Jeff, I'm hoping that's all it is, but I poppped the push rods, pushed the rocker aside, and spun the valves with a grips.On the two bad valves,I could feel a "catch" as the valve was rotated.Today with the new water pump on,I ran the engine in place at a high idle for half an hour, then ran it up and down the street for awhile.The good news is the oil pressure stays just above 15 lbs when running faster than an idle and there is no babbit knocking to be heard.The exhaust smoke seems to diminish pretty much once the engine is fully warm.
Guess I'll pull the head, look at the valves and the cylinder walls.If the cylinders look ok,might as well crawl underneath,pop the pan and do the rings.
Does anyone have a "Target Gauge",used to adjust the rod squirter tubes?Babbit rod failures are almost always due to bent squirt tubes.