1956 half-ton with a rebuilt 235 in it. Engine was built by a company in Kansas City whose name I forget (Engine Specialists?). I have about 20,000 miles on the engine. Yesterday, it started running rough and smoking. I put a vacuum gauge on it and the needle fluctuates at idle between 18 and 24 inches (fast movement). Needle steadies when you accelerate. Smoke out the tail pipe is really hard to read. Sometimes it looks white. Sometimes it looks blue. My oil consumption is up, too, though the truck does leak quite a bit. This all started really suddenly.
Anyway, just for kicks, I reset the timing. Doesn't make a difference. Plugs, points, and condenser are only a few months old. Been about six years since I adjusted the valves.
Could this be caused by anything besides worn valve guides? And if it is the guides, what does this entail? Is this something you can do yourself? Anyone ever been through this?
The only other thing I would mention is that I JUST filled the tank with gas. Twenty minutes later, this problem started. Kind of grasping at straws there, but it is odd all the same.
