After getting my '67 Toro back from a 13 year mess of a restoration (long story for another time), I now have it home and am sorting out a ton of issues. Some background:
- I've owned the car for 30 years. Original engine, 84K miles, original C heads rebuilt in 2000 with new seals, valves, rockers, pushrods (did NOT do hardened seats), less than 1000 miles.
- In 2013 at start of restoration, pulled engine and had main bearings replaced to correct low oil pressure at idle. Also had new timing gears and oil pump installed while the bottom end was open.
- Added a Pertronix Flamethrower billet distributor (not convinced it's right for my engine - have original distributor I intend to reinstall). Verified 12VDC at distributor (ballast wire bypassed), but adding a hotter coil just in case.
- Original 7027131 Q-Jet rebuilt by Sparky's Carbs in 2013. Idle mixture screws at 3 turns out. Idle set at 900 RPM.
- Checked for and corrected a number of vacuum leaks; replaced PCV valve and line going to the carb base.
- Have not done a compression test, but plan to in the coming days.

When I first ran the car and got timing and idle dialed in, I would get a LOT of blow by out the breather. I drove it twice on a 2-mile loop by my house and it runs and shifts well, no hesitation or stumbling and blow-by has now corrected itself. However, it now blows tons of rich-smelling grey smoke out both pipes/banks. Not sweet smelling like antifreeze so I'm ruling out head gaskets, not oil-smelling either. I'm really scratching my head as to what's going on because the car is otherwise running great with no idle, hot or cold start issues. Help!

 

Any chance the exhaust system got water in it while sitting with the engine out? If yes it will take longer than expected to burn off.

 

Well, you might be on to something related, but much worse...I may have found a smoking gun and I hope I'm wrong, but...

In an effort to give the car a bit more ignition spark thinking that was an issue, I decided to drop in an Accel coil. As I removed the coil bracket bolted to the RH head, I noticed the bolt used was not factory and was pretty long. I removed it and got coolant weeping of of that threaded hole. NOT GOOD. I wonder if the morons that had my car punched through a coolant passage at the back of the head with the longer bolt. I wouldn't think that's even possible but why would I have coolant dripping out of that hole? Ugh...

 

Oh no...that could be really bad depending on how far the bolt went through.

 

But as you hinted before, wouldn't the exhaust have a sweet, anitfreeze smell for this situation?

 

It would and it really doesn't - it's more rich/fuel smell than anything. As for the bolt, it definitely went into the rear water passage in the head as evidenced by antifreeze dripping out. I got some thread sealer and used the same bolt to put back in the hole, hoping it seals up. If not, I'll be looking for a Toro C head core... UGH.

 

I think it went all the way into the water passage at the rear of the head. The correct bolt should be a 3/8-16, 1/2" long. My dopes used a 1" long grade 8 bolt!

 

At 1/2" longer it probably didn't go through both sides of the water passage, you may be ok.

 

Ughh... Another great engine ruined by modern hands.

Not knocking, been there done that. Had an engine rebuilt that was perfectly fine, an added aftermarket parts that were feel good moves at the time only. Moves that were made under the "might as well" have her rebuilt before the engine swap. And the add ons are supposed to be better.

Sorry this happened, glad you have located the issue. Hopefully its a reasonable fix.

 

I hope you're right but wondering if all the grey smoke is related. I also found a ballast resistor wired in on the + side of the coil, despite having a Pertronix Flamethrower distributor that specifically requires bypassing the ballast wire in the ignition circuit, so maybe the smoke is related to a weak spark. On that tomorrow. Ugh, the morons I entrusted this car to...

 

Thanks Phil - hope you're right. Love that quote: "Another great engine ruined by modern hands"...so true. At least after 13 years in the hands of knuckleheads, it's now in mine to fix, screw-up or whatever...but at least I'll know I did it! LOL...