Larry,
Another good way to differentiate the splash vs full pressure engines is the presence of the
Oil Distributor Cover (1.785) on the lower driver's side of the block. Only the splash oilers (1953 standard transmission and all earlier) have the oil distributor. There is always the possibility that a previous owner converted a splash oiler to full pressure, but that did not happen very often.
The compression readings are very low. A good '53 engine would show about 120 psi or better. Some (or all?) of the rings may be stuck in the piston grooves. Do the compression readings improve if oil is squirted into the cylinder, as suggested in the
Shop Manual? There have been some threads here recently about "flushing" the old oil and sludge out of an engine that has been sitting for several years.
Hoyt
