I agree.Most motors up to the mid 1980's had a metal plate riveted on the midsection-----Then they were allowed to use plastic stickers that faded or were destroyed with cleaning.---Should never have been allowed.----Especially in areas where outboards have a title to them.
I am pretty confident it is not stolen. It had been rebuilt and painted at some point. It had a sticker and was not a riveted metal plate. I looked at another 48spl of the same era. It's a 1989 Johnson 48hp SPL. The boat I bought (a 1989 Sea Nymph FM161B ) came with this same motor, so I suspect it is original. My state doesn't title and register outboards, so there is no way to confirm. We did check local PD and did a search online.What motor ?----Pictures of the plug ?----Pictures of the motor ?
I think I will try to find one that is clearly a replacement but close to what the original would look like. If I ever sell it (I like this motor), I can disclose it was replaced and show the plug so they can do their own validation.This is what I found....maybe my terms are incorrect but I don't think so. Again, make your own sticker, do you have a laser printer?