I would not recommend that you take out the whirlaway. That is a safty item that is a must in my book. If your ever cooking across the lake and engine shuts off or locks up you will flip your boat with out one. V-drives are pretty easy to work on. If you ever need to change gears or need any info let me know. I also make a bearing puller that makes getting the case apart a snap. My e-mail is valveautomation1@earthlink.net.
Here is another link for you to check out.
http://vdrives.hypermart.net/msgboard/wwwboard.html