Re: I'm Humbled by taking apart a 304

[n9ads@domain.elided (Howard R Pletcher)]

On Fri, 16 Jan 1998 20:25:38 -0500 Tom and Amanda Lang
<rustnrot@domain.elided> writes:
>
>A question for Howard:  I have worked on marine engine conversions 
>before, particularly Chevy marine conversions.  It appears that the I-H
V-8's 
>would be absolutely *perfect* in a marine application; steady full
output
>operation for long lengths of time.  Did I-H ever market these engines 
>to the marine industry?  I'm particularly interested, so I can determine
>whether I should search for wet exhaust manifolds, etc. for converting 
>a 392 to marine service.   In any case, rest assured I will *someday* 
>build a "classic" wooden runabout with I-H power even if I have to get
wet 
>exhaust manifolds specially cast and a bellhousing for the marine
transmission
>specially made.  One thing about cooling marine engines, as long as 
>the water pump works, you won't overhead until you've raised the 
>temperature of the lake you're running around on to boiling!  Let's see,
the name of 
>the boat, how 'bout "Waterall"?
>
>
Given the weight of the engine, how about "Boat Anchor"?  Yes, the IH
engines were actively sold for marine conversions.  This included the
6.9/7.3L diesels in addition to the gas engines and this is where I first
heard of turbocharge installations on the 6.9L.  One major converter was
Franklin Power Products in Franklin, IN, but I think this is the company
that is now the Franklin Renewing Center for rebuilding engines and I
don't know if they're still in the marine business.  It's not something
we heard a lot about --the engine division was a separate division from
trucks and while there was a lot of information interchange, the marine
and other stationary power uses like generators didn't affect us much, so
we didn't hear a lot about them.

Howard Pletcher
Howteron Products Scout Parts