I'll have to agree that it's not likely but anything is possible. This past fall a friend of mine gave me an 89 8hp merc that wouldn't run and 6 gal tank for free. After a carb cleaning and fixing a couple of leaks in the fuel system, it starts and runs very good. The drawbacks at this point is a slightly bent prop shaft (barely out of tolerances), the lower unit has water in it, and the water pump is not pumping 100%. I'm pretty sure the water leak is the seal around the prop shaft, and the impeller needs replacing, but hey, IF IT's FREE, IT'S FOR ME!!!!!
To add a little sugar coating to this, I have a buddy with a mid 80's 25hp Mariner with stainless prop. I don't think it's running like it should because it only pushes his boat at 20mph with just me in it. The thing is, he doesn't want that much motor on his boat regardless of how it runs, but he really wants the 8hp I have if I get all the bugs worked out. So there's a better than avg chance I'm gonna get an even trade of the 8hp for the 25hp. :mrgreen: