Marine V6 Questions

I live in an area where there are many boats, some equipped with marine buick v6.
I believe there is an online site that contains info on compatibility of various components.
I have access to a couple boats that people want gone and thinking I might stockpile a couple motors if they are worth grabbing.
What I'm after is some guidelines on what's interchangeable. I will check casting numbers.
I believe blocks are as are heads (but they won't have smog ports).
Flywheels will have, perhaps, a different pattern (for clutch) and may lack provisions for a pilot bearing?
Certainly the water pump/timing cover won't work.
Worth salvaging (hopefully) would be the block and heads, flywheel and valve train.
Will the starter work. I think the intake would be different.
Help will be appreciated/

 

All the basic mechanics of the engine should work including timing cover and water pump. The exhaust manifolds, air cleaner and breathers, the water exchangers for the exhaust will not be useable. Our Ford and Chrysler marine engines used the factory water pump but had brackets and flow blocks specific to the marine application. I can’t see the Buick being much different.

 

The rotation may be opposite on a marine motor.

 

The one we used had a cast iron timing cover with no provision for the bypass hose to the manifold.

 

Keep in mind that many (most) marine conversions are raw water cooled, meaning the coolant is the water the boat is running in. If an engine is salt water cooled, it may have only about 5 years of life before rust destroys the block and heads. If there are heat exchangers present, the block and heads may have had anti-freeze if you are lucky. Even fresh water cooled, or even those exchangers are still subject to freeze cracking if they were not fully drained or filled with anti-freeze during winter conditions with extended temps below 32 degrees.
Just because there are one or more heat exchangers present, that doesn't mean the block and heads were protected. Smaller heat exchangers are used for oil coolers or steering coolers, or other accessories.
Marine conversions may be higher performance versions with longer duration cams and 4bbl intakes. I used to have an iron 4bbl intake for an odd-fire, and I think I still have a 4bbl intake for a Chevy 4.3, both from marine engines.
-Donny

 

Interesting. If reverse rotation the crank is not usable, nor is cam and dist . Is the reverse firing order cast into the intakes? I believe these are all lake boats, too small and shallow draft for ocean.
These are as described above no heater by-pass on timing cover.

 

Why would the crank be different? The angle between the strokes would not need to change.

 

Reverse rotation engines have a different cam, and the pistons are usually installed "backwards" with the arrow or notch facing to the rear instead of foreward. There may be a different gear on the distributor, and some engines use a different timing gears. A small block Chevy reverse rotation engine uses meshing gears rather than a timing chain to drive the cam. If a stock intake is used, the firing order is usually ground off the manifold. Nearly everything else is the same as normal rotation.
-Donny

 

I doubt that a Buick v6 was ever used this way, all marines engines that I know of are standard rotation unless used in pairs. This is usually done for torque steer of the props. Nowadays a lot of the direction is done in the lower units.

 

x2. Reverse rotation motors were only used in pairs and I'd bet 99.5% of them were salt water use (maybe also on some big inland waterways like the Great lakes or Miss river.