Motor box/doghouse dim.

I’m looking for doghouse dimensions for a 454 1988 BFN .Base width and length and overall height .
Thanks, Jeff

tullfooter wrote: I wish I could help, but my '85 doghouse is different than your '88. I will measure for you if you need it, or you can borrow it for a pattern. Steve

Yes if you could get dim. that will help

Is the BFN doghouse larger in all dimensions than a SN doghouse? Jeff, are you trying to fabricate one? If fabricating from nothing, I wonder if you could use a SN doghouse as a male mold for fabricating your new one? Or if you could find a SN doghouse and add length/width/height to get to the needed dimensions? Curious as to how I would tackle this one?

tullfooter wrote: Swatkinz wrote: Is the BFN doghouse larger in all dimensions than a SN doghouse? Is a 454 bigger than a 351? Sorry Steve, had to do it. Jeff, It will take me a couple of days to get to my boat. It is in storage a few miles away, in my father-in-law's toy box. If I'm not mistaken, which I often am, the newer BFN's have a carpeted riser below the box. Mine does not. I'll get the dimensions of the doghouse, and like I said, you can take mine if you need to use it as a template.

Thanks Steve!


Differemces ?I would think so.I have a doghouse its just not from a CC .And Yes Im going to have to make one until I can find one.....

The BFN (454) box is wider, but probably similar in length to a SN (351) motorbox. The BFN box is also a little shorter, since the motor sits lower in the v-hull (the main stringers are ~6" below floor height).

Ive seen a few different styles of boxes on the earlier BFN's. Some are flat topped glass boxes, others are wood. All of the boxes after ~86 are the fancier shaped ones (round top, angles cut out of rear corners). They started carpeting the base of the vinyl in '87 or '88- the earlier ones still had the aluminum trim on the bottom edge.

Jeff, if youre looking to build your own (presumably out of wood), the rough dimensions from Steve will be a good start. The earlier, flat top boxes are the simplest in shape.

I doubt a small block box will fit over the big block. The difference in width is pretty significant. Im not sure what you mean by "a little modding"... to use a small block box, you would most likely have to split it down the middle and widen it.

Im not sure what you mean by "how much clearance is needed"... if the box fits over the engine without rubbing, its fine.

The few small block BFN/Dominiques in the diaries *appear* to have the narrower boxes... but I havent seen one in person to be sure.

Dont worry about the clearance- if youre not touching, youre fine. The exhaust manifolds are the only thing that would interfere width wise, and those dont get hot enough to harm the fiberglass.

50" long
36.5" wide
21.5" tall

Most of the top isn't flat. There is a ~10" horizontal strip and it slopes to the front and rear. All 4 corners are 45'd- the front cuts a good bit larger than the rear. It would be a challenge to exactly reproduce one in wood, but not so tough with a few less angles.

Here's the footprint. Because of the joinery, those back corners are rounded, but they are 45'd on the box. I looked for some other pics, but they're all either without the cover in place or out the back.

BuffaloBFN wrote: I could get some good pics for you tomorrow, but then I'll catch a ration from the guys. Our baby needs a bath and the carpet is falling off of the doghouse.

20footproductions@gmail.com no one will know   

BuffaloBFN wrote: Well sure, if I stand 20' away they'll look fine. I'll post 'em up; they'll only prove it gets used!

Thats my e-mail adress then I will have black mail photos LOL

2 points for whoever figures out why the starboard riser bolts aren't painted.   

Riser bolts not painted? My guess is that the Port side manifold has been replaced and after it was put back on someone touched it up with a little spray paint that got on the riser bolts.

The Starboard side appears to look the way it did when it came from the factory.

Make sense?

If youre looking for basic dimensions to build the box, here are ours from our '79 BFN. Its a different shape, but I would expect overall size to be very similar to the newer boxes.

Base: 46"L x 36"W
Top: 30"L x 32"W
Height: 22"