Re: 1973 Evinrude Mate 2HP Issues

[Don]

Well, the compression surely sounds low, especially if you just replaced the rings. Did you orient the piston correctly? The sharp side of the piston deflector should face the right side/intake side of the powerhead. Nonetheless, improper piston orientation would not really affect compression. Like others have said, add some two stroke mix directly into the plug hole to see if the engine will fire, perhaps the compression will come up…
It is possible that your compression gage reading is inaccurate, try a different gage…