Re powering Stinger 260

[Andrewr612]

Hi, looking to repower 260 Stinger as original engines are getting tired and starting to effect reliability. Also starting to spend $ which I think may be better going towards new.

Currently have 2 x 260hp Merc 5.L fresh water cooled with Alpha 1 legs (1988) with 1200 hrs

Either way I want to get FWC again. I've been told to look at 300HP 350 Mag MPI with Alpha 1 drives or the 357 engine. I'm assuming Alpha drives are still best way to go (vs Bravo) for this bost. There is also choice of new or remanufactured although I've had bad experience in past with 2 Merc remanufactured drives (both died within weeks of each other due to faulty seals). Merc have special here at moment for 5.7L MPI for cost of 5.0L carb (saves around $5k per package). Although still a lot of money as nothing's cheap in Aust! However do do want something that is covered by Aust warranty from the Merc and the Merc installer.

Since I need to replace transom plates etc it's much more economical to go for the whole engine package than just replacing engine and other bits seperately.


Any suggestions etc would be greatly appreciated. I'm leaning towards MPI as have had quite a few issues with carb engines.

Thanks

[stinger390x]

The three hundreds sounds like a good deal? Try to get it with the fuel injection and the ignition module. You will save a pile on fuel and it is far more efficient than carburetion!!!

As for your Alphas...I would stick with them if your sure they are still in good shape. You won't need Bravos until you surpass the 400HP range as the Alphas will scatter with too much HP in front of them. The Alphas should work good and you will not need to make any expensive modifications to the transom.

I blew up one of my engines in my 260 the last year I owned it. Found a good four bold main small block but realized after installation that it had no hole in block for manual fuel pump. (something I overlooked in my haste to get back in the water) Doesn't matter though, as I bought an electric fuel pump for 90 bucks and it worked very well and was about the same as the other engine so I had no issues with one being more powerful than the other. They matched well, even thought the new block was a newer model than the original.

[Andrewr612]

Hi, thanks Stinger 390x. After talking with dealer today maybe worth considering Bravo FWC package as is similar price as Alpha FWC. Any ideas if Bravo will fit on/in my boat?

[stinger390x]

You'll have to modify the transom and im not sure as to what the situation is regarding some velvet drive transmissions or something else perhaps?
In all honesty I think your best bet is to stay with the Alphas as there is not much room in those engine bays to add to many extras as it is tight to begin with.

On my 390 I would love to repower with modern stuff but don't have the bucks. My dream would be to get a pair of 572 with superchargers and number 8 drives. I would have to totally redo my transom for the number 8's, but I could get rid of my Borg Warner transmissions completely causing both blocks to be further back in the bays as well as almost a thousand pounds saved if I get rid of two trannies.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh if I only had the money!

The one thing to do with your Alphas is try to find a counter rotation one if you can. This makes a huge difference oh as well as a tie bar for the drives. These would help so much for the performance of your boat.
Just put a tie bar on my buddies boat this summer and we noticed the difference in steering immediately! He has twin 260HP's with Alphas.

[Andrewr612]

Yes understand re Bravo transom etc. The thing is that I need to replace the transom plates anyway (Alpha 1 gen 1 plus corroded). The way it works out with this deal Merc have is its the same price to get a Bravo FWC engine with transom plate, drives, accessories, etc as for the equivalent in Alpha 1.

Plus the Bravo package has a 3 year factory warranty vs. the Alpha package which only has 1 year. So would rather go for the Bravo package. Do you know if the Bravo 350 MPI engines are the same physical size as my existing Alpha 350's? - as you say, there's not too much room in there....

Thanks

[stinger390x]

No... Alphas and Bravo's are two separate sized in aperture and physical size.
Your also going to be spending a few bucks for steering as well. Bravos should have a good Imco or similar type QUALITY steer and they are not cheap, unless you can find used.

[Andrewr612]

Thanks - measured up mine and got sizes off Merc and they are slightly narrower by a few cm so should fit, plus I found there are a few 260's advertised on the Internet with twin 350 Bravo's.

The package comes with steering, trim pumps etc etc so I should be right there. Also the cables to the power steer were replaced some time back with hydraulic from the steering wheel so I should be right there.

Still trying to get my head around spending some serious $ on this. It's at the age where the engines won't last much longer so best bet will be to sell them while they are still going / I can demo them while still in the boat.

I've figured that if I'm doing the engines I would do the paint job and upholstery plus some other bits and pieces which are in need of work. I'm way over capitalising on the boat but it will end up like a new boat. I've already done quite a bit to it (240v, AGM batteries,  fridges, shore power, elec toilet, hot water/shower, anchor winch, bimini's/clears, etc in last few years). Structurally the shipwright who's done occasional work on it thinks it's fine. Even if I go for remanufactured engines etc it's still in a similar ballpark of spending a lot.

The other option is to sell this and use the $ plus the extra I was going to spend on new motors to buy a much newer boat but with one engine with a few hundred hrs on it. Of course the newer boats generally have more space/amenities but don't have the classic lines of the stinger

The second option is probably more viable resale-wise but really like the Stinger! Thing is I'm wondering if I'm stupid spending so much money on an older boat - if it was a classic car it wouldn't be so much of an issue since the values generally go up...

What to do???...

[stinger390x]

Grab a moisture metre from someone of buy one as they are only about 50 bucks at Home Depot.
Check the hull for moisture. If it's any more than 25-30% get rid of the boat.

On the Stinger 260's the regular Stingers and the "Grew" Stingers had slight variations in hull design. The Canadian GREW Stingers were built much tougher (in my opinion) as I have noticed on the floor there were extra braces placed under the engines.
The one thing you MUST check closely is the cross section brace behind the back seat. This is a large section of wood and usually rots from rain water. If this is rotten get rid of the boat. I had to fix mine and it was not a pretty site! I got rain water in it and it totally disintegrated the wood to black powder chips. This is the main brace for the two sides and bottom so if it is rotten then get rid of the boat.
If its still good and the rest of the stringers are in good shape the boat has more life and go ahead and spend the money on upgrades.

[Andrewr612]

Thanks for that - I've bought a moisture meter for Fibreglass which I'll hopefully receive in the next few days. Will let you know how I go...

[Andrewr612]

Hi I got a Protimeter Aquant and went over it. I'm not actually sure how it's readings work in regards to %age. - it gives a measurement from 1 to 999. All around topsides of the boat I got around 70 including that part behind the seat you mentioned. Straight under the hull I got max of around 180. The transom was higher - about 220 and in one spot (next to a cable going) out I got 300+ - but only seemed to be a small spot and is actually right next to a cable the goes out through it, so possibly there is a leak there? However just above that a hole has recently been drilled when they added oil resovoirs for the drives and that wood is total dry. All around engine area seemed good - about 70.

I'm not overly sure how to read these numbers but it does have some LED's (green, yellow, red) and red only went off at the small patch on the transom.

This boat is kept dry when not being used so I'm assuming that helps...

[stinger390x]

Where ever it went "RED" you have issues!
I don't know what you mean by the digital readings as my two units go by percent. I have a very old unit and I just bought a brand new one last year as I thought my original one was lacking in accuracy? Turns out my old unit is still good, but the new Ryobi unit I got is easier to read the leds.
They both measure percent as I said and anything over 30% is a matter of concern. You will have to take your data and convert it mathematically to a percent form.

[Andrewr612]

Thanks, found that Yellow is 18 to 20%. Red is above. Didn't get any red anywhere on boat apart from small patch on transom. (Few square inches) so will get that checked.

The hole which was recently drilled in transom reads as 160 and I can see the wood's bone dry (it's also not far above area that reads as red). And rest of hull (part that's usually under water) reads max 180 / low yellow which I'm guessing is around 18%.

Also no visually bad patches. A few areas which have had some obvious hits and need repair which the meter also agrees with. The back platform is certainly high but I 've known that for years. will need to decide what to do with that.

So overall I'm happy with outcome and have ordered the engines. Will also do upholstery and get it painted plus get a boatbuilder to go over and repair hull / platform.

In regards to upholstery, is there a US supplier you can recommend who has similar quality / same colours that Chris Craft may have used? It's lasted really well - 25 years! Stuff over here is nowhere as long lasting plus they don't have the colours.


Thanks

[stinger390x]

Believe it or not...my boat is an 85' and it still has all original upholstery from the factory.
I do have an issue around the hatch surround as this rear piece was battered by the tonneau cover while going down the highway and has caused some cracks and tears in the fabric. I will be re-doing the three surround pieces next spring and possibly the rear seat as I have two small cracks in the fabric that are starting to get bigger. The front seats are still perfect in every way!
I must admit that my buddy is a auto trim guy and the fabrics that have come out recently in the last few years are even better than the ones that were out in the 80's. The new fabrics breath better and stretch a lot further.
Go to your local upholstery shop and he can recommend the best stuff for your needs if you wish to go stock. My other friend just re-did his Profile with a real cool modern fabric that looks like alligator skin??? Comes in magnificent colours too!

Anything today will be far superior that what was put on the boat originally.

[Andrewr612]

Hi, I have actually reupholstered the back seat part once and the removeable long seat twice and large cushions at the back at least 3 times in the last 10 years. Have used different upholsterers but same result. They all tell me that the stuff here in Australia isn't as hard wearing as the original / US supplied stuff. Plus they cannot get the same colours (blue stipes etc) - or anything close to them. My original has cracked in quite a few areas and is just getting worse. Would your autotrim friend have any suggestions as to US suppliers who he would recommend / may be able to match original colours? Then I could ship material over here and get local upholsterer to fit it... thanks

[stinger390x]

I'm in Canada and my guy has all three of my colours in stock at his shop in St.Catharines Ontario!
Exact colour matches too!

A few years ago I re-did my Stinger 260 rear seat and day bed myself. I have a sewing machine that will handle heavy fabrics, so I tried it on my own. I sewed the tri-colour belts with some padding and go the exact same effect on my repair as the factory originals.