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I just bought a 74 Revenge cuddy with a Mercruiser 165 I/O and trailer project boat for $1000. I've looked around the net and I didn't see any other I/O boats. How common was the I/O for Boston Whalers of my vintage?

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I don't see a Revenge 19 with a "Stern Drive" listed for 1974...

According to the catalogs, the Revenge models with a Stern Drive I/O started in 1975..
What does your HIN plate say? M74x or M75x
The last 3 digits tell us what year and the x would represent the month made and this would be from A to L .....

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My HIN is BWCA8620M74F. I think that makes it built in January of 1974. What can you tell me about the I/O option?

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You are correct.

Funny that I can't find that model in any of the 1974 catalogs or price lists.
Only the 1975 catalog and later... But apparently they made them in 1974 as you have one.

There were 2 engine options... OMC and Mercruiser 165
OMC parts are hard to come by or are non-existent. Don't know about the Mercruiser parts availability.

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Congrats -

The Mercruiser should be serviceable if there's any life left in it.

Post some pics!

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I had a pair of Mercruiser 165`s in my `25 Bertram. They are inline 6 cylinder Chevys, OHV with a carb. I replaced them with rebuilt ones from an automobile re builder. I replaced the freeze plugs and the water pump with marine stainless as I ran them in salt water. They are simple engines, with simple maintenance. The problems lie in the stern drive units if you keep the boat in salt water.

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Montaukman, Congrats on the purchase of your Revenge. My knowledge of BW’s is very limited, however from what I have gathered the I/O in general isn’t very common in these boats. The reason I say this is b/c I too purchase a project 1982 Revenge with an I/O, and I haven’t found a lot of information on it. Joe mentions about a “catalog” regarding BW with I/O. If you come across such information please pass it along.

What are your plans for the boat? Also, we would love to see pictures if you could post some.