My second cousin was telling me about a trip to haul grain from Wilcox with the massive side racks on the bed. He claimed he got it up to 55, I am assuming that was unloaded. It was an all day trip back then.

If I can find a drag and drop motor, I will plug one in. If the compression tests come back bad, I will yank this one regardless.

Serious question here. Assuming it was just surface rust, what is the worst case failure scenario? Barring a full re-build, are there less aggressive preventative maintenance items I can do, or is that just duct taping a real issue? For example, pull the pistons out of the bottom and put new rings, or replace the cam, or... I don't know enough to know what I don't know.

For those that are interested, I am going to start a project journal for the truck, I may get to it tonight. At first it will be a re-hash of a lot of this thread, but streamlined and spread out. Please do follow and chime in with advice, I genuinely need and appreciate the help.

1959 Chevy Viking. Belonged to my Great Grandfather