NOTICE: This thread is partially linked to the following thread to help diagnose these issues:
http://www.fordpinto.com/parts-resources-here-is-where-you-can-find-this-or-that/where-to-get-2-0l-piston-rings/msg121047/#msg121047So Brownie has been on the road for about a year now. She has had her ups and downs, lots of TLC and gone through the first transmission with bad clutches, a second transmission which went out due to crud in the cooler and torque converter, and now her original transmission is rebuilt and going strong!
Before getting her road worthy she got a valve adjustment and the valve cover gasket replaced. Points put back on and the old crane cam electronic ignition removed due to a bad shutter wheel (may be repaired soon).
Now that I drive her twice a week, I am noticing some performance things and eliminating possibilities contributing to her sluggish performance.
Here are some symptoms:
1) Very slow acceleration. She is slow to accelerating 80% of the time, usually when trying to accelerate after braking and not coming to a complete stop. However, when accelerating from a dead stop she accelerates decently.
2) Upon cold start, the engine acts like the choke is doing it's job until about 20-30 seconds after start-up it starts to "mis-fire" or sputter until I step on the pedal. Then it sputters a bit, then smooths out and idles smoothly.
3) When climbing even a slight hill/inclined road, it starts to smoke greyish white clouds. Not a little puff, but billows of smoke if I stay on the gas. After I get up the hill or incline it lessens, but after it starts to smoke it really never stops.
4) After driving for an hour and a half or so and coming to a complete stop, then going again, it starts to smoke almost all of the time. Not badly, but enough to make anything in the rear view seem hazy. With this comes even slower acceleration than before, and giving it any extra pressure to the throttle makes no difference, only more smoke.
5) The carb has been rebuilt twice, and I am not really suspecting it, but the tune of it probably has some part in the rich smell at times.
I am leaning towards a bad head gasket, and what aids in that assumption is that I checked the coolant level today for the first time since I parked her after my Sunday drive (when I noticed the smoke for the first time in awhile), and the coolant level HAS dropped about an inch, just barely covering the fins at the top of the inside of the radiator. The water pump and thermostat do not leak, and I replaced both gaskets before getting her running again.
If it is the head gasket, I have a few questions:
1) Is it normal for a motor that has been sitting a long time, but with low-ish mileage (91k true miles on the odometer), to develop head gasket issues?
2) I have run a few compression tests and they are giving results around 130-135 per cylinder. I cannot remember if any neighboring cylinders are lower than others though, need to do another test.
3) I would like to recondition the top end just to ensure it is done, but how can I get the valve springs closest to the cam towers to compress? The only compressor places have for sale or for rent around here are the fork type that push down on the spring with the fork fingers and against the valve stem.
A head set isn't to expensive ($39.99 before tax), and I am certain it needs new valve stem seals at the very least.
Is there something else that could be contributing to these issues that I am overlooking, or am I on the right track with the head gasket? Coolant loss is my biggest clue, but i don't smell coolant in the exhaust, however when it idles on my parents driveway it can leave a black mark on the driveway at the exhaust pipe with an oily patch in the middle. Lots of what I call "soot" though.