Merc '85 / '86 Question... Clams???
 

My brother is still looking for an outboard for his boat.
He's checking out an '85 or '86 Merc inline 6 90hp model.
Checking compression, all cylinders are at 110 psi compression
with the exception of one which is 105 psi. Does this sound like
a reasonable motor from what I've described? The guy that's
selling the setup put it on a boat so he could sell it as a package
for $1500. Considering only the motor, does this sound like a fair
deal? I hear the boat is quite fugly and not worth bothering with,
so discount that aspect and only consider the engine. Would you
seriously consider this if you were only looking for a motor?

Thanks,
Jim

The previous motor he looked at was an older johnson that had
problems with the lower end. Upon checking further, he found
that one cyliner had no compression. He decided against that
motor due to other unforeseen problems.