A Cold start rattle, white smoke

Q - My old chev diesel rattles on cold starts and blows a heap of white smoke for around five seconds in the morning, after that it runs fine. My question is should I be worried about this?

A - Taking it as an ‘old Chev’, probably the injectors and its general engine condition may be ‘just’ ok so it’s probably normal running for its present condition. Those engines use indirect injection and rely on glow plugs to help them start when cold. If so it’s probably worth testing them as a blown glow plug or two will mean you have a few misfiring cylinders for the first 30 seconds or so. I’d be surprised if its anything major.