1967 johnson seahorse 40 hp beat up bottom piston

I have a 1967 johnson seahorse 40 hp i have never tried to use the motor until recently when the motor that i had been useing failed. the motor would start fine in a barrel but i could never take off the choke or it would die. so im thinking fuel well i got to looking into the issue and i noticed that the bottom cylender was fowling the plug so i replaced the plug and tried it again and it ran great for about 30 seconds and then it would just bog down because it was only running on one cylender. i pulled off the head and to my horror i seen that the bottom piston was scarred and beat like something had gotten between it and the head but still looked operatinal. the cylendar wall was also slightly dammaged. the top piston was in mint condition. the guy that sold me the motor 4 years prior to its use said that he just had the motor overhauled. what im wondering is how hard is it going to be to find a piston for this motor and how much $$ am i looking at. is their anyway to get the cylendar to run without replacing the piston? the motor is not worth much but its all i have for now until i can afford a new outboard

Re: 1967 johnson seahorse 40 hp beat up bottom piston

If it is scored, likely you will need a new piston, rings and a rebore. Do a compression test to determine the extent of scoring damage. Even if you replace the piston and rings, you should determine the cause of the bottom piston failure (water in cylinder, detonation or pre-ignition, etc.)or the new one will experience a similar failure. For parts and prices check out www.outboardparts.com

Re: 1967 johnson seahorse 40 hp beat up bottom piston

thanks for your help. I think that i will take it to a pro and let them fix it and hope for the best.