355 Buying question, smoke on cold start

Is that when cold? Does it have catalytic converters? Given it's a euro, is it a 2.7 or 5.2 car?

That looks like it being rich when cold, which 2.7's are known to be and if it has no cats would just be unburnt gas due to rich cold idle. Does not look like oil smoke or anything to be concerned about to me in terms of engine health.

 

Well 185-205 isn't what I would call strong compression numbers for a 355. Not terrible but not great.
Lots of things you can do to see whats going on but posting video sure isn't one.

 

They should all be north of 200, more like 210. More telling is a leak down. What we started to see with the 355 because of the piston/ring/liner package they used is they maintain great compression but once they start to drop they drop quickly. All the old rules of thumb no longer applied. And then there is the valve guide issue.

At 10 percent leakage with prior motors we considered that very good. A really good 355 will be above 95%. But once down to 90% I warn owners by next service it will probably have to come apart.

 

What did the smoke smell like? Was it burnt oil or fuel? Most owners let these cars sit for extended periods and not much on here about smoke on startup. As Rifledriver has said, leakdown will tell a better story than will just compression. However, don't get caught up in some of the hysteria and panic that seems to follow every 355 ever built. These cars are approaching 25 plus yrs old and most that have had guide issues have been dealt with, and if doing a ppi finds that work needs to be done, than that can be a purchase price adjuster for you while knowing that the new-to-you car is in tip top shape. I think that one of the biggest fears that non 355 owners have is the dreaded maintenance costs, but if you happen to talk to long time 355 owners MOST of them will tell you that while they certainly are not Toyota cheap to maintain they aren't really as bad as the internet will lead you to believe. I fell in love with the 355 in 1995 and wasn't able to get into the market for one until 2016, but I must admit that I was very intimidated by what was being said about these cars. After owning now for 7 plus years, I can say it was all for not. Hope this helps

 

Brian, that's good insight. When you talk about the engine coming apart are you referring to the valve guide service? Or something else as you mentioned piston/ring/liners.