Smokin'

I noticed a little smoke coming out of the drivers side exaust pipe yesterday on my 72 351C . Would the easiest way to find out what the problem is; to have a compression check ran? Any ideas and suggestions would be sure welcomed. Regards,

Tdubb

A leakdown test is more revealing than a compression test. All you need is an air compresser and hose, if your engine uses 14mm plugs the hose fitting will screw right in the plug hole. Listen at the intake, exhaust, rad cap and crankcase ventilator to find where the air is going.
Smell the smoke, too. A leaking head gasket smells sweet, a scored wall or piston has a scorched smell.
Smoking on one side is usually a head gasket or cracked head, or leaking intake gasket.

what color, black blue or white? black is running rich, would be rich in 1 or more cyl's on that side. blue is oil burning, and white is steam, so leaky or cracked head on that side

What do you mean by ..."a little smoke"?

Maybe, it was cool that morning and it was condensation.

No, it was not an early start up condition. The color of the smoke appears to be black. The car seems to be hard to start after I cruise around for awhile, so Matt167, you might have a point about it running rich. If that's the problem, what should I do? It does idle high (1000rpm) until you tap the accelarator (sic). Can this be a timing issue? Thanks to all for your help. I'm not a mechanic by any means, but I'm trying to learn something about cars and I need some guidance. Regards,
tdubb

The high idle thing until it warms up is normal.....
If it's running rich, the carb probably needs rebuilding...............Probably a good tuneup wouldn't hurt either.