Most of the extra weight in that rig is well forward of the transom, so I think you'd be ok. You have a solid transom and I think the V-8 was a factory option in the late 70's; I don't think SeaCraft would have sold it that way if it was a problem. I'd be less concerned about that rig than a 20 with a 500 lb 4-stroke outboard on it!
The Seafari 20 is an amazingly seaworthy boat. My first return from the Bahamas was in light winds of about 10 kts that varied from NW to N to NE as we came across the Gulf Stream from Grand Bahama. I had always heard the old timers say, "If the wind is out of any northern quadrant, stay the hell out of the gulf stream!" However I was young and dumb at the time, so I had to learn the truth of that saying the hard way with what turned out to be a white knuckle trip! Seas went from 2-4' off West End to 6-8' in the middle of the stream, closely spaced with some white water on top of 'em! For the first hour I was going almost completely airborne on about every 10th wave, but as long as I kept it level, the re-entry was amazingly soft! Had big following seas for the last 20 miles, during which time I REALLY wished I had a solid transom instead of an outboard with a 20" transom cutout! The seas seemed to be about 25' apart and very steep, so I was really worried about punching the bow into the back of the next wave because the boat wanted to surf down the front of each wave, even with the throttle almost at idle! However there is an amazing amount of buoyancy in the bow of the 20 and I never took any green water over the bow.
Our flotilla included a Moesly 21, a Seafari 20, a Wellcraft V-20 and a 21' Wellcraft Nova and we made that 60 nm crossing in about 4 hrs for an average speed of about 15 kts. After we got back I noticed a few loose screws at the bottom of the bulkhead in the Seafari. For the Moesly 21, it was a relatively routine uneventful trip. On the V-20, his saddle tanks had broken loose at the welds on the brackets, the seats had disintegrated, there was a crack in the bulkhead and there was a 4' crack in the hull! (A plywood stringer had broken loose from the hull!) I never worried about the durability of my SeaCraft after that, as I concluded that it could take more abuse than I could!
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