Hi gearhead,
1) it always has had some smoke, but it seems like alot more recently.
2) need to check plugs but they were checked (i believe) at last tune up back in feb. Would this cause a lot of smoke if they're bad??
3) the compression test was done, yes, and they confirmed there was some loss of pressure due to a small, cold-weather crack at the top rear of engine block, (really inaccessible spot) which dribbles a little anti-freeze when I drive her, SO i just back-off the rad cap a little to ease the pressure and keep her topped off from time to time, does the trick!
4) its not the orig engine and little is known about work done on her. As far as the numbers on the engine tell me, its got a '58-62 block with 848 series head ('56)
5) spoke is dirty-white, ash color and has strong odor--not black. It hasn't even been burning much oil, and only recently did the stick reach the "fill" mark--so I threw in a Qrt of 10-30.
