1993JLX wrote:
I do have the head in the machine shop at the moment for a recondition and new valves, will the compression ratio being that much lower cause many issues? Do you know if the valves will hit with the 16v pistons as the valve reliefs are differently located. What would be the best way to test this?
You will lose a very small amount of power/torque with the compression drop.
You wont have valve clearance problems with the engine running but if you lose the timing belt it wont be good. Personally I'd change the pistons for peace of mind.