The smoke is because you don't have a cold start timing advance system. Plain and simple. Even a freshly rebuilt diesel will run rough and smoky without proper timing advance when cold.
You could rig up a manual cable system to control that advance lever, would be better than nothing... but it's really not that hard to get the proper CS system working. A new thermostat costs $60 if that's what was wrong with yours. It's a really nice feature to have... not much money considering how much better the engine works when it is installed and properly calibrated.
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86 745 D24T/ZF 345k lifted 2.5"
83 764 D24T/M46 155k
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