Might be that 2 valves are staying open due to being stationary for so long and is an old motor. Another thing is if you have twin webers that some sediment can block the fuel galleries. Have you swapped plug wires around (1 to 2, and 3 to 4) to see if the leads are suspect? Check if the plugs aren't dead.

If 2 vlaves were staying open you wouldn't be getting 145psi compression. you would get ZERO!

I am assuming you correctly gap all your plugs before they go in, (they will be all over the place straight out of the box).

You could make sure all the plugs are getting spark by pulling them one by one and checking they are firing by holding them against the block (with insulated pliers) and trying to start it.

If a couple of cylinders are simply not getting spark, check the dissy cap and TEST all your leads with a multimetre.

If you suspect sticking valves, take the rocker cover off, pull all the plugs and turn it over by hand a few times, they are usually pretty easy to see.

Dont give up, its figuring things like this out that makes you a better mechanic.

Cheers

Shaun B

haven't had any time to work on her again but after looking at a few sites i think one side of the carb fuels cylinders 1 and 2 and the other obviously 3 and 4 so that theory might be gone!