[maple_leaf_eh]

Well, I towed it down the block to a now abandoned hospital grounds and tried starting under compression. No luck! But it does backfire. Merde!

I had it in the driveway afterwards and a half-ton pulled up. The driver dismounts and approaches with the fixed eye gaze, swaggering rolling gait of a gunfighter. Eyeballing the Jeep.

Smart alec me sez, 'You're not from these parts mister. You must be here for the Jeep.'

After trading one-liner questions, 'fifty-three?', 'seventy', 'runs?', 'nope', 'good shape?', 'yes and no', etc. We introduced ourselves and it turns out I've corresponded with the fellow over parts. He wasn't selling, but offered to stop by for the next few nights to help. I'll take any free advice given.

All 4 spark plugs and leads fire nicely. Gap tested and put into spec.

He brought a compression tester one night. #1 is 90 psi dry/96 psi with oil; #2 is 60/96, #3 is 110/114, and #4 is 90 and 104. The manual says 120 psi preferred.

Another night he interpreted the engine block dataplate. Bored 40 over, Mains 30 over, Rod Ends 30 over. Rebuilt Jul 84 by Bennett and Hanson in Smiths Falls, ON.

The backfiring and pulled plugs suggest it is running too rich. Time to teach myself about timing.

On another topic, how can I function the starter pedal mechanism from under the hood? A short bar or a long screwdriver?