Velvet Drive help

So I picked up an old correct craft. Kind of a Frankenstein boat, l think it's a mustang, with a barracuda center console. It came on a nice trailer and it only cost me $500. Come to find out, I have a running Chrysler 318 in there also. Plan is to put the 318 in my 68 barracuda, since my motor is huffed, but the transmission won't shift. I have another drive, but thinking I'd like to try and sort this one out over the winter. Prop shaft spins a little when running. Thinking it needs to come out and be gone through, but know very little about them. What am I getting into. I'm a pretty solid mechanic. Give me a long lock and I'll put you a motor together, but engine building and transmissions I've generally farmed out. Where do I start figuring out what's going on with this drive? I've looked at diagrams and a shop manual. I need some real world advice.

blammie wrote: l think it's a mustang, with a barracuda center console.

Since W Hertzog mentioned Hale Marine in a different thread, here's a link to their You Tube channel with lots of pretty recent additions.

Thanks for the info guys, and thanks Pete, for helping identify exactly what it is. Your description fits perfectly. Its a bit shorter than my Barracuda, but initially that is what I thought it was. Correction, at first, I saw a ton of parts sitting on a nice trailer, and figured it was a no brainer at $500. So where I'm at now is:. The motor runs, and sounds pretty good. The motor was loved. I'll post a pic of the wiring in a minute, and you'll  see what I mean. Per the serial number, it appears to be about circa 1973. Still set up for points. I've never had a closed cooling system, so I'm still sorting out what's what. But it looks like it uses a closed loop to the exchanger for the block, and raw water to the exhaust manifolds and risers. Main thing, it's not leaking. The transmission is a BW 71c, and it wont shift out of neutral. I've started watching some vids, and agree, I can do this. So my plan is to harvest the motor and trans for my 68 Barracuda. That boat is complete except for a motor. Question is, do I drop this motor in as is, or do I dress it with my raw water cooling system, to keep it period correct. I'm leaning towards the closed system, because its already there and theoretically superior, but I welcome opinions. Other than that, I'm wondering what to do with this plastic classic once I get what I need for my Barracuda. The hull and stringers look sound, has steering and a windshield, but the boat is painted and spider cracking. It's gonna be a lot of work to make her pretty again. I could part, but then I'm stuck with a hull. Is there's someone out there that wants to put her back together, or do I just reconcile that I'm gonna part it out and cut up an old Correct Craft. That seems kind of sacrilegious.

Just out of curiosity, is the engine in the Plastic Classic normal rotation or reverse rotation?

It adds to the complexity but I'd use it as is. You actually see it more common nowadays. Don't understand your plastic comment- fiberglass is a plastic

Exactly Keno, I will part it out if there is no interest in the hull, but if someone wanted to do the work, I'll make a fair deal. I'd rather see another old correct craft put there than have a couple hundred extra in my pocket.