Somebody will have to explain further how valve seals effect compression, as they don't. They can make you think so when they leak to burn oil similar to low compression but take compression readings and it will still be fine.
Zero compression? I don't see how, and I used to build specialty drag engines with no valve seals on them at all, they ran fine. Something else may have happened around the same time.
Any PCV system generally is made to have a pretty good oil/air separator too, not doing so indicates that separator has clogged or other.
While I did not do the work myself, the shop I took it to was mystified as well.
The history of the car is it was a service vehicle for my employer, I drove it often. It began to have shifting issues, so the office took it to a local shop for a new transmission,in spite of me informing them the transmission was under extended warranty. Other than that, the engine ran fine, consistently got 37mpg on long trips, no oil burning, no coolant loss, no overheating.
The car languished in their lot for 9ish months if I remember correctly, over the course of a bitterly cold winter.
The car never moved because the shop didn't want to work on it.
Knowing it was under warranty, I offered to buy it. Did so. Car wouldn't start. Slow crank after replacing the frozen and long dead battery after sitting all winter.
Shop it was at left it sit another two weeks, promising every day to look at it tomorrow. I gave up, had it towed to a shop I'm familiar with, and they had diagnosed it as having no compression within hours of arrival. They inspected for PTV issues, and no piston to valve contact had been made. They replaced the timing set, reset timing, and still no compression.
I don't know if somehow the head gasket had also given up the ghost or not, but I'm told the intake seals were all gone, and the valves were all coked up with carbon.
Once the head and valves were cleaned, valve seals replaced, and new head gasket, it's running great.
While the valve seals were not likely the only issue, they were at least part of the issue. I am not enough of a mechanic to know the difference between OHC valve seals and Pushrod valve seals, nor the difference in a 4v head vs 2v in how much those valve seals prevent blowby, but I cannot comprehend why a car sitting in a lot would blow the head gasket, but I can 100% see the valves being coated in carbon/oil mixture causing the seals to stick to the valves when frozen. I am open to being wrong, just telling you what I was told.
I had wondered if the coolant froze, but none of the plugs had popped from the engine, the hoses weren't blown, radiator and overflow had fluid in them at the right levels, and there was no sign of coolant in the oil. So I find that option highly unlikely.
Also don't comprehend how sitting for the better part of the year would cause the timing chain to jump a cog or otherwise deteriorate.
So, regardless. Engine had no compression. It does now. I installed a catch can to help keep the valves clean until I sell it so I don't have to deal with the transmission failing again now that the warranty has expired on it.