Low profile VS high profile

[djabraham]

I have a 68 Evirude hull & I4 engine (120). The previous owner took the high profile OMC outdrive for another boat of his. I just picked up a newer 1974 OMC 140 engine and low profile outdrive for free. The difference is that the low profile outdrive is about 6" shorter than the high profile outdrive.

I was considering reworking the transom to accept the low profile outdrive. The newer semi-working engine has a lower transition, so it seems feasable. I wasn't sure if it would cause other problems though. The top of the low outdrive would probably end up semi-submerged as a result. I wasn't sure if that would be an issue.

Of course, all of this would still require some rigourous measuring for verification. I just wanted to know if it was a very bad idea to begin with. I am not worried about restoring the boat to original specs. I just want it to work well. And I also thought that the added bonus of trimming a few inches off of the stored length of the boat would help me fit it within my garage.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks
Dan

[graemers]

Say What?????

[SportJ-US-1]

Everything is the same in both drives. The only difference is the upper gear housing length. The gear ratios are the same so why not just swap the uppers and install the new motor in the same old place and do it the easy way? You need to split the drive to R&R the water pump anyway.