hmmm, ok, so a later year serial number on the engine, indicating that it is not the original-
Well, I guess that means my plans for a full concourse restoration, and a debut at Pebble Beach next year just flew out the window....
yesterday I changed the oil and filter, and added a bottle of Risolone engine flush to the crankcase, and a bottle of Bars-Leaks to the radiator, and ran it for about an hour - even drove it around the block a few times (in 110 degree heat) and it motored around just fine.
It stopped smoking after about 10 minutes, and actually ran pretty clean after that - So now I'm thinking maybe the smoke is coming from the valve guides when it's cold. I'll fire it up tonight after it has sat for 24 hours and see if the blue/white smoke returns again...
I also checked the dipstick this morning and there was nothing but clean, clear motor oil on it.... finger's crossed. Compression is good, and I hooked up the vaccum guage and it pulls a rock-steady 25 inches HG at idle - this engine has definitely got me scratching my head- I 've never seen an engine that looks so good on vacuum and compression guages, yet still throws so many visual red flags (smoke,the green goo in the oil, etc). I have to get a oil-pressure guage hooked up- the one in the dash is inoperable (unless the engine is really making zero PSI )

but I have confirmed oil flow up through the pushrods and through the rocker arms, so there is at least enough oil pressure to get to keep the valve train lubricated.
I also now have one front, and one rear brake that are both grabby enough that they will lock up if I lay hard into the pedal, so, 50% brakes are better than 0%.
Regarding the brake work- I inspected the non-original brake pedal, and besides being crooked, all the geometry on the pushrod is correct, and there are no unsafe or hacked up welds on the pedal assembly... someday I'll straighten the brake pedal out to make it more visually appealing.
the master cylinder reminds me vaguely of the clutch master cylinder that I had on my 67 (the 62 has a mechanical clutch). It is a single reservoir, with a downstream splitter (but no apportioning valve!) that routes the fluid between the front and rear - good enough to stop when puttering around the neighborhood, not good enough for a road trip or a 60MPH panic stop.
The brakes are the one system that I will spend considerable time and effort on - I respect those of you out there who aspire to keep these old Patrols as original as possible, but when your plan is to actually use/drive the vehicle, then originality has to yield to safety, and a good set of front disk brakes, and a dual reservoir master cylinder and a power booster will easily be worth the hours of fabrication involved.
I guess since the brakes are already hacked, I don't have to feel guilty about modifying them any further, right?
One question I do have is whether 1st gear is supposed to have a synchro? I noticed that I can downshift from 3rd to 2nd while moving, but I can't downshift from 2nd to 1st while moving, unless I'm going really slowly and I double-clutch it.
Normal? or not?
A couple times even while stopped, I had to go into Reverse, and then drop into 1st in order not to grind 1st gear. I can't remember if my 67 was also this way, or if I have some transmission syncro work to think about as well....