Gotcha, should have looked it up...
Quote:
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Tick over - Phrasal Verb - (Engineering / Automotive Engineering) Also idle Brit (of an engine) to run at low speed with the throttle control closed and the transmission disengaged.
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I can honestly say I don't recall ever hearing that term before. My ignorance has now been cropped just that much more; it is a good day!
Back to the car:
There are too many red flags showing up here now...
He's been running NOS, it's dumping black smoke (if it is black see: running rich; if it is bluish see: burning oil) and it's not running well... I'd run. RUN away from this deal and keep looking. Unless you've got the money to pay a good mechanic YOU know and trust to do a complete diagnosis on a car you're looking at you should always try to stay away from modified vehicles unless you know you can either afford to: be without a vehicle for extended periods of time (if it's going to be your only car), completely rebuild the engine, buy lots of unexpected parts, learn more about the workings of an automotive drive train than you ever wanted... and so on. The use of NOS isn't a red flag in and of itself, but it's the cheapest power adder out there and as such it's all too often installed and employed poorly. The fact that the owner went to the trouble of adding a NOS system to squeeze more power out of the car and in doing so may have contributed to the vehicles poor running state is the concern... what other corners have been cut, what other cheats did they try and so on.
I'm not saying the car is worthless; I've just seen many people buy what they think is a great deal just because they built it all up in their head to be "perfect" and as such blinded themselves to the fact that the vehicle was in too great a state of disrepair for their skill, wallets and/or facilities to allow them to correct.
Now, back to the diagnosis, checking for error codes is simple and can be VERY valuable in determining very quickly if there is something seriously wrong with the car. It only takes a few seconds and not doing so is what leads me to believe that you're perhaps a little too emotionally wound up in the deal. You should do this, there is no reason not to.
Other common things to check include pulling the spark plug wires to check for oil. Often when the valve cover gaskets leak oil will pour down into the galley where the plugs sit and can cause significant misfiring. Timing and the throttle position sensor alignment. Any signs of significant blow by? Does the dipstick try to blow out after a spirited drive?
Having the injectors serviced is a very good idea. I recommend buying a couple extra injectors and sending in 8 or 9 for servicing and flow testing. From the results you can then build a nice pristine and matched set. Sometimes, you get lucky and the set you've got are very close; Sometimes, they're all a mile off from one another.
There are a LOT of unknown factors here and I strongly suggest you take the car to a mechanic of your choosing and have them check for error codes, do a leak down test and compression test, check the timing, check for oil around the spark plugs and determine if the smoke is oil or fuel.