Carver 366

[Stevie B]

Good evening,

Just joined your site, thank you for having me. I am currently looking at a 2003 Carver 366 Aft Cabin that has twin 8.1 Volvo engines. Feedback on these engines would be extremely helpful.

[tomschauer]

The Volvo 8.1's are a GM 496 long block. All the marinized gas engines of recent years are GM blocks. mercury, crusader or Volvo. So they are all pretty solid. Parts for Mercury are usually a bit cheaper than Volvo or crusader. I would not shy away from any of them because of brand. So long as they were maintained, you should be ok.

[buster53]

I've got the 356 with 8.1 Crusaders. As mentioned, both Volvo and Crusader use the GM 496 block which is a solid engine. As with my boat, engine room is going to be tight. Maybe the 366 might have a tad bit more room, but don't know for sure.

[Cooler]

I had Volvo 7.4's for 20 years and 974 hours. Never had anything break down, just regular maintenance. Never even burned a drop of oil. I now have Crusaders. Love them also. Of all the boaters I know with 8.1's, they all love 'em. Plenty of power, but thirsty. Find out what kind of gas the PO burned. If he ran ethanol gas, make sure to test fuel injectors for flow and even spray. er