[RandalJ]

If it's any help, I bought an '86 with 70k almost two years ago with similar compression readings during PPI, but with #6 exhaust valve showing 28% compression loss during leakdown.

The owner of this very reputable shop where the PPI was done, advised that a top end job was on the horizon, but that overall the engine seemed very strong, and that he would have no qualms about driving the car to the East Coast (from Phoenix) and back. "on the horizon" to him meant drive it and check it again at 85k, 100k, etc., and see if there was any degradation. Unless, of course, it threw a valve through the lid, in which case we check it right away, if not sooner.

Since everything else in the PPI was very good, and the price was right, I decided to go through with the purchase. The only issues I noticed as I settled in with the car (which were probably there from the start), were a large puff of smoke sometimes when I pull up to a stop, and high oil consumption, maybe a quart every 500 miles.

This car has been my daily driver, and I've so far added 15k miles to the clock. The engine seems very robust, performance-wise, at least compared with others I had driven. I even did a DE a couple of months after I bought it, with no ill effects. There has been no degradation in performance or anything noise-wise that would indicate impending doom. And I do not hesitate to mash it up to 6k every now and then, which is the whole point, after all...

In March, I decided to have a major service done, and the same shop owner decided to try some major carbon busting. Following this, he said he was able to get the leak-down back to normal! This did not solve the oil consumption problem, but did seem to alleviate the smoke when coming to a stop - but just temporarily. My hunch is that carbon build-up is fast when guides are loose.

Anyway, he set the right expectations during the PPI in terms of how soon major work would be required. I have had the equivalent of more than TWO round trips to the East Coast, and I still seem to be OK for the time being. Of course, you mileage may vary...

My advice would be to do the work now if you can afford to, otherwise keep feeding it oil and just be very attuned to unusual noises or changes in performance. Just anything out of the ordinary.

Had to write this in a hurry, but I hope it helps.