Compression Readings

3

32FordCollector

Junior Member
I have a 32 Ford with a newer 59 AB engine. The car hasn't run in over 20 years and I'm in the process of working through all the various steps of getting it back to starting condition. The other day I tried to take some cold compression test readings just to get an idea of the state of the engine. The readings came in really low, 30 - 60 psi but the engine hasn't been running in 20 plus years and everything is cold.

Is this even a valid test? I was thinking of squirting some Marvel Mystery Oil in each cylinder, cranking it over a few times and then repeating the test. Am I spinning my wheels or would this possibly tell me anything of value?

To the best of my knowledge the engine was running okay last time it was run.
 
The only thing I can tell you is that I have a '51 Mercury engine that had been sitting in inside storage for over 20 years. Last fall, we mounted it on my test stand, and it showed 105-110 lbs all around. I had squirted MMO in the cylinders when I put it away. I would certainly do the test with the MMO. I don't think you'll get a true reading until you get it started and let it run a while. If you got compression on all cylinders before, you can probably be confident that everything is free and it's ready to go. You probably should change the oil if only to see what it looks like.
 
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