You say you have spark, but those coils are notorious for the plastic cover drying out, shrinking & cracking after 40 or 50 years. That magneto is one of the best, and was used on a great many models from 1951 into the 1990s. Because of its popularity it also is the most reasonably priced. That said, jumping a spark plug air gap while the plug is laying on the block is much easier than when the plug is installed and the compressed air fuel mix may by 8 times as dense. Electricity is lazy and will always find the easiest way to ground. A cracked coil will always give it an opportunity to do so. I will also say that a loose flywheel is a killer. Everyone knows this so Evinrude is very careful to be sure they are put on very tight. The matching tapers are forced together in your case at 60 to 65 foot pounds of torque on the flywheel nut. Time and differences in day and night temperatures make these never minutely perfect surfaces better conformed to one another. After 50 years they are as one. This is why schedule eight is specified for the puller bolts. These tempered alloy bolts are the strongest of todays standards. Each must be screwed in the same amount so the pull will be straight up and evenly distributed. If in too far, they will dig into the top of the coil. The coils are well made, but not bullet proof. Good Luck with your endeavor, Everyone in the Club is happy to see another abandoned outboard brought back to life. . . 😀
