It could be my engine...help.

[bluec10]

I thought I'd check with the experts...

A student of mine is running a '76 Malibu with a 350/350 combo, just like the one I've got in one of my trucks. He pulled the car over to my place to check-out why it wouldn't start. I put a charger on the now run-down battery and just let the car sit in a warm garage (You haven't had a February until you've had a Canadian February!). After a few hours I got the car running....here are the symptoms.

It started hard, but started. At first it belched thick, black exhaust that left a mess on the garage floor. It wouldn't idle worth a rip, but I could drive it if I kept the rpm's up. It ran well on the highway, but stalled at every stop sign. When I got home the car smelled gassy and under the hood the right front fender tub and right hood had oil on them. I couldn't tell where the oil came from by looking at the engine, although there was a bit at the end of the snorkel. I checked in the carb and noticed some smoke inside of it and some parts above the venturis were oily.

At first I was thinking that he had just flooded it in a big way, or that it is just running rich. The oil has me baffled. I'm thinking that this thing has really worn/cracked rings that are allowing oil blow-by and causing poor compression leading to poor idle. Any thoughts?