I just flew to Dallas to finish some work on my new 82 Vanagon and drive it back to Providence (you may remember me from my previous posts, well now is the trip!)

In any case, being the smart person that I am, I decided to check the compression after I bought the car.  In any case here is the bad news:

#1  60 psi
#2  130 psi
#3  108 psi
#4  127 psi

Obviously #1 is a bit under spec.  I took the reading 4 times.  The threds were a bit tight, but I am pretty sure I got the hose connector all of the way in.  The engine runs OK, but misses a bit under load.  It was just tuned.  In any case, what should I do about #1??  The trip to Providence is 1700 miles.  Do I run the risk of blowing up on the way?  Or does the reading sound bogus since the engine seems to run well.  I am not against pulling the head and piston if it is possible without removing the engine and would fix the problem.

While we are on the subject of supidity, in an effort to 'clean' my timining indicator (mounted to the fan guard) I rubed off all of the numbers.  In my defence the 'cleaning' was simply one rub with a shop towel.  In any case, is there any other way to find the correct timing mark.

Thanks for the help, respond ASAP!!

David

82 Vanagon w/78 Bus Engine (don't ask)

PS  For those with PHDs in logic, I stated in the first paragraph that the engine was tuned, and stated in the second that I can't time it.  I am pretty close since 2 numbers are still visable (not the ones I want, however) and I can approximate the correct timing.  I would like to have it dead on, however.