TOPIC: '76 Evinrude 70hp. Looper

Dad has a terrible itch for a 70hp. looper. He did find a '76 short shaft, manual transmission one that he is pretty excited about. Is there a reason to not buy this motor because of it's design or other short comings? One thing about this particular motor is that it was run in salt water. I am very much deep in fresh water country, so salt water scares the daylights out of me. The seller says it runs real good and just brought it back from Florida. The only thing he says you can see about the salt water is the wiring conn. under the hood show signs of corrosion. Does anyone have an opinion about this motor? We have heard that the later Loopers without the electric shift are the ones to search out, but what about one that has been run in salt water?

There are so many good freshwater ones out there.

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I would pass on a salt water one simply because if you need to do maintenance it becomes a head ache.

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Nothing really wrong with electric shift , they are simple / reliable and well engineered.

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You would be happy with a 82 -85 3 cylinder 70 HP

Thanks for the response!

Just wondering, why a '82-'83 versus a '75-'81? What things were improved to make the newer ones better or the older ones to avoid?

Pistons and crankshaft changes.