I come to check out the parts this weekend.

Not sure that you can use the older stringer location as the mounts for the new engine are a lot lower than with the 351. You have to make sure that you can line up the shaft and transmission correctly.

You might end up doing something like this :

I bet the bigger boat had taller stringers or a deeper V hull thus the spacers having the motor mounts sitting below the stringers. the tranny mounts look identical to the ones on my 86 from what i can tell. I bet it will probably fit better than you think if you just throw it on the cradle to mock it up.

Worst case if it wont fit you could notch the holes wider in the cradle and and that would give you the extra inch you need or weld on a little material to make the cradle wider( just in the mount areas) because there is plenty of room from the notch in the factory stringers to clear the bolt heads a little wider.

phatsat67 wrote: I bet the bigger boat had taller stringers or a deeper V hull thus the spacers having the motor mounts sitting below the stringers.

Nope. Starting in '97, CC lowered the engine in the hull and ran a shallower shaft angle.

Id tend to go with Roger's idea of 2 or 3 piecing the main stringers. Either run a wider section around the engine, or a narrower section at the rear to accomodate the exhaust. Moving or replacing those ports would be a major PITA. I also wouldnt try and adapt the wider Excal motor mounts onto the narrower Ford cradle. Even if you can adjust the mounts the 1/2" you need, you wont leave yourself much (if any) room for adjustment when it comes time to do the alignment. Thats going to be critical on this project- lots of variables to contend with.

I made a mock up of the engine and tried to get the height and angle of the shaft as close as possible. The engine will have to be lowered if I want to keep the engine in the same place as the last engine.

Also the shaft is more shallow like TR said so I it looks like the engine will have to be at a slight angle to have the shafts line up.

If this was a regular stringer rebuild and I was using the same engine I think I would have no issue doing this myself but the more I look at it I think I might have someone else do the floor and stringers and get the engine in. Then I can do the engine hook ups, fuel tank install, electrical, Stereo, Tower, interior and maybe the painting. It will cost a lot to have someone else do the floor but I think it will be worth it. Then if they mess up the engine placement it will be on them. I found someone local that is expensive but he seems to do good work. I am going to try to get him to come over and take a look at everything and see what kind of cost he comes up with. Here are some pics of my mock up.

the trans should be a 10 degree angle, you want to keep the engine on the mounts low but adjustable, because the higher you go the more the engine will become unstable. it looks as if the weight of the shaft is keeping it way low. you need to remove the shaft and install a 1" wood dowel and see where it winds up and work off of that. im sure the boat had a 1:1 which sat high in the front and i dont know the shaft angles with a 1:1, but I do know with the 1.23 the engine sits parallel in the stringers. i would also do some research to see if a different strut angle was used before you dive in

plus the 1:1 was in line with the crank and the 1.23 is offset higher by about 3 inches

I know the BW is 98 lbs and the 1.23 is 58lbs, there is 40 lbs already.
I dont know if there is a difference in the struts, i assumed there was because i thought the 1:1's sat at 12 degrees and the pcm sits at 10 degrees

Aka - I suggest making the overlap about twice as long as the diagram. Maybe the overlap can be pinned with dowels.


Also, reading your plan about the dryfit: please block the engine in well with 4x4's or similar (plus leaving some tension on the hoist) before getting your hands under it. I bet that was your plan but just wanted to make sure. You can't really trust those hoists!

Last thought - I took my boat off the trailer last fall - Used my floor jack & jack stand with (again the 4x4s). Had to move the jack & stand several times but got it done safely.

As mentioned before I would recommend the old cradle and the dual exhaust. Tim's not quite right about how the old one cradle works, the mounts do not lag into the stringers, they bolt on. There is an area scalloped out underneath the cradles where the mounts go that allows access to the underside of the cradle to put on the washer and nut using an open end wrench. Not the easiest to access and a bit of a pain to recreate when doing the stringer/floor job but functional. The only lags are the ones that hold the cradle to the stringers.

Putting the 1:23 trans into the older 2001s is a known quantity�

The strut and log stay the same. The transmission is longer and requires a shorter prop shaft 51 vs 54 inches. The transmission mounts bolt to the same place on the cradle I don�t know if you have the right ones or not but it looks like you do


Old left, new right.


The attaching blocks are different, but old top, new bottom, but the new would work on the old, maybe vice versa as well.



The main difference is the range of adjustment is centered much higher on the pcm style vs borg warner style

new on top, old on bottom


new left, old right


The engine mounts I think will be the same mounts you have but you might need different attaching blocks, I believe they put 350�s into a few 82-88 2001�s so I don�t think its going to be anything major. Bolt the back mounts up and you might need to drill a couple holes in the cradle for the front mounts but it should all fit.   Using the newer motor box maybe a little tricky, but not anywhere near the level of difficulty of trying to get everything else replaced and redesigned without a template to work off of.

Your gonna need two of these if your using the old cradle old strut and 51" shaft. Its the right transmission I dont know why its referred to as a 1.23:1 and yet is a 1.26:1 one of lifes mysteries I guess.

Also what block is in my engine? I can't find the specs online and the PCM service manual in the downloads section is to old and doesn't have my engine in it.

Thanks again guys!

It doesn't matter if one is not an L since you only bolt down from the top anyway. So actually the "L" is a waste and the other one is perfect.

JoeinNY wrote: I dont know why its referred to as a 1.23:1 and yet is a 1.26:1 one of lifes mysteries I guess.

Im almost positive that mine is stamped 1.23. I was surprised to see yours say 1.26- it must have changed during one of the minor updates over the last 20 years.

Aka, sounds like youre in good hands with Joe!

TRBenj wrote: Aka, sounds like you're in good hands with Joe!

I agree. I was freaking out a little thinking I was in over my head but I think I can handle it now! I just ordered all my stuff from US Composites and I am about to go out side and remove the remaining floor and foam still in the boat!