[JohninKuranda]

Just an update - what with Easter and work commitments over the past few weeks, I have not had a chance to do much - but it is another long weekend here in Australia and I have some free time. I did have though, the opportunity though to retest the compression again with various levels of choke. Sadly, no change so further explorative work. I am thinking of pulling the head to check the condition of the pistons and rings. I know that no work/inspection has been done in the 22 years that I have owned the car, and suspect nothing long before that.

John

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UPDATE:

Well that was an interesting mornings effort! And I may have found an answer. When I went to pull the head, the first random bolt I chose needed very little effort to reverse it out. After moving with the wrench, a few turns and fingers only were needed to remove the bolt. Same for the second bolt. Before trying a third bolt, I grabbed the torque wrench - only to see less than 10 psi was needed to loosen. All the rest were equally loose. The only one that needed much more effort was the one that had the horn stand attached - and I mounted that. Looking at the gasket after removing the head, it looks as if the lack of torque across all the head bolts meant that in certain areas there was not a sufficient seal between the cylinders. The gasket does show carbon build up in certain areas - the thinnest areas between cylinders as can be seen. I do not profess to be a mechanic, but I would have thought that a leak via the gasket would affect the performance. There was approximately 1/8" of thread sealant on most of the bolts. So I am assuming that whoever did the last overhaul before I purchased the T 25+ years ago simply forgot to torque the head bolts.

The other item of interest was that the valves were all branded "Holden" which was the Australian subsidiary of GM.

I now have on order a new gasket and head bolts (just because) and I shall re-assemble when those parts arrive and see the result. The pistons appear in good condition and there is no wear on the cylinders - so this is probably the most economical solution currently to my original problem. If there is no unwarranted escape of gas on the ignition stroke, then I reckon that will be transferred into increased power and therefore speed.