[57 Handyman]

Good catch on the condenser. Bad condensers on these old style ignitions was more common than many realize. For my 57 Chev station wagon, I'm swapping in a electronic ignition module into the body of the original distributor.

x2 on prb400 regarding noise, steam, and timing-related overheating.

As for white smoke coming from side of the engine and carb that may indicate oil leak or some kind of residue burning off of the exhaust and intake heat riser passage under the carb.

Sounds like you have a bunch of small gremlins due to your elky's extended sitting. Unfortunately, these pain in the butt issues always arise and just need to be attacked one-by-one. It's all part of the hobby and ownership of classic cars!