velocity320

I am switching from TRS to Bravo blackhawks on my 1980 Velocity. I just made these adapter plates for my boat. My question is has anyone attempted this and if so any problems? I did not want to redo the transom on my boat so I made these plates to act like a large gasket.

hillbilly24

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but it aint gonna work. The extra thickness you add to the transom will mean that the input shaft of the drive will not be very far into the coupler, it only goes in about 3 inches or so it loks like those plates are about 1" thick (?) that means the input shaft will only be into the coupler about 2 inches which is just asking to spin the splines out of the coupler.

velocity320

I am actually leaving the engines in their original location for now, so I am having custom drivelines and carriers made to replace where the transmissions were. The plates are aluminum and are 3/4 inch. I made them 3/4 inch so I could drill and tap where the lower trs holes on the transom were. The bravo bolts on with 8 studs and so does the trs. The upper 6 studs are close to the original trs holes but the lower 2 holes are not close. So with this design, the bravo unit is secured to the inner transom plate and from the inside, the plate is secured on the bottom by 2 bolts tighted from the inside. Its kind of hard to explain unless you have tried this, thats why I was asking for anyone who has been down this road. The only other option besides replacing my transom is a extension box from stelling and I searched this site and I read that was a waste of time.

hillbilly24

If you are leaving the engines on thier orginal mounts and building your own drivelins ou should be fine, just make sure you use a good seal between that plate and the transom, if you have the ability it would cool to machine an O-ring groove in the plate.

Big Block Billy

The best advice out there is to go with the Konrad's.
They go right in the trs hole and you dont have to move motor mounts etc. you retain the inner trs plate. I would highly recommend staying away from the bravo's. The Konrad's will make the boat worth more, and you will be done with having drive breakages. The cost was around $20,000. I have a 24' Formula with a bravo setup. I have a serious 540 that is ready to drop in. Konrad offers an extension box that houses the transmission, and I think I'm gonna go for it for $10,000. A whole lot cheaper than blowing up Bravo's rendering them completely useless junk.
It bothers me when I keep reading on this site how proud people are of thier motor and boat and they think it's a cool, or good thing to keep blowing up drives. My boat hasn't been in the water this season, and may not go in 'till next year. I'd rather do things right. I am tired of throwing good money away with broken parts. What good is a few days of fun , only to end up broken down and pissed, and maybe financially extinguished. Bravo drives make marinas big profits. If for anything else, with a Konrad you will have the peace of mind that you can totally depend on the drives, and you can add power , have more fun, take on some waves, whether inadvertantly, or INTENTIONAL ! Without twisting propshafts, and putting stress cracks in the gears, which end up breaking maybe a week or more after the impact load. A friend of mine just went for the Konrad's in his 38' Scarab. The whole job can be done in a day with 2 people.