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So driving home tonight the Pinz starts belching smoke. It was night so hard to see the color. Getting home I checked the exhaust pipe and there seems to be quite a bit of oil residue coming out. Raw oil. So....

I know squat about this engine. How bad is this likely to be, and requiring what kind of repair? Any takers?

Could be simple could be a whopper -- need more info to help.

Did the engine also run really crappy, skipping, needing some
throttle to keep running? And BTW don't run the engine at this
point W/O figuring out what's wrong....

If you have the flex connection between the headers to heat
exchanger, take a look at the flex pipe and see which (or both)
may be wet with oil, e.g. associated with Cyl 1,4 or Cyl 2,3. If
both then I'd be suspicious of a problem effecting all cylinders
as per below, if one header only then you might be looking at
a particular cylinder that has a problem.

Check your Plug wires, if you have the stock plugs and wires
they may look bullet prof but they can fail. Again did it run
poorly e.g. running on 3 cylinders?

Check to see if your distributor came loose and is freely rotating,
gross improper timing can "pull" excessive oil into the chamber
and out the exhaust port -- been there done that Y'd be
lucky if this is your problem. And if you have PinzSSI a timing
reset is very easy.

If timing is good, then I'd pull all plugs and inspect them for
color, which is oily, which is dry and carbon. Get a Borescope
down each and visually inspect the tops of the Pistons and wall
to the extent possible. If that looks good I'd then follow up with
a compression test on each cylinder, looking for an outlier.

See where that takes you in terms of getting more observations,
if this is all new to you find a friend who can help.

Good luck,

I rarely post here. Your problem could be major, could be a $10 fix.

I agree with RMEL.

1st, check to be sure all spark plug wires are connected, and that your
cap and rotor are properly secured and oriented. Also, check around
your carburetors to be sure the throttle bodies have not come loose from
the carb body. (If you remove the air cleaner and lift up on the carbs
you will see. They should be solidly mounted with no wiggle or gaps)

Check the coil. It might not be the cause, but it's cheap and easy. A bad coil
could cause a poorly running engine.

You kinda have to start it up at this point to see if it still runs like crap.
If it doesn't run smoothly, turn it off immediately. Pull all the spark plugs and
check them for oil. It sounds like in the worst case scenario, you will find
at least one of them covered with gas and oil. If that is the case, you need
to inspect the cylinder as Rmel suggested, to be sure there isn't worse damage.

Check the gaskets for signs of a leak. You might want to pull the valve covers
and look there for leaks too. If you have the guide, you can check all the valves
for clearances and give it a quick valve readjustment. I forgot the gap ... maybe
0.02? The guide will tell you. It only takes about an hour. If there is a valve
issue you can see it at this point.

This is a pretty good start. If your problem "mostly" goes away with checking and
cleaning everything, be sure to set the timing and check your pertronix (if you
have one) for proper gap.

Hope this helps,

Bumber

My first look would be, if one cylinder Head-Cap Seal ist broken ... they tend to leak after being sucked a little bit inside ... the motor oil drips on the exaust manifold and its a smokey mess ... not an uncommon Pinziproblem

a cheap repair .... many fix the new seal on the head cap with a heat resistant silicone sealant ...

I hope for you, I am right ))

Regards vom Bavaria ... Simon

This will almost surely be an easy fix, 10 minute job.
Do this before you do anything else:-
Remove the braided tube that goes from the bottom of the oil filler neck to the rear cylinder.
Blow it out, it will more than likely be full of a creamy gunk. Rinse it with carb cleaner to fully clear it.
Do the same for the short braided pipe that runs from the top of the oil filler neck to the carb covers.

Cleaning this tubes should have been on the manufacturers maintenance schedule.

If you want to do a thorough job, remove the oil filler neck entirely and rinse it through, then do the same with the carb cover. You may also find that oil has settled in the rubber seal that links the card cover to the air filter housing.

The smoke (white in colour) is a result of oil being burnt through the carbs.

This occurs due to condensation in the engine not being burnt off when doing short journeys. It is far more pronounced in colder climates. Its an issue that I address monthly in Scotland.