Ok, I'll take a stab at this one...
> I have a 78' Spitfire which has a '75 block in it. It had been leaking
> oil from everywhere - oil dipstick, pan gasket, distributor mounting.
> I was told by the local Triumph mechanics that it needed a ring job.
I'm guessing that you've got a clogged oil gallery somewhere in the
block. This is preventing oil from getting to the proper places and
thus it must find somewhere else to go. (Out of the engine) Perhaps
you could get some of this engine clean stuff for the oil, run that,
drain it and see if it gets better. (I've never had luck with oil
additives/cleaners, but it might be easier than a rebuild in this
case...)
> A month and a half later I've finished putting the car back together
> but it's still leaking oil & smoking as before. Is this part of the break
> in ? I don't think so....
Nope, but now you know that it's something else.
> Also, after running for 20-30 minutes the oil light will flicker
> and come on when idling @900-1100 rpm. It goes out once the
> engine gets above 12-1500. Any ideas?
This is another clue that the oil gallery could be clogged. Maybe try
attaching the oil pressure gauge on a different spot on the the block.
(This is possible on a TR6, not sure about your Spit)
> I'm also getting white smoke from the valve cover when I remove
> the oil cap. The other smoke is just oil running down from the oil pan
> to block gasket onto the exhaust. (At least that's what I think)
White smoke (from the exhaust anyway) is a sign of antifreeze getting
into the combustion chamber. This could be due to a bad head gasket
or a cracked head. If it's coming from the the valve cover, then
it's hard to say, but since you have a later Spit, it's possible that
a a little bit of smoke is a normal part of the emissions set up. The
other possibility is blow-by, which can be caused by rings not seated.
Those are the only things I can think of without seeing the car.
Let us know what you find!
-Scotty
'75 TR6 (on the road again!)
'70 TR6 (in the garage waiting for rainy days)
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