Triumph Repair: TR6 smoking after head gasket change..., head gasket, smoke oil

Question
hi there.  changed out my head gasket, still smokes....bummer.  1973 TR6. I'm assuming the rings?? i have not done a compression test yet.  its not all together white smoke per say, more like blue.  could it be too rich? carbs? I really cant drive it like this, i have a smoke screen following....i'm really bummed because i dont want to pull the motor.  have my hands in about four other projects right now.. thanks, justin

Answer
Hi Justin,
The head gasket has little to nothing to do with blue smoke (oil burning)
Burning oil is either a ring problem, a valve guide problem, a crankcase vent problem or any combination of the three.

First check to see that the oil is not over full, then check that the vents for the crankcase are open and not stopped up.

Then do a compression test (throttle open) and then put about four squirts of engine oil in the plug hole and run another compression test. The first test should be from 125 to 170 PSI and the second test with oil (called a "Wet" test) should not be more than 10% to 15% higher than the first test. You have to do every cylinder that way.

If it were valve guides it would normally smoke just on start up but diminish after running a short time.
Howard