1985 Johnson VRO 90hp

[jsparks747]

Long story short my dad and I are looking at purchasing a 1970 Century Buccaneer 18 to restore and use as a fishing boat in Puget Sound. The boat comes with a 1985 Johnson VRO 90 hp motor mounted on an offshore bracket but I was wondering, how reliable is this motor? We will still be interested but want to know about the motor before we make an offer.
Don't have a picture with the cowling off, just this photo of the exterior.

 

[flyingscott]

Do a compression test before anything and a test drive. They are good motors but they tend to break the piston rings. Find out if it has been rebuilt at any time. If you do buy it get some OMC engine tune to decarbon the motor.

 

[jsparks747]

Do a compression test before anything and a test drive. They are good motors but they tend to break the piston rings. Find out if it has been rebuilt at any time. If you do buy it get some OMC engine tune to decarbon the motor.

Thanks! Checked the compression when we looked at it and it is holding a solid 120.