how long since the engine ran? you can get erroneous readings if its been sat a while as the lifters don't pump up fully and completely open the valves, you then up with higher readings than you really have.
 
The last time the car was running was back in november before she got bulkhead reapirs, complete rewired etc etc etc. To be honest I got a bit carried away with myself.

Dr Evil you have a message;)
 
Vacuum advance replaced. Timing needed a good bit adjustment after that, but it seems to be ticking over ok. Just need to give her a good run to see what happens. She always used to hestitate a bit when accelerating, I put it down to being cold, but now I don't even need choke to start.

Thanks for the help, it's a constant learning curve.
Time to see if the replacement compression tester works.