Hi all. My 1982 280zx refused to start a few days ago in a very strange way and then, when she did start, blew clouds of white smoke. Before I have her towed to a mechanic, I'd really appreciate the opinion of club members as to just how much trouble i'm in for. This is my daily driver, so it's fairly urgent that I do something about getting her back on the road. She had been running really well - plenty of power, including uphill, with very little exhaust smoke. Oil level hasn't moved since I last serviced her about three months ago. When I turned the key the other day, the starter kicked and I could see and hear that the engine was attempting to turn over. The battery and alternator are quite new. I also have a lithium ion jump starter that I plugged in, so I was fairly confident that battery wasn't an issue. After four or five tries, the engine very slowly turned over with a kind of squelching noise, like rubber against metal, and sprang to life - with a cloud of smoke from the exhaust that hadn't been there before. I drove her around the block the next day and there was no noticeable difference in power. Still plenty of compression, but with what seemed to be something intermittently freezing up/dragging in the engine, accompanied by constant and copious clouds of white smoke. Obviously I don't want to exacerbate the issue, so I drove straight home and the car is laid up in the driveway. - I don't have a compression tester, so my saying 'plenty of compression' is based on the performance of the engine under load. - I had the manifold cover off a few months ago and did the valve timing. Everything looked surprisingly good. Nice clean oil, with very little varnish on the cam and rockers. I'm fairly confident I torqued everything properly afterward. - I have suspected that the oil seals are in need of replacement for a while as there seems to be a little bit of oil blow-by, particularly when the engine is cold. - I advanced the timing a week or so ago, to around 20 degrees when it would normally sit at around 10. She seemed much happier, easier cold starting and a fair bit more power. But I'm guessing that I pushed her a little bit too far. Other stuff - Oil is Penrite HPR30 20W-60 - Oil filter, sparks, leads, dizzy cap and rotor, fuel filter and air filter are all pretty new - I've systematically gone through all of the EFI components, tested, adjusted and repaired - Cold idle has been rough for a while, with occasional misses and splutters, but she ran fine once warmed up. Any ideas folks? Thanks in advance