I found an Evinrude outboard and a Johnson outboard in my Facebook Marketplace and sent messages to each. The attractive part was that both were close by. The only one to respond was the Evinrude in Chelsea. I drove up and found a decent looking motor. I didn't have a compression tester but took a leap of faith and purchased it and the gas tank for $400.00. I brought it home and replaced the stop switch which had been crudely replaced. I tried to get it to start. After about 3 pulls the recoil spring broke so I had to order a replacement. I began to watch Youtube videos to determine how to install it. Once I got the spring installed I still couldn't get it started but had ordered a variety of parts that would likely be required to fix it and some tools I'd need. The motor was producing no spark. I probed the wiring of the CDI ignition, The module would need replacement but the coils and stator were good. But after installing the new module, I still didn't get a start. The next logical place to check was the fuel pump. Rather than clean the carburetor, I installed a new fuel pump and line. I should say that between each of these steps, quite a bit of time passed since I had no full day to work on it. I had filled a barrel with water and put it in and tried to start again. The engine hit once. So with another few pulls, it fired up and ran. Yippee. This was something of a surprise because the Harbor Freight compression tester reported such low compression and I read that low compression meant hard starting. With the unit working so well, I moved on to removing the foot and replacing the impeller. These items require routine replacement so rather than take chances with them, I replaced them. The impeller looked fine but the water tube grommet was deformed and the thermostat had some corrosion. While I had the foot off, I replaced the lubricant. With the unit in the water barrel, I've run it daily for several days and have been waiting for a day when I could do the Seafoam shock treatment. Then a run on the river.
So I've gotten around to a Seafoam treatment. It didn't smoke like I thought it would. But there seemed to be some sneezing now. 45 minutes running with the Seafoam mix and now it is back on standard fuel. The unit sneezes a bit now. That probably indicates a need for carburetor cleaning. That will come after a power run on open water.
It no longer is a matter of simply having a functional outboard. This is a project of affection. These little bits I've ordered like the bushing for the stop button or the spring clip for the connector aren't necessary but continue to add toward the finished look of it. This is something like my effort on the 284 tractor. Somewhat cosmetic but with an intention toward utility.