I just got a 69 van with /6 225 It had been sitting 4 yrs, changed the oil, new spark plugs, new battery, painted it john deere yellow and painted my company name on it, all for less the $500. I love this old rig. its runnig better all the time ( its been back on the road 2 months now.
but when its running its not smoking only when you start it after its been run for awhile pretty big puffs of blue then cleans right up?? do i need a valve job is it leaking from the top??

ps I have a bout 8" of play in the steering wheel, hard to stay in my lane on ruff road, can that be tightend up on the steering box?
Thanks
Scott

Blue smoke at startup is typical of bad valve stem seals. It's also possible the valve guides are excessively worn. These two problems allow oil to seep into the combustion chambers after shutdown, and it burns off at startup, causing the smoke for a short time. You could try replacing just the seals at first, but if it doesn't help much, then you might as well go for a head rebuild.

As for the steering problem, first a question. Is this manual steering or power steering?

Roger

I wouldn't mess with the steering box till I checked all the other front end parts. Tire pressure, ball joints, drop arm, tie rod ends, wheel bearings, etc.... 8" of play is usually a combination of several worn parts. You only need to replace parts which are out of tolerance and grease up everything else.

As for smoke when warm starting, it does sound like it may be valve seals, but If it subsides quickly, I would not attack it unless another problem pushes you in the direction of headwork.

I suggest you fix your front end and complete any other tune up stuff and let the motor 'break in' a little while longer.

_________________
1980 Aspen 225 super six

This is a manual steering rig- A100s never came with a power steering option.

Ditto on the valve seals. If your head is original it is a head designed to run on leaded gas. I say find a low mileage late model slant in the boneyard and swap heads.

On the steering, do a good lube of your ball joints and replace any worn components. Only then should your worry about adjusting the box. But do make sure that your gearbox isn't rusting of the body or that your ount is tisting when you turn the wheel.