Reply To: 1954 Johnson CD-10 Low Compression

[Dave Crabtree]

Stanley, your idea of a poor compression gauge is a real possibility.  I’ve only used it once before and that was on an old Jeep CJ several years ago.  At that time, I did not suspect anything was wrong.  Although I have friends that have used Harbor Freight tools with “success,” I have not.  I bought the gauge there, plus I have bought a SAE tap & die set from HF. The tap and die set was poor at best.  I like the idea of buttoning it back up, refurbishing the magneto, clean the carb and give it a shot.  Thanks to both you and Labrador-Guy for encouraging me to try and fire it up.