matt goike writing from my friend david's account cause that's where i 
happen to 
be possibly stuck at the moment. please respond directly if you have advice. 
left from michigan yesterday morning and arrived in burlington late. 
after stopping and fueling in ny state, i noticed a chirping sound upon 
starting back up, and while accelerating in the lower range of 1st, 
2nd, and 3rd.  it generally only occurs when the engine is hot and in the 
lower gears, not all of the time but always after i stop and restart the 
engine.  the chirping is very much like 
the chirping i heard before the rebuild (which now has 2500 miles on), 
which i assumed to be due to the damaged valve seats on cyls 1&2, only now 
it seems to be coming from the left side of the engine (3&4).  

hmmm...i have mark stephens rebuilt heads now so i hope it is not valve seats..
did a compression test: afraid to remove plug #1 because its in too tight and 
i feel like its stripping (what do i do about this?), #2 120psi, #3 
105psi, #4 110 psi.  this is a far cry from the 150 psi all around the 
mechanic claimed.  i think he's a good and honest guy, and i plan on calling 
him at 
home after i get some response to this plea.  he warranties rebuild work for 
6,000 miles.

questions:
what to do about spark plug #1?
do i continue to drive the thing without checking it out further/what 
further should i do to check it out? 
know of any reputable repair shops in burlington, vt?

i hope it's an exhaust leak and that my compression tester is wrong. waaah!

thanks, matt goike (81 adventurewagen)