Oil Pressure build up in cam cover...."PROBLEM RESOLVED"

[FiatSpider1]

1976 Fiat Spider with I believe a 1800 cc engine. When I
start the car there is a small amount of blue smoke from
exhaust as car runs for a few minutes it gets worse. Oil fill
cap is on right Cam Tower. With it rnning if I try to
remove the filler cap, oil sprays out under high pressure such
as oil pump press. Previous owner had cam towers off
and used silicone to re-install. I started engine with right
cam cover off and oil immediately filled tower around
cam, after I shut it down oil took 30 min + - to drain.
(Should it drain faster???). Could it be silicone in oil return or tower gasket installed
improperly? Also the right cam cover with new gasket will not seal....
when pressure builds up oil seeps out from gasket and into spark plug wells???
This is also when it really begins to smoke badly..I thought maybe
oil was then running down on exhaust manifold. This is all on the cam side
where oil fill cap is...Other side seems to be OK, although I'm about ready to
remove that cover to see how fast the oil drains on that side.... The side
with oil fill cap is where problem is and it has new cover and gasket!!!!!
tks for listing.....

[baltobernie]

1976 Fiat Spider with I believe a 1800 cc engine. When I
start the car there is a small amount of blue smoke from
exhaust as car runs for a few minutes it gets worse.

This indicates worn piston rings. I'll bet you also get a good bit of smoke when you coast while in gear. Not an immediate problem, just keep an eye on oil level.

Oil fill cap is on right Cam Tower. With it running if I try to
remove the filler cap, oil sprays out under high pressure such
as oil pump press.

This is normal.

Previous owner had cam towers off
and used silicone to re-install. I started engine with right
cam cover off and oil immediately filled tower around
cam, after I shut it down oil took 30 min + - to drain.
(Should it drain faster???).

No.

Also the right cam cover with new gasket will not seal....
when pressure builds up oil seeps out from gasket and into spark plug wells???
This is also when it really begins to smoke badly..I thought maybe
oil was then running down on exhaust manifold. This is all on the cam side
where oil fill cap is...Other side seems to be OK, although I'm about ready to
remove that cover to see how fast the oil drains on that side.... The side
with oil fill cap is where problem is and it has new cover and gasket!!!!!
tks for listing.....

This is obviously not normal, but common. You will have to replace the cam box gasket on this side. All of the vendors you hear about on this site sell them. Use common cork gasket installation practice; a little bit of sealant on both sides. Only 21 ft. lbs. of torque on those bolts, and do them up sequentially.

There's no "pressure" in the cam towers to speak of. It's all splash up there. Excessive crankcase pressure can occur if your PCV system is clogged, but that's another issue.

[FiatSpider1]

Good info ... tks a bunch ... Norm

[So Cal Mark]

there isn't a baffle under the cap, the cam will fling oil everywhere when running. The drain back holes in the cam tower are about halfway up on the side, so the cam is in a bath constantly.

[FiatSpider1]

so cal mark.....

tks great info .... tks Norm

[FiatSpider1]

Decided to look at the Spider again. My son Aaron in home and he went right to the problem.
The previous owner had replaced the air cleaner with a small chrome one. when he did he
cut the crankcase ventilation hose under the intake manifold and put a plug in it. we removed
the plug and allowed it to vent. When we started the car and let it run for a while we noticed
their was no pressure build up in cam cover, no oil seeped out. after running the engine for a
while the oil finally burned off of the exhaust manifold and there was only a very small amount
of smoke from the tail pipe. We ran it on the road for about an hour and finally there is no smoke
from the tail pipe. Everything looks good, car runs very well. Great to have your SON stop by. he
is a great mechanic, normal duty is with Gulf Stream, works on G5 and other gulf stream aircraft.
He is now an inspector with them monitoring the other mechanics. I want to work on some other
projects with the car. thanks for the help.