rebuild 13-B, have rebuilt, or buy reman?

[bowjangles]

I could use some advice; Here's the problem:
I have an old '74-75 13-B in my '80 Triumph Tr-7 roadster. it is non-turbo with a Hitachi 4bbl carbeurator;

Recently, it has started to smoke like crazy when I start it up.The smoke screen lessens after running awhile, but never goes away completely.
I can't tell whether the smoke is from coolant or oil, but after reading many forums, I'm pretty sure that the engine is toast-Sounds like coolant or oil seals are bad? Wish I was wrong!
Is there a way to determine the cause of the smoke w/o opening up the engine?

So, what are your thoughts about whether I should;
#1 Rebuild the engine myself-Have never done this to a Rotary, but have rebuilt other engines.
#2 Find a rebuilder. I have a list, any recommendations?
#3 buy a remanufactured engine -Don't have any sources for this.

Time is not an issue here as I am retired, but economics is important to me.

[Pete_89T2]

As for determining if the smoke is coming from burning coolant or oil, the best indicator is what it smells like. Smoke from oil burning has a nasty, acrid stink - you won't want to take a deep breath around it; coolant has a sort of sweet smell that is not too repulsive.

[bowjangles]

Thanks for the info about smoke detection.Assuming that I can determine whether the smoke is from coolant or engine oil, how does that information help me decide whether the engine needs rebuilding or not?

[85rx-7gsl-se]

I doubt many shops will have a rebuilt old-school (pre-1986) 13B sitting around. Option 2 would be my advice. Your general location would be helpful in advising on which rebuilders to look into.

[bowjangles]

Thanks for u r reply. I live in S.E. Michigan.Maybe you know of someone close to me that either rebuilds or sells rebuilds?

[TitaniumTT]

Blue is oil, white is coolant. You could also pressurize the coolant system and look for leaks, leaks with no puddles generally means coolant seals.

Yeah, where are you located?

[bowjangles]

O.K/: Thanks for the info, but does it really matter where it comes from? Lots of smoke means a rebuild right?
Can either or both situations (smoke from oil /smoke from coolant) be corrected without a rebuild?

[diabolical1]

generally speaking, you're right. it doesn't much matter. a rebuild is the bottomline if either turns out to be the case. however, there are one or two things it could be that wouldn't mean a rebuild. for example, if you went overboard with premix or something.

in addition to the information already given to you, you can also see which one of the two you have to refill frequently.

[bowjangles]

Originally Posted by diabolical1

generally speaking, you're right. it doesn't much matter. a rebuild is the bottomline if either turns out to be the case. however, there are one or two things it could be that wouldn't mean a rebuild. for example, if you went overboard with premix or something.

in addition to the information already given to you, you can also see which one of the two you have to refill frequently.

Thanks for the tip. I did measure the amt. of oil sent to the carb from the oil metering pump and it was within specs, but am going to try by-passing it and just add oil to the gas to see what that does.
The smoke did start just after an oil change so, I thought that I put too much oil in the crankcsase, but it was the correct amount. I will keep working on this as I don't know where or who can get me a replacement engine of this vintage (74-75)

[85rx-7gsl-se]

Again, you will likely have to rebuild your current engine. Finding a rebuilt 74-75 13B sitting a shelf somewhere is somewhat unlikely. What most end up doing is building a hybrid of old and newer (FC RX-7) parts as old style 13B housing can be hard to find and pricey. Maybe Charles or someone else with old school 13B experience can chime in.