LouC wrote:
Volvo's latest designs don't seem to be quite as reliable as the SX/DP series but then usually people only post when there's a problem not to say they had no problems at all. In fact the real Volvo aficionados seem to think that the older style 270/280/290s were the best and that the SX copied 'American' features such as the gimble design which they feel is inferior to that earlier design. What actually seemed to have happened is that OMC's Cobra had early problems, and the company was in financial trouble. Volvo saw this as an opportunity to get OMC's transom design, which used the same cut out as Merc. This, to Volvo was a big advantage, since boat designers could use one cut out for both, thus making Volvo's drives more easily marketable. OMC did the same thing after all when they changed from the Stringer mount drives to the Cobra in '86. So Volvo and OMC go into business, the Cobra gets re-designed to use Volvo style cone clutch shifting (oddly OMC already had used this design, on the King Cobra that came on the big block engines starting in '90). So if the SX was actually designed by OMC or Volvo no one seems to know, but for sure OMC could have done it, if you look at a cut away of that King Cobra its like a larger more HD version of the SX with one difference, the impeller was not on the engine but on the rear of the upper gear housing just like the dog clutch Cobras.....
That's a great summary Lou. A Volvo SX/DP including the Cone Clutch, but with the raw water pump on the rear of the upper housing would have been the cat's meow. Apparently that's what the King Cobra had. The King Cobra was/is a great drive except for the lack of available parts.
Here is some more interesting history of OMC outdrives (which is a part of our Volvo History as well):
http://www.glmmarine.com/30yearsomc.htmlOne thing I learned in that article: While I was familiar with the "Stringer Drives", I did not know that the trim could be adjusted by raising or lowering the front engine mount.
My father had an OMC Stringer with 350cid (we didn't know what 5.7 Liters were back then) on a John Almond 23' in the early 1970's
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"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings