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Yeah, real ugly. Looks like the previous owner "adjusted" that one day.
So.......that strut got bent back at some point, think less angle. Without going the expensive route and replacing the strut the aft end of strut needs shimming to get the shaft up at forward end. Once you get the strut off and cleaned up, hoping the nuts are accessible..., you can couple up the shaft to engine keeping the shaft somewhat centered in the hole at the shaft log. This will give you an idea of how much the strut needs to be shimmed. At this point feel is the way to go....the easier the shaft moves the better the cutlass is lined up. It isn't the space shuttle so there is a little error built in for the rubber cutlass.
Once you have this done then go to the engine for final alignment. When you do this you have the common condition of rusty couplings in the bilge, they look good compared to mine, but this makes it near impossible to get a balls on alignment since some areas are more rusted than others, no matter if your using pricision instruments or feeler/straight edge. You just have to do the best you can.
I think anyones mother can get the alignment better than it is now so even if you don't get it perfect and you should feel the difference once in the water.
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