I have a fully restored '73 that has a 350 crate engine with a Tremec 5 speed transmission. The restoration was completed about a year ago but the car has been driven very little due to work, bad weather, etc. The engine now has about 1500 miles on it and all of those miles have been very short duration trips (5-15 miles). Since most of those miles were put on the car during the winter, the engine rarely if ever has gotten up to normal operating temp. I am running a high capacity Dewitt aluminum radiator with dual fans.

Heres the issue . . . I have what appears to be oil smoke coming from the exhaust, particularly at idle. I have also had to add oil on 2 separate occasions plus the plugs are not burning clean.

My question is this . . . Is it possible that my rings have not properly seated? Will this problem possibly correct itself if I take the car on a road trip and run the engine up to hotter operating temperatures? OR am I now the embarrassed owner of an expensive oil burner???

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

rondo73

 

I'd do the easy and inexpensive things first. Check that the sump is not overfull (dipstick tube not pushed home) and take it for a nice long drive, then re-evaluate.