Alpha 1 HP

[Ronnie]

Can anyone tell me how much power an Alpha 1 will take. I am building a new 383 sbc and it is going to have anout 400 hp with about 450 t. This is going in a 22' concord 23p marige prop. hopeing for 70 gps.
Thanks Ronnie

[Tinkerer]

Not for long. Be easy on it and prop it for high rpm. Keep it under 6000. I had a BOSS 302 with over 500 HP and it didn't last long between rebuilds. ( ALPHA SS ) I also never shifted with the engine running. The looks I got when I would start it up to warm the engine then shut it down and restart in gear. Shifting is very hard on the alpha with anything over 700 rpm. OH buy the way it was in a 18 ft GLASTRON CARLSON that did low 90's
[ November 10, 2002, 12:53 PM: Message edited by: Tinkerboater ]

[77charger]

I have the same drive also and want to add some hp but have heard that 300 hp is the limit for reliability.Also heard that if you do a gear change it goes tpo 330hp but shifting becomes a problem.
I would think that the torque from a bb would be more harmful than that of a small block if both engines say made 350 hp!

[stressedout]

I run a alpha on a 21' with a 468 making 500 hp. runs low 80's, No problems and no rebuilds in 14 years.
Don't hammer it out of the hole.
Keep rpm under 5000.
If it idles over 750 rpm start it in gear.
Run synthectic gear lube, keeps it cooler.
And I fill it just a little over to make sure the top bearing stays wet.
Try not to get air born as the re entry is really hard on any outdrive.

[Ronnie]

Thanks for all the info. My new motor is still being built so I can make changes as needed. If anyone can tell me more that would be a great help.
Thanks Ronnie

[hammy]

Speed cost money. how fast you wanna go?If you want to get an idea of what you need to hit 70 then go to bam marines home page and click on their knowledge base link. they have soem formulas and a calculator that will help you figure out how much hp you need to reach your destination. As far as the alpha goes i would say your going to have a headache with all that torque in front of it.Some people on here have made some interesting points about taking off easy and not letting the boat leave the water. But think about this. The most power ever put in front of and alpha by merc is about 300-330. They do this for a reason Ronnie.The alpha drive is a wonderfulo simple little machine until you start pouring gobs of torque into it.The motor yo uare building is specfically designed to be a torque monster. depending on your camshaft selcetion it is going to make gobs of torque between 3500 and 4500 rpms. now consdierhow"easy your going to want to take it when jo blow pulls by you at 20 in his 23 foot baja and gives you that cocky go ahead and try look. When you slam the throttle down to show him whos boss your going to show him how weak your outdrive is becasue sooner or later your going to slam the throttles down and the alpha is going to explode. A bravo drive or even an sx volvo would be much beter suited to handle the torque you are going to be making.If you dont havee the money to invest in the outdrive then stick with builing a 350 that will make a little less torque but that you can still pump 350 to 375 ponies out of. I think this will help your drive considerably and these motors are cheaper to buld because you dont have to put so much money in the rotating assemblies to attain durability.In the end is going to be a matter of maney and will. Can the alpha hold what your building? Yes . Will the alpha build what your holding? Depends on how you operate it. Personally i am building a similar set up and going to a Volvo sx drive because i likie knowing i can slam the throttles down and not haVE TO WORRY.

[77charger]

So let me get this right hammy i am a new alpha 350 owner and if i decide to do a head change and a slightly bigger cam i would be ok with the drive.I know the torque is the killer here.

[flat broke]

77charger:
So let me get this right hammy i am a new alpha 350 owner and if i decide to do a head change and a slightly bigger cam i would be ok with the drive.I know the torque is the killer here.Robert, Your first concern would be to make sure the cam you're looking at will allow you to idle the motor down below 700rpm. By now you've heard your alpha shift into gear, and you know its not the prettiest of sounds. Now imagine trying to engage that shift at say 900-1000RPM. It's gonna sound like a 15 yr old girl learning how to drive a stick for the first time. :) I don't know much about outdrives. But from the little experience I do have, I can tell you that adjusting the shift cables is a pain in the ass, and they don't like to be shifted into gear at higher idle speeds.
Chris

[Yikes]

Let me get this straight. I have an '86, 24 ft Daytona with twin 260s. If I hop up to 383s and make good low end power, I will lunch the alpha drives. Does anyone make an after market alpha? Will bravo drives fit? Should I destroke with a steel crank and run high rpms? I was born to hot rod. Help.
PS What's an X dimension?

[gnarley]

Can't you guys with Alpha's install a shift interupter? As you shift the momentary engine kill should prevent the damage to the drive, that was OMC's better idea & is still in use by some I think. It would be way less expensive to do something like that I think.

[stressedout]

gnarley:
Can't you guys with Alpha's install a shift interupter? As you shift the momentary engine kill should prevent the damage to the drive, that was OMC's better idea & is still in use by some I think. It would be way less expensive to do something like that I think.Gnarley,
The alpha does have a shift interupter to get them out of gear into nuetral, if it were the other way it would probaly stall the engine do to lowering rpm and loading at the same time.
The alpha is a lot stronger than most think, they were installed on 30 + footers with twin big blocks back in the 70's and most of the 80's.
It's all in how you Maintain them and Operate them.
Your rear differential in your truck won't take wide open starts all the time either, sooner or later it'll wheel hop and something will break.

[gnarley]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by stressedout:

The alpha does have a shift interupter to get them out of gear into nuetral, if it were the other way it would probaly stall the engine do to lowering rpm and loading at the same time..
Well it's the other way on my OMC & it doesn't stall the engine. Mine is interrupted shifting in or out of gear & you can momentarily hear & feel the drop in RPM as you shift.

[Tinkerer]

The ALPHA shift interupter works on coming OUT of gear only. If it does anything other than that it isn't adjusted properly or you have an outdrive or lower shift cable that is sticking.

[gnarley]

OK the point I was tring to make was maybe there is a way to make one work in & out of gear so that the torque isn't as high when shifting into gear & damaging the gears or whatever breaks on them. They have shifting dogs on the sliders or clutches?

[Rayhill]

If your pockets are deep enough. The Bravo Shop offers a Alpha to Bravo kit. I have same shifting problem s with my twin turbo 350 CV23 Carlson. It has the Big Block Alpha Gear. 1.3:1??? It is pain in the ass trying to park in a tight spot. I am going to put new cables and try to dial them in better ??? Also will try lowering the idle.
Next Year that is !

[Ronnie]

I want to thank everyone who put in there two cents worth on this topic. I am totaly confused now. I was also born to hot rod and go fast. The motor I am going to build is not going to be a big deal. Again I want to thank everyone and hope to see you on the lakes next year.
Ronnie

[Rayhill]

Just keep your eyes open for a good deal on another Alpha for a spare!

[wowchad]

There is a guy on Ebay that sells Alpha drives for $500.00!!! Keep looking cause he's sparatic with his auctions but I have seen him several times. wink

[Bondo]

I see Alot of Trashed gears in your future.... If you were "Born to Hot Rod".... Find a Bravo...
Merc. only used the Alpha behind the big blocks for 2 years.... That's the 2 years Before the Bravo came out....

[playdeep]

There is a company called KONRAD who makes a bolt on replacement outdrive that is significantly stronger than an alpha and is a lot less than a bravo...
I put one on an old 22ft.Tahiti bowrider that I had.The boat had a warmed over 377sbc and kept shelling drives.After I put the new drive on I never had another problem and I really abused the drive.

[Ronnie]

playdeep
Do you have a web sight are a phone # for the Konrad drive you were talking about. I am going to need one early this year( i have a feeling).
Thanks Ronnie

[DaveA]

Konrad Marine website (http://www.konradmarine.com/)
Hope this helps. I was glad to hear about it too.
DaveA

[Infomaniac]

Kind of late but My Alpha SS interrupted both in and out. Out is the most important. Torque holds it in gear and the cable will stretch in no time if the interrupter is not working. It is worse with a tall gear and big prop. The torque at idle in gear is very strong and almost impossible to pull it out of gear if the ignition is not interrupted.
[ January 15, 2003, 08:22 PM: Message edited by: Infomaniac ]

[playdeep]

The ph.# for Konrad is 1-800-927-3545
[ January 15, 2003, 08:27 PM: Message edited by: playdeep ]

[Scarab Fast]

Ronnie, I just put a 383 in a 22' Scarab that is making 450hp and 500ft/lbs and am running an alpha drive. I was very concerned with this to start with. My motor is internally balanced, vortech heads, making 10.5-1 compression. I did not go to wild on the cam so it would idle good around 650-700 rpm for shifting. It works like a dream. As for the alpha drive and how much hp they can handle, Mercruiser put these drives on boats with big blocks back around 85-87. They quit because the torque was tearing them apart. Since then, (around 91-92 I think) the Generation 2 alpha drives have came out which has heaver duty gears and is alot stronger. This is the alpha drive that Mercruiser uses now. I only have about 5 hours on my motor now and have no problems. The motor runs like a dream all the way up to top end. Always be easy coming out of the hole and get off the throttle if you catch air. 70 is a hard # to reach.

[Ronnie]

Scarab Fast
Thanks for the info on your boat. I am running about 260 HP with stock 350. New motor just came off dyno and is makeing 390hp and 420tq. With the increase in hp I am hopping for the 70 mark. The boat is running 52 now. Hope this will do what I am wanting. My boat only weighs about 2800lbs.
Thanks for all the help
Ronnie

[Sand Dawg]

If I read this tread right year has a lot to do with Alpha one or the newer Alpha. My boat is a 96 with a Alpha one outdrive, does this mean it is the newer style{Gen 2} that is heavier geared? And couldn't you go by serial numbers as to what style it is?.....Thanks

[TahitiSteve]

I e-mailed Konrad a while back about their omega drive, evidently they are not making it anymore :(
If I remember correctly the Alpha to bravo kit from Bravo shop is $6000. Couldn't you go a lot cheaper finding a junker boat with a bravo? Anyone know how much transom work is necessary to do the swap? Any guesses (or experience) on labor cost to have it done?

[Wetter the Better]

the bravo shop selln them for $7000 and it a direct transom replacement u need to drill 2 xtra hole for mounting purposes

[jus a baker]

Iv'e been looking for something to do with my drive also, the brovo kit is a nice kit (and the best idea), but its damn near what my boats worth, so im stuck with deciding what to do to. More power is fun but scarry on the drive. Didn't someone make better shaft for the alpha a few years ago? :confused:

[SShammy]

Keep in mind that hte weak part of an alpha is actually the housing. The gears get alot of blame but most of the time the housing flexes aloowing the tolerances to grow too much on the upper case . When this happens it allows the gears wich are no longer meshing properly to either hammer together or pull apert so far that is starts breaking teeth . Once either one of these happen your pretty much screwed. Thye case is aluminum so big torque numbers with steep prop and heavy throttle action= flexing(especially if your already loaded up and the drive is building alot of heat. So run a drive shower and stay away from the big steep props and the jack rabbit starts. Any of you that have any experiencew with the alpha drives on the bigger boats(cabin cruisewrs and such)Can probably testify that the alpha isd fine as long as you dont load it up too much. If you are running a heavy boat like a 24 foot cuddy cabin with one you really shoul leave an aluminum prop on it and go to a 4 blade for increased performance.The aluminum props take alot of load off of the drive because they flex.