My 1986 nonturbo began blowing out large amounts of whitish smoke a few months ago. It happened speratically and I could usually get it to stop by stepping on the gas a couple of times. Now it smokes all the time, and very badly. Any suggestions on where to start?

 

How many miles on the engine ?

White smoke could be gas or oil I believe.

 

Bluish-white would be oil, dirty white would be excessive fuel, Cloud white could mean anti-freeze in the combustion chamber.
How does the smoke smell? Like charcoal lighter fluid- oil; acrid and makes your eyes water (or like gas)- gas (I know- duh...); sickly-sweet is antifreeze.

Look at these things:
Fuel mileage gone down?
Oil use increased?
Oil pressure dropped?
Low coolant light/buzzer coming on?
Performance decreasing?
Idle changing?

These questions will help you zero in on a possible cause.