"Richard, yes - a little patie
"Richard, yes - a little patience at this point may turn into a decent motor for you.
First, if a motor hasn't run in a number of years there is a chance that the pistons have froze in the cylinders.
So first you should remove the plugs and either spray in a some fogging oil, WD40 or even a teaspoon of motor oil (but the fogging oil is best) just to get some lube in the cylinders. Let it sit for a few minutes and then with the plugs still out try moving the flywheel by hand.
If the motor turns freely then the first step is ok - if not then there are a couple of processes that may help you free it up - but that is a different discussion.
Hopefully, it isn't frozen. At that point you also would be well served to check the compression - if good - check for spark at all plugs and if your spark looks good then replace the impeller and change the gear oil in the lower unit(at minimum).
It may have dry rotted and you don't want to fire up a good motor only to fry the powerhead due to overheat or chew up the gears due to lack of oil, or contaminated oil in the lower unit. But until you know the compression and spark are good no sense even spending the few bucks on the impeller and gear oil.
With free pistons and a new impeller/oil, I would throw in some new plugs, check over all the wiring for loose, broken, frayed wires etc and if they look good, hook up a tank with some fresh gas, mixed at 50:1 and try firing it up.
You may get some who would suggest the carbs need rebuilding, and they well may, but I personally would try it first and see what happens. If the motor wasn't properly prepped for an extended "lay up" the carbs may well be clogged however, most times you can at least get the motor to start even with "boggies" in the carbs - I will just run like crap.
It may sound like alot to do when you are anxious to fire it up, but it really is no more than a couple hours work that could well turn into a decent engine..."
