350 Olds to 460 Ford swap

[teewesst]

Bought a Kona 18 ft jet boat with a 350 olds in it. First boat so excuse my ignorance on part names and such. Mechanically inclined but never done a boat motor swap as the 350 was hydrolocked and I don’t wanna dive into a rebuild at the moment and decided to get a new motor for it. Found a good deal on a 460 Ford and just wanted to know what would go into doing a swap. Would I need new pump to engine joint, angles for mounting and just some other info from the experts on here haha. Motor I’m looking at has everything carb, distributor, headers, mounts etc. thanks in advance and hoping I came to the right place !

 

[AZMark]

Bought a Kona 18 ft jet boat with a 350 olds in it. First boat so excuse my ignorance on part names and such. Mechanically inclined but never done a boat motor swap as the 350 was hydrolocked and I don’t wanna dive into a rebuild at the moment and decided to get a new motor for it. Found a good deal on a 460 Ford and just wanted to know what would go into doing a swap. Would I need new pump to engine joint, angles for mounting and just some other info from the experts on here haha. Motor I’m looking at has everything carb, distributor, headers, mounts etc. thanks in advance and hoping I came to the right place !

There are probably a few people here that can help but this site is mostly dedicated to current style of recreational jet boats like Yamaha, Scarab and Chaparral Vortex.

 

[tdonoughue]

I can't help much but...

The 350 Olds, depending on the year, was a very solid engine. My '77 Cutlass Supreme had one of those. Aw, good times. Too bad it has died.

Don't know much about the Ford engine. But I would anticipate potential issues as to:
a) alignment to the pump (so not only the connection, but if a straight line connector, making sure that the angle of the engine is right and the distance is right
b) physical fit of the engine. Obviously the 460 is bigger...
c) cooling system. Need to figure out how/where to plumb everything and whether that will all fit
d) motor mounts. Bigger engine probably needs bigger mounts. And vibration isolation may be important
e) intake. Really part of fitting the new one (in b), but is the intake positioned on the Ford so that it will work in the boat
f) fuel pump. Just a sizing issue, I would figure...

That is what I can think of off the top of my head. By far a and b would be your biggest issues, I would think.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

Bought a Kona 18 ft jet boat with a 350 olds in it. First boat so excuse my ignorance on part names and such. Mechanically inclined but never done a boat motor swap as the 350 was hydrolocked and I don’t wanna dive into a rebuild at the moment and decided to get a new motor for it. Found a good deal on a 460 Ford and just wanted to know what would go into doing a swap. Would I need new pump to engine joint, angles for mounting and just some other info from the experts on here haha. Motor I’m looking at has everything carb, distributor, headers, mounts etc. thanks in advance and hoping I came to the right place !

@teewesst ..... if the 460 is a truck engine you may have to be careful with a marine application as the valve overlap (due to truck cam) might ingest water. Also you will have safety, insurance and licencing compliance issues if any of your engines components (starter, alternator, fuel pump etc. etc.) are not marine compliant for marine grounding, spark arrest etc. Fuel and spark in enclosed conditions is neither legal nor wise. I have put a number of "built" engines into boats and it can be done - no problem but you would be, in my opinion, reckless to not ensure it was marine compliant. Kona is a very nice boat!