I need advice and opinions please

I am getting a 1996 skeeter with a 1996 Mercury 150 efi. at a great price BUT, was told it has a cylinder losing compression.
I am weighing options: this is where yall come in.
I can have a new powerhead installed ....
buy another used motor ....
or
I have a 1985 mercury 150 black max on another boat that runs great.
QUESTION IS : is there any reason that the 1985 would not work replacing a 1996. Bolt patterns ? control box ?wiring ? hoses ? tilt/trim connections ? steering/throttle connections ?


Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

as far as I know all you have to worry about is the electrical hookup at the engine, some had different pin counts in the plug.

motor for motor, everything will work.. jus gonna lose some power.. tha '85 is a 2.0 150.. tha '96 is a 2.5 150....would put ya on tha water while ya figure out what ya gonna do with tha broke motor...

Contact Charlie's Outboards in Alvarado. They are Merc experts and very trustworthy!