Is there a way to tell if my car has a blown head gasket or a bad intake gasket? I've heard 3rd gens or notorious for intake gaskets. I have no idea whether my car has a bad intake or head gasket, is there a certain way to distinguish the 2?

 

3rd gens are no more "notorious" for intake gasket failure, than any other vehicles with Chevy small block engines. The material that was available back then has a rather short lifetime by modern standards, usually fails by the time the car becomes an antique. (25 yrs)

Odds are probably somewhere between 5:1 and 10:1 in favor of an intake gasket failure, compared to a head gasket failure.

Easiest way to distinguish is to simply LOOK AT the intake gaskets, at the ends of the joints between the heads and intake. (both front and rear, left and right) Visual evidence is compelling.

 

My car looks to be leaking above the timing cover. It always has a wet spot right above the cover and umder the coolant temp sensor. And whenever I start my car there are some droplets of what appear to be water. And my car smokes a lot on start up but not while driving

 

Sounds like you need intake gaskets (coolant leak), and valve guide seals (smoke at startup).