Originally Posted by ah-kay

The car is back on the road now and has done 400 miles. No blow-by to speak of, idle smooth, no smoke. The engine seems to be a bit noisy but it could be my imagination. I managed to resurrect a nice rust-free CA car. The compression # when hot are 320, 280, 350, 300, 300, 300. They are not brilliant but acceptable. The engine has 342K so it is tired and needs a complete overhaul eventually. This is what I did on and off over the last 2 months.

1) install/remove the head 3 times.
2) remove oil pan.
3) push all pistons out. Clean piston and groves. Honed cylinders slightly. Replace piston and oil rings if broken.
4) Replace oil pump chain and re-crimp.
4) Re-install pistons and head.
5) Do a leak down test and it shows each cylinder at about 10-15% which is within limit.

This is a kind of minimum amateur-ish engine overhaul. This is picture of the end product. It has high mileage so I would be very happy if it can do another 30-50K. I recharged with R134 and just discover all leaked out so there is a leak somewhere. What a PITA with old car but at least it is alive and running. Thanks for the help from various members.