Corrosion outside?

[GTom]

I am boat-shopping and see engines in various states. Rust is of course ugly but does it always mean an unhealthy engine?

[Cheechako]

I doesn't mean an unhealthy engine. It's not great, but I've seen much worse than that engine for it's age. That appears to be an old Volvo MD series.. Great engine, they are a bit expensive to work on though anymore.

[GTom]

Right, Volvo parts are not exactly cheap. Unfortunately many parts are long time discontinued - I don't know if there is a 3rd party source for engine parts, quite unlikely...

[sagablu]

I would be at least as worried about what appears to be a sloppy wiring job. How close is that bundle to the belt?