advice on a 1984 70hp evinrude

greetings,
Well I finally have an outboard that i have admired for many years. model #E70TLCRD. So here is my question. The guy I bought it from said he had it looked at by the local outboard dealer/mechanic and was told it has a scored cylinder. i was skeptical of his (the seller's) explanation (i have my reasons). So i decided to check for myself. I preformed a compression test and found that two cylinders had 120psi and the third (the bottom one) had 110psi. While checking the compression i found that there was a ngk plug installed, not the champion that is recommended. i did not keep track of which cylinder the ngk plug came out of.

so i need some advice on what to do next? should i dig deeper, pull the head? or just discount his word and run the old girl?
I do plan on doing the rest of what is recommended about "awakening a sleeping outboard". carb rebuild, water pump etc.

Any input is greatly appreciated.

thanks,
Matt

Re: advice on a 1984 70hp evinrude

I guess that if there is any doubt, pull the heads and check the cylinder walls. Head gaskets are fairly cheap.

Re: advice on a 1984 70hp evinrude

Very good point. Although I didn't mention it before, I was a little unsure of whether pulling the head was the best course of action or pulling the exhaust cover.

anything else these motors are known for? anything that might be a deal breaker?

thanks,
Matt

Re: advice on a 1984 70hp evinrude

I would de-carb and test again.