not to long ago i bought a 77 nova an the guy that i bought it from said that he recently re-built the engine and that there was nothing wrong with the car. its got a 350 in it and when ever i go to start it it wont start till i pump the gas peddle and when i do get it started it wont keep running at idle and i have to rev the engine for a couple of min. for it to run at idle. also it starts to blow white smoke out of the exaust after it worms up to about 120 degrees

 

sounds like you need to get some carb work done, you might have water in your gas. does it have a manual or electronic choke on it. being a 74 i imagine that it would be an automatic choke.

 

yes, its auto. also i was told that it might have a blown head gasket becuase all the smoke. i changed the oil but the only thing that came out was oil so im not really sure, but i looked in the radiator and it looks like it is mixed with something

 

have it checked. if you have something in the radiator its a good possibilty that it won't last long if you don't have it fixed asap.