An easier way is to put some cotten rope in the plug hole when the piston is just at the begining of its compression stroke then turn the motor till it stops. Valves will be pushed into their seats and there is no chance of valve drop. Repair what's needed, back the engine off and pull out the rope. Magic. And cheap.

I think you should pull the rocker covers  get a remote start disconnect coil  and turn engine over while watching the valves making sure everything is moving freely and not sticking  and make sure all valve parts are working properly I had a 54 merc. that sat for 18 years did that, things didn,t look good pulled the heads cleaned the guides  and the heads buffed  up all parts new seals and gaskets  put all back together  set valves and it ran like a top !!!! and been running ever since and that was 16 years ago  added reslone to the engine oil  ran  30 wht engine oil and changed the oil on a reg ular basis good luck sounds like a great car

Thanks Guys.  I will check all of the things listed.  I tend to think now that its a sludge issue. 
I will plan to pull the covers, clean out all passages, both return and feed, clean out the screen in the oil cap, clean the
breather screen, check/adjust the rockers, clean clean clean, change the oil before running it, run until hot, change oil again and see what happens. I will also check the thermostat and make sure the oil pressure light is working.  If it's still noisy, I will pull the covers one at a time while running to see if oil is getting up there.  Valve seals - depends on how bad they look - may replace.  I will also check the damper.  The oil is changed regularly, even if it has 200 or 300 hundred miles for the season, it gets changed every spring.  He also adds lead additive and a small amount of Marvel to the gas every fill-up and stabilizer in the fall.
Sounds like a fun day in March - seriously, looking forward to getting on it.  Now if I can just get used to the hood opening backwards....lol

Happy New Year all and I appreciate your help.
Brian

I would say that the problem is probably sludge build up in the oil return passages in the heads due to the engine not reaching correct operating temperature due to all the short hops. The oil is pooling on top of the head and getting sucked down the valve guides. How often is the oil changed? How is the oil pressure? Is  the warning light operational?


"FREE SAMPLE"

noisy upper end can be a lack of oil to the rockers. With the valve covers off & the engine at idle, check to see if it's getting oil to the the rockers on both sides of the engine.  In addition to the other possible top end problems mentioned, look for sludge. An area often missed in that regard is the oil filler cap screen. It can be totally plugged up, and that is the only air intake for the crankcase venting. Clean the cap thorougly or if it's really bad, replace it.  Also, the road draft vent canister, on the drivers side of the block, has a filter setup in it. It may also be plugged up. And does the engine have a working thermostat? Runninng cold & short runs can contribute to sludge problems, which may contribute to inadequate top oiling.. Good luck.    


Paul

Good advice. Along with valve adjustment I would check and or replace points, plugs, and plug wires.  Check the vibration damper on the crankshaft pulley also. If it separates it can get noisy and cause problems. I would recommend replacing the valve stem seals as a maintenance thing. It can be done without pulling the heads. Need an adapter to hook up an air hose in the spark plug hole and a valve spring compressor. Wish I had a family car like that one.    

Welcome! When you pull the valve covers to do the rocker adjustments, Check the valve stem seals, they get brittle and can fall apart in chunks, those chunks can then plug the returns, Check that the returns are not plugged with sludge, The older oils could sludge up these motors pretty bad and if the returns are plugged then the covers could fill with oil and leak by the valve stems causing the smoke. Along with checking what others have mentioned. Check that the muffler is not plugged up either, I have had cars I picked up that the muffler rusted in the inside and plugged up the outlet of the exhaust, that back pressure will cause the engine to smoke and get hot. Mice love plugging up exhaust also!

55 Vicky & customline

58 Rack Dump, 55 F350 yard truck, 57 F100

59 & 61 P 400's, 58 F100 custom cab, 69 F100, 79 F150, 82 F600 ramp truck, 90 mustang conv 7 up, 94 Mustang, Should I continue?

We need to see photos of this gem.


~DJ~ AKA "Bleach"
1956 Ford Fairlane Town Sedan 30K original miles

Welcome to the best Y-block forum in the world, Brian. I am a sucker for Gramma cars, yours sounds like a great one. When you remove the valve covers I think you may find some bent or dropped push rods due to sticking valves. If so, I hope it is from merely not enough use and not from gummy fuel deposits. Usually the first kind can be successfully fixed by oiling and working the offending valves. By the time the valves are affected by gummy fuel you will have a mess on your hands. It might require cleaning the entire fuel system including tank. I had to pull the heads on a Lincoln to get the valves clean they were so bad. Hopefully yours is easy. If you find no sticking valves or damaged push rods, then you surely will have restricted upper oiling problems. There are lots of threads here addressing this issue. Good luck.



Tom from the chiggerfarm located in the beautiful Heart of Central Texas

When you cannot dazzle others with your brilliance, baffle them with bullcorn!

Get a shop manual for it.  With that, answers to many questions will be at your finger tips.
Apart from the valve train, these engines really aren't much different than any other.  Diagnosing this problem will involve practically the same procedures.

Since it is not driven often, my first thought is bad gas.  It can cause valves to stick which can cause pushrods to bend.  It can smoke when that happens.  So checking the valve lash is a great idea.
I would not take it out on the highway and "open it up" if it is running incorrectly.  You could do more harm than good.
No magic fix in a bottle has ever worked for me.  If you want to try marvel mystery oil, have at it but I think it will be a waste of time and money.
Compression check is a good idea.  If compression varies, you can squirt a little oil in the plug hole and check again.  If the compression goes up, then rings probably are the cause.
Have you checked the oil?



Lawrenceville, GA