All I can tell you is that Merc made a 3.7 v-6 the same years with 185 hp. The parts guys always had to be "re-assured" that the distributor cap I needed had 2 more terminals than your motor...Sorry That's about all I can offer ya

 

It is a great motor, No Aluminum head that I know of, but there is a 4 barrel manifold. The Alternator (its actually a generator) problem you speak of is actually the voltage regulator which is water cooled somehow, and when corrosion happens the water shorts it out. There is, or at least was an alternator conversion kit available for it. I had one in a 19' sea ray, and it pushed that heavy pig to near 50, not bad for a 4 cylinder. There WAS(not sure if they are still around) a place in CT that specialized in them.

 

1. The block (AL) was a Merc. design.

2. The head (cast iron), pistons, rods and some other internals are stock Ford 460. cid.

it was a joint ford/mercruiser effort

I imagine you could get an aftermarket aluminum 460 head for it, might be cheap too if you could find someone that has damaged one out of the pair for a 460

 

All I can tell you is that Merc made a 3.7 v-6 the same years with 185 hp. The parts guys always had to be "re-assured" that the distributor cap I needed had 2 more terminals than your motor...Sorry That's about all I can offer ya

they didnt make a 3.7V6,
they used a 3.8 V6,, it was the venerable buick V6 ..
Mercruiser doesnt usually make anything,they marinize existing gm engines.

 

Your right they did not make a 3.7L v6 because they made a 3.7L I4 224ci rated @180hp. They have been known to blow headgaskets but not a big deal to replace. Also there is a water circulator at the end of the camshaft that if the seal wears it will wear a groove into the cam. Then you have the water cooled voltage regulator that goes bad. Other than that they have great Hp for a 4cyl engine. You can use any BB ford aftermarket head. They will bolt right up.

 

The reason why i know about this engine is because I was going to use one for a Mud truck a few years back. I could have got one for free but trying to find parts to adapt to a vehicle was not easy. There are tons of parts on the net for these engines.

 

It was a GM engine used in 84 and 85 only. V-6 with a quadrajet 185 horsepower. Not the 3.8 Buick though. It was strictly a marine engine, not aying Merc made it, GM did, but I have had 2 of them. The Merc valve cover tag says 3.7.

 

It was a GM engine used in 84 and 85 only. V-6 with a quadrajet 185 horsepower. Not the 3.8 Buick though. It was strictly a marine engine, not aying Merc made it, GM did, but I have had 2 of them. The Merc valve cover tag says 3.7.

Thats not the motor in question. He wants to know about the Merc 3.7 4cyl. Merc made an aluminum block 3.7 4 cyl engine in the late 80's 87-88 . They used a Ford 460 BB iron head.

 

I have one sitting in my garage because a boat yard went out of business and this thing was just sitting in a boat. While I won't be using it for a boat, it is a marine engine so I thought you'd be a good bunch of people to ask about it.

1) Does it have problem areas? I've heard the alternator is kind of crap and the head gaskets break or something breaks and something else leaks into something else.
2) Are aluminum heads available for this engine? Iron heads are too heavy for my application (a 1500 pound car).

So here are some answeres.
1) Yes it does have some problem areas but nothing major.

2) Yes you can get an aluminum head. Any aftermarket aluminum head from a BB ford engine will fit. It also uses the same Piston and connecting rod as the 460BB.

3) To use this in a car application you will have to get a GM SB bellhousing to bolt up a trans. Its fairly simple. This motor has great HP for its size. Not too many factory 4cyl engines that I know of pushing 180+ hp.

 

Thats not the motor in question. He wants to know about the Merc 3.7 4cyl. Merc made an aluminum block 3.7 4 cyl engine in the late 80's 87-88 . They used a Ford 460 BB iron head.

I know, I know, it's just questioned above that there was such a beast...

 

Oh ok I see. Sorry.