Older 15' Allison

[littledcsrodshop]

I just picked up this little 1972 15 Allison earlier today, and I'm not 100% sure exactly which direction I will head with it so we'll see what happens.. I've had my share of boats and projects throughout the years, but it's been a long time since I've had an outboard.. I've had my eye on this one for a couple years as it was only a few miles from my house so I finally decided to track the dude down yesterday to see if it was even for sale, and you see the result of my asking.. haha !!!

As I said I'm not 100% sure what I'll do with it just yet, but I'm thinking of powering it up and playing a little bit before I do anything with it.. What were these things rated for HP wise ?? I'm thinking I would like to go with an older inline Merc.,, but I have no clue how much weight is to much for the back of these, what some of the various inlines weigh in at, ect.. I'm assuming I will want to go with a short shaft, and I'm thinking most are around 20",, is that correct ?

I'm not overly concerned with trying to break the speed of sound in a 15 footer, but obviously don't want to under power it at the same time.. I'm thinking a 90 orso would be plenty, but feel free to give opinions on power, ect... Maybe even what to stay away from.. Also recommendations as far as jack plate v/s no jack plate, motor height ??,, ect..ect.. Also how do these boats handle without going the center steering route ? (I'm only about 150lbs & my wife a decent bit less)

Sorry for a short story book and thousand questions, and please forgive the crappy 3.0mp cell shot, but I know all us gearheads are picture junkies... Besides the crappy shot hides roughness.. haha !!

Thanks for looking, Scott

[littledcsrodshop]

Anybody know what the hull should weigh in at ?

Also some "round about" ideas of what it may run with various power would be greatly appreciated.. I'm well aware there are Many factors to that last question but I'm just looking for some rough ideas..

Thanks again

[frederick55]

Low to mid 80's with a Merc Inline 150. Wild ride though.

[wtsjr66]

Used to have one with a v-4 Johnson, lots of fun and reliable too. The dash on yours looks different?

[stv1991]

I've got the exact same boat that I have been sitting on for awhile. I am eventually going to recore it and rebuild the transom(but only iff it really needs it) and have the exterior refreshed as well. I was thinking a 90ETEC would be a fum motor on that thing and probably push it along pretty good as well. I was thinking mid-60's with the ETEC??

[Ted Stryker]

All good recommendations.. Anything from the 3cyl motors up through inline 6 Mercs.. Personal flavor, but stock 130v4 yam, v4omc, 140 tohatsu, etc would all be a ton of fun with chisel and hammer reliability along with economy that's gonna impress

[littledcsrodshop]

Thanks for the all the input so far.. How do the V4 OMC, or Yammy's compare to the inline Merc.s for reliability and weight ? I've found a couple 115 inine mecs that I was interested in untill I found out they were long shaft's :-(

[littledcsrodshop]

So since my transom is right at 20" from the bottom of the pad to the top of the transom, can I assume that a 20" shaft inline merc will work just fine with a small jack plate on it ? I'm assuming these boats like the cavitation plate higher than the bottom of the pad, but ??

In doing a little research I'm thinking that the short shafts are 15" and the long's are 20".. I don't wanna sound impatient but I have a couple engines located that I'm interested in, but don't want to make a costly mistake due to a ignorance on my part..

[SAMMY CORLEY]

Buy da 15 inch motor.sammy in s.c.

[Chummy]

Buy da 15 inch motor.sammy in s.c.

or a 12" right Sammy?

[Ted Stryker]

Hard to beat a good v4 for reliability, and they sound great.. The inline Mercs were good engines but I'd prefer the v4

[littledcsrodshop]

So which one of you has one of the engines laying around the garage ?

[littledcsrodshop]

For you guys that have ran these,.. Did you have them mounted straight to the transom, or any type of setback ?? My reasoning behind asking is that with a 20" shaft and a small jackplate (not much setback) I shouldn't have an issue with getting the prophaft relitivly close to a 15" mounted to the transom,,, However I have NO clue how these boats react to as far as setback,, engine height,, ect.. and I also realize that a 20" jacked up a to the same height, or close to a 15" may not handle the same...

Let me add that although I don't want it to be a dog, I'm not looking to squeeze every last ounce of speed out of this hull... So that last inch or two above the pad and that last mph or so isn't that big of a deal to me, Unless it gonna make it handle like a log truck..

I really appriciate all the the input so far !!

[toyomirage02]

A good person to ask is mike mullins.he has a few ++ in his fleet.he could shoot u in the direction u need to go

[Freddie Webb]

I own a 14' 1969 and I started with a v4 crossflow on a 20 inch. The 15 inch I swapped to made handling much better. I put a modified looper v4 on it and that was a whole lot of fun! Then in our quest for never enough I added nos. The wow factor increased exponentially!! The boats are fast and fun but be careful. My 14' has a lot of aerodynamic lift in the front and they will try to blow over at 90mph if not extremely careful. Raceman had a v6 merc on his and he did blow over at over a 100mph! I personally know two others that had 16' allisons with v6 motors that blew over at 100 plus. Have fun but have respect.