Hi guys, thanks for all the replies. I'm the dad and money guy on this project. I'm a 40-year gas hobbyist, but this is my first diesel. The concern about compression was I didn't want to put the money into all the other systems, brakes, suspension, vacuum system just to then find out we have a tired motor that is not even at the original 62hp needed to get us up and down hills.

The car starts great. 20 degrees in January after sitting a couple weeks it starts within 3-4 seconds f turning the key and almost no tail pipe smoke. But on the other hand, the YouTube valve cover cap test is not so great. at idle the blow-by is casing the oil fill cap to dance up and down, a lot. So as with gas motors I was thinking check compression to determine engine life. But sounds like the cold weather start is a reliable indicator without all the hassle? If so, next steps will be to update all fuel lines and coolant hoses, then tackle vacuum system and dead dashboard. Any other recommendations?