z.zuperboat

Im looking into an old 30 foot cruiser early 80,s with twin volvo pentas my guess is 280,s having small block chevys. Drives look original but not corroded bad ! Any major issues ? Or problem with parts ? I see no trim pistons but a worm gear for trimming !! Can these drives be trimmed under way for bow up and down ?? Looks like that little rod would just bend ! The boats been out of the water for 4 years if thats a concern ?

jhiguy377

seen a lot of guys running volvo 280s in the '70s and '80s and yes, the gear trim mechanism was problematic. as usual, it seems that how the boat was driven was far more significant than the individual brand differences. should be pretty straighforward to find out if parts are still available and if there is a retrofit for trim if you're so inclined.
when I used to race in POPBRA there was a fellow who ran a 27 Magnum with twin volvos and he put a solid bar in the trim; this gave him a fixed trim position (kinda goofy) but he never broke the trim mechanism anymore; he seemed to have pretty good luck with the gearcases. - good luck, - jeff

SFOcean

The worm gear is for tilting the drive to the trailering position only; there was a 280T as well as the 290 drive that had hydraulic rams for trimming underway. The trim is set by the pin (like a low powered outboard) in one of three positions. The drive is stronger turning left, but they can turn right hand rotation props; they will be okay to at least 300HP/TQ. They use engine oil for lubricant and are well built, just not performance oriented; for example, all threaded holes have stainless inserts.

SFOcean

Oh, by the way, I really like your ' 99 Superboat; just tooo far away from CA, oh well.

LAKESIDE RESTORATIONS

The vp drives are pretty strong for what they are. The older Donzi's used them frequently & there are a ton of them still running fine. The worm screw is for lifting the drive earlier as someone else had already mentioned. Do not try to trim while under way with that set up. It is not good for it. Also those parts can still be found but there are some of the tilt & trim parts that are no longer available new. The other internals for the drive for the most part itself are usually still available new we sell a good amount of them.. Jamie / Lakeside


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z.zuperboat

Ok guys thanks for the answers. youve been very helpfull. So the drives are strong and should not be tilted to pick the nose for maximum speed . Understood . the bay by me is very shallow and thats Y i dont want an inboard, I/O is the ticket. But an I/O that cant be trimmed isnt much good. I would hate to run aground trimm the drive to get out and bend the worm gear !!!!!

h2oboater

Look in the Magnum owners form it's been covered there.

SFOcean

Zuper, you can hit the trailer button which unlocks the drive from the pin, then trim up a little and put in forward gear at idle ONLY. If you add power, this slips the clutch on the small motor holding the rod (rack and pinion) forcing the rod back up, not good. Note that if you were to put the drive into reverse, there is nothing to keep it down other than its own weight, so SLOW idle is all that can be done with the drive unlocked from its pin.

z.zuperboat

Thanks for all the info guys.. I think im going to pass on this one . Sounds like its not going to very user freindly. Next