Hi, I am potentionally going to trade my 1975 cutlass for a 1955 ford fairlane town sedan all original with a 272 and the 4bbl power pack option. The problem is that I'm pretty sure the carb isn't original, the choke is not hooked up to the carb. It doesn't idle without help from the accelerator pedal, and smoke comes out of the passenger side exhaust. It's a whitish color, maybe slightly blue. It sometimes is there, other times the smoke barley comes out. The points, cap, rotor,, wand wires haven't been replaced in a LONG time. Any suggestions? Thanks!

The first order of business would be to pull all the plugs and perform a compression check. Be sure the carburetor is opened up while doing this. A compression test will at least give you an indication of any potential engine problems. A leakdown test while the spark plugs are out will further isolate if specific problems are in the rings or at the valves. Assuming the engine checks out okay, then a complete tuneup would be recommended which would include checking the valve lash.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)