Novice I/O questions

[Maineman]

I'm brand new to motorboating and don't know the first thing about I/O. I have been offered a good price on a downeaster glass hull with an older 3.0 litre Mercury I/O. I have a couple of questions about this set-up:
-Is this a reputable engine?
-What are the plusses and minuses of an I/O versus an outboard?
Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Novice I/O questions

Ayuh,...

The 3.0l,+ the Alpha drive have been around since the 60s,+ there's Bazillions of them out there, Still doing their Job...

In My experince,... There are No pluses to putting an Outboard on a hull set up for an I/O...
I've watched it done on about a 1/2 dozen hulls,+ they were All junked by the end of their 1st season...