I inherited this car from my uncle a year and a half ago. Have driven it very sparingly since the initial round of servicing to get it on the road. Maybe 100 miles total.

Went out to drive it last month and it now suddenly smokes a lot. I can't really tell if it's accumulated oil in/on exhaust system (yes, it leaks a bit) or something else. If I engine brake on a hill it doesn't make it worse. Crank case is not overfilled with oil (actually a bit low). Engine fires right up and is not down on power at all, so I don't think anything catastrophic has happened. Stuck ring? Does this happen all the sudden after being used after a 10+ year dormancy?

Is there a guru/mechanic in Oakland I could take this to for diagnosis? Someone who would be able to fix it without selling me a full rebuild?

I was thinking of selling it since I haven't used it much and I had to put it on the street a few months ago, but now it seems like I ought to get this dealt with first, or at least have clarity on what's going on.

Thanks for reading...

Here is my intro thread if you want to see pictures: http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...=213343&hl=

You need to find out if the smoke is directly out of the exhaust or smoke from oil on the heat exchangers. If it is coming out the exhaust find someone who can do a compression and leak down test. You will then know the extent of repairs needed.
Selling a car in need of a major repair never brings high dollar. I would fix it and keep it as it looks like a nice car. If you do sell it it will bring much more with a fresh engine than a smoking engine.

This is kind of what I was thinking and why I brought up the selling idea. I am inclined to keep it, but it's sitting unused on the street.

How much smoke would oil on the heat exchangers cause? How soon after starting would it start smoking?

I'll start it again tomorrow and try and figure out if the smoke is coming out of the tail pipes or not.

I guess a tow to an as yet unknown mechanic is in my future...

My old car used to drip oil on the heat exchangers. It would cause a bit of smoke to linger around the lower rear area of the car for a couple minutes after startup if I let the car sit and idle. I don't think it's something you'd see while you're driving unless you've got a serious leak pouring on to them.
If you've got smoke trailing behind you when you drive, I think you've got a different problem.
But I would check next time you start it up. Get out and get on the ground and see if you can tell where the smoke is coming from.

So I fired it up again and it is coming out of the exhaust. I have an appointment to drop it off with a local mechanic tomorrow.

Time to call the tow truck.

What color smoke are you getting? Blue, engine issue, white, might just be condensation.
Cesar

how does it run?

good power?

not so good?

does the exhaust smell like gas?

don't run it any more if it does, this could be a carb problem that is dumping too much fuel into a cylinder and will wash out the cylinder with gas and will dilute the oil.

this would be very bad for the engine and ruin the bearings.

Good news. Towed it to the mechanic. Fuel valve leaking gas into the crank case. Had what appeared to be about 1/2 QT too much oil in it, with a bit of a gas smell in the oil. Not thin enough to cause bearing problems, but enough to raise the level so it smokes.

Getting oil changed, carbs gone through, valves adjusted and a few other little fixed.

phew.

check fuel pressure also.
Use Stabile more frequently when you let it sit.
Smell your oil each time you check it....it will smell like fuel.

Get a fuel shut off valve in the car somewhere to help prevent this from happening again. When you store the car, when its running, shut off the fuel and let the carbs run dry, then they have a better chance of staying clean.

Rich