Did you see any problems with the head off? Did it have sloppy wrist pin bushings? Needless to say, if the wrist pins are sloppy, you are probably making the right decision to use it as a “parts engine”. But, perhaps the odd compression readings were due to a problem with the alternate head bolts you were using, perhaps the head was not getting properly torqued. I am not trying to give you “false hope”, just something to think about.
PS: The improved pistions/rods/wrist pin bearings were introduced half way through the 1960 production run, so your engine may have either the old or new style set up.
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