So..I am working on this 440...Got her started

The car wouldn't start when I took the job over, it was very resistant to turning over. I got the plugs changed, got back to baseline, 15 initial. I was at it again today getting rid of that hideous chrome excuse for a fuel line and custom made him one.

Anyways. I got the air fuel mixture close as I could. I still have to hook it up to an Air/Fuel Meter and really dig into the carburetor.

The problem here is....the #1 cylinder is SMOKING. Its like its leaking from the flange (Hedman Shorty's) but its a white smoke...The smoke goes away when I bring up the REVs....the suction of the exhaust is probably blowing it out the exhaust pipes. As soon as I get it off the REVs about 2000rpm) a plume of white smoke comes out and then it goes back to a steady discharge. I can't hear the tick tick tick associated with an exhaust leak.

The oil is fine on the dipstick....The weird part is...When I opened the radiator just to check the level before we started....The owner said it has always done that...it drinks and pukes the radiator fluid...He doesnt have a catch can and I told him has to buy one.

The motor has 400 miles on it...I need to pop off the valve covers and retorque the heads down...what could be the cause of the white smoke on JUST the #1 cylinder...I don't think its a fuel issue because all the cylinder would have been smoking...After I torque the head down again I have to get and do a compression check and see what I am looking at. I am thinking maybe its a cracked head gasket...and the coolant is leaking out between the head and block surface...and it just looks like its coming from the #1 exhaust

Any advice?

Compression and leak down can be your friend...

I dont have a leak down tool....Im gonna see if a friend has one and either way I am gonna buy just for my tool box

White smoke is usually water; does the smoke dissipate quickly or hang in the air, so to speak? Does the coolant in the radiator have bubbles in it when the engine is running? Is the spark plug for that cylinder abnormally clean compared to the others?

when idling....it hangs around....when throttling there is no smoke.....when it comes off the throttle...a PLUME of white smoke comes out and then steadies out in a continuous motion. When I pop out the plug to do a compression check I will check the plug for abnormal signs...I just put a new set of Champions in there...so it should be an interesting find

Yikes, white smoke usually means water, gasket problem or casting leak.
Hope it is an easy find.

Joe

Check the easy stuff out first. Could Be the bolt or stud that srcrews in for exhaust manifold/ header. These go into the water jacket on factory iron heads. They can leak coolant into exhaust.

Pete does it smell like oil or antifreeze ?

This exact thing happened to me. Run the engine, pull out of the gas, get back on the gas a little, incredible plume of white smoke.

Then it went away.
Did the engine heal itself? I hoped so. But at 25 years old I was wrong. It had a head gasket failure in progress.

An on-again, off-again white smoke condition is a head gasket. Stop and disassemble top of engine.
More run time won't make it go away. Perhaps a $60 can of head sealer will, but I don't know for sure.....

R.

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Pete does it smell like oil or antifreeze ?

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It's something burnt but I can't place my nose on it...He has an aluminum radiator and the last idiot (I met him) is a 78 yr old guy from Frisco who lives here and tells everyone including me that we are young punks and we don't know anything. He kept quizzing me on shop methods and old school products. This guy told my buddy to remove his thermostat, to run water to glycol at 80%/20% mix and to keep the fluid level at 1 finger height over the cores in the aluminum radiator, the upper radiator tank is about 2" high so the coolant mixture is going somewhere (which is why I was pointing the finger at the head gasket)...The coolant was a very light seafoam green in color...not like the vivid green slime its supposed to be. So I know the ratio is definitely off. I am going again on Sunday and probably play with it even though its a formal dinner...I think the men will escape to gather around the car.