OK, you're well on the way to becoming a successful wrench jockey! A little smoke from the manifolds is normal after a rebuild, it's just those greasy handprints you left on them burning off. If it continues for any length of time, there's a valve cover leak. Even a small one will put enough oil on the manifolds to cause a smoke problem, and smallblock V-8's are notorious for developing seep leaks at the valve covers. Did you straighten the valve cover flanges before bolting them down with the new gaskets? If not, do it now. Where the bolts tighten, they will cause a dimple to form in the cover, and that's the only place any squeeze will be put on the gasket. The result is a seep leak between the bolt holes. Pull the covers, rest them upside down on a hard, flat surface like a piece of angle iron, and tap the dimples down flat with a small hammer. Use a very small layer of RTV sealer on both sides of a CORK, not rubber gasket when you reinstall them. You could also use a set of "spreaders", flat steel shims that fit between the bolts and the covers, to widen the area of squeeze of the bolts. Most parts stores will have them in their hot rod parts area.
The ticking noise is probably a slightly loose valve lifter. Run it a while, then readjust the rocker arms. Overall, it sounds like ya done good!
Jerry
