King Cobra Outdrives

RWilson2526

RWilson2526

God
Firend still looking for his first boat...just found one yesterday that after months of looking at crap is ready to jump on quick as he is getting disguseted with the whole process.

It's a 1991 Four Winns Sundowner (225 or 235) that the owner in the add says has an OMC King Cobra outdrive. I had warned him that I hear that OMC parts are a little hard to find but doing some research it seems that King Cobra parts are even harder....although some are changeable to a Bravo outdrive, the ones attached to Chevy BB's are diffent then Ford BB's and some arent really King Cobra's they just call them that and on and on and on......

Anybody have any experience with them....I know it could last another 10 years and parts might not ever even be an issue....I dont want to rain on his parade either because he is done looking I think but was just curious any opinions you have.
 
run, run fast!!! The King Cobras wern't a bad design, its just that there is nothing out there for them. The after market has a few small items, Bomb has nothing for them. If you ever blow something in the drive(even something as small as a seal) theres nowhere to get a replacement. Sterndrives have allways been my specialty, I've been working on them since 85. I've only seen four or five King Cobras, and only have worked on 2. I couldn't even begin to point someone in the right direction for drive assembly tools. I have'nt read it, but I hear the Donzi sight has all the info about King Cobras and how hard it is to find parts.
 
Spare, thanks for the advice...unfortunately your advice was not heeded.

Listen to this horror story....now mind you this friend of mine is technically a customer so when I tried to warn him of what I had heard in the past about Cobra parts I was probably not as forceful as I should have been....he was so excited to find a boat he liked and looked in good shape I dont know if it was going to matter anyway....

so he goes to look at the boat the first time....engine startes well enough but wont shift into forward or reverse..."let me take it to my friend who works at a marina and has done all the repairs on her" he says....calls the next day and the guy tells him everything is ok, it was just the shift cable.

now I suggest that he makes the guy at least drag the boat to the water and give a shake down....NOPE, gives the guy the 6K and off he goes....

first day out on the water, engine doesnt want to go past maybe 3000 rpm, running a little rough...my friend is a motor head....older guy, has built engines from scratch forever blah blah so he's upset but figures the carbs need a rebuild....searches forever finally finds carb kit, in process of accessing carbs and filters and such has to cut cooling water hose...searches again for replacement hose but does finally find one....buys 2 of everything for future repairs.

adds new brakes and master cylinder to trailer, buys tow insurance, probably in for another $600 at this point...

takes the boat to the water for 2nd time......drives it around for a little while....all of sudden wont shift amongst other problems ....raises the outdrive and gear oil is pouring out of the lower unit....

takes it to a boat mechanic who pulls the drive and finds all sorts of JB weld in the outdrive....not sure what the hell someone can fix in an outdrive with JB weld but thats what it was apparently. (boat mechanics bill for tearing it down and telling him he is screwed is $325)

Now he finds out although there are replacement refurbished drives available the prices seem to range from $2800 to $4500+!!.... Found a guy that specializes in replacing complete Cobra drives with Bravo drives estimated price $9000!

Tried to call the PO and say WTF with the JB weld, that wasnt part of the deal, but guy wont return calls.

At this point as he really doesnt have the money for any of those options he is thinking of looking over the winter for a junker with a functional Bravo drive and doing the conversion himself....either way its been a huge financial disaster for him.

Not that you guys need to know this but lesson learned I guess is dont let that excitement of finding what you think is the right boat and turn a blind eye to the potential problems that may be lurking.
 
Man do I feel sorry for this guy...Have him give you the exact part details etc, I will make some calls, you will not believe this I give the guy I brought my V from here in Orlando last year a complete cobra outdrive engine and all . I call him ...
 
That was a king Cobra, wasn't it. Which motor did it have, the 5.7 GM, 5.8 Ford, 460 Ford, or 7.4 GM. Theres not much out there for the Fords, but the gm could easily be swaped over to Mercruiser. If you could find one, the Volvo SX(otherwise known as the Cobra SX), would probably be the easiest swap depending on which motor he has
 
yup, it is a King Cobra outdrive with the 5.7 GM motor....I'm sure he'll get it figured out once the shock wears off. If you find ant cheap outdrives that will work anytime in the near future let me know.

NYMack, thanks for the offer, I'll get some more details on model numbers and such.
 
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