Problems with cold starts & Rusty spark plugs on a 2005 LS HB

I have a 2005 Aveo LS Hatch and have been having cold start problems as of late... and they started before it was really "cold" so to speak. 60ish degrees it was happening and now it is getting colder here in Ohio. Recently I replaced the thermostat for the 2nd time and replaced plugs, plug wires, and the purge valve solenoid because I was having these cold start issues. The purge valve did seem to help, but I also like to top off my tank (way too high aparently) and I have since stopped. I'm the original owner and have had almost zero engine issues in the past.. just a couple of thermostats and valve cover gaskets.

Anyway... a couple of observations... 1.. my engine light never comes on.. not even when I turn the key to start it. I don't recall if it is supposed to then or not. Not sure if the light is burnt out or what? (which I asked about in another thread just a bit ago) 2.. I put in a new set of plugs just 2 months ago and pulled them when having this problem and they appear to be pretty orange / rusted looking... My brother in law and a couple of other people have pointed at cam and crank sensors and coil pack, but just today I had the starting be so bad I basically drained my battery. I continued to try to jumpstart it from another running car for nearly 2 minutes and could not start the car. I pulled the 2 month old plugs... cleaned them with basically a body shop style brillo / abrasive pad, put them back in and it fired right up...

So... it seems that I have found ultimately how to fix the car or at least band-aid fix it because "clean" plugs fire the car right up... the question is... what is causing the plugs to get all cruddy so quick? FWIW the car does have a cone style air intake and has an Apex'i rear muffler instead of the factory bread box. The car has been in it's current configuration since within the first year of ownership... so nothing "new" other than what was noted above has been done. I have almost solely used E3 plugs in this car also... at least since the first year or so I owned it. I use the E3.64 plugs. Also.. this car has always seemed to benefit from new plugs about once every 1-1.5 years. It is a 2005 with 130k on it. Any help wold be apreciated.

Here is a picture of the plugs... I think those were about a year old and cleaned once not too long ago best I can recall. I have a new set in there right now that also needed a cleaning.

Attachment 7525

Did this Aveo ever overheat on you, all the way up to H with maybe a steam bath? Do you see any white smoke coming from the tail pipe? Aside from the starting problem, how well has it been running recently? Don't like to say it, but I'm thinking that only coolant could be rusting the inside of the plugs like that.

I replaced the thermostat recently. It got hot during a 5-10 mile trip in town. I never heard an audible warning, but all of the sudden noticed the temp meter nearly pegged. Not sure if there is an audible alarm with aveos. I had to stop and let it cool down a couple of times to get it home. Since recently replacing the purge valve solenoid it has been running as strong as it ever has. A few months back before the thermostat replacement I noticed some hesitation under heavy acceleration, but that is gone now.... Just this pesky startup issue and the fouled plugs. Someone else mentioned to me that maybe the E3 plugs are running a bit too hot. I'm gonna get a new set of OEM or double platinums most likely tomorrow.

The rust makes me think head gasket. You ever get white smoke on start up? Does your oil look like chocolate milk? BTW - Give it $2 NGK spark plugs and it will be as happy as it can be. The car doesn't push enough juice for "performance" plugs.

I did clean them with brake cleaner...would that do it on the new ones? No white smoke that I can see. New plugs next.

Rust on the plugs following the overheat makes head gasket damage a strong possibility. One important factor here is how long you're planning on keeping this Aveo. If your plan is to keep it on the road, you need to know if there is head gasket damage, so I would suggest taking it to a shop that does block combustion gas testing (or you might be able to find rental equipment and do it yourself). Although that test doesn't always prove out HG damage, it does have a fairly good probability of doing so.

Got some NGK Coppers.. gonna try those tonight.

I did put in some NGK's , but before I did I had a chance to let it sit for about 36 hours in below freezing temperatures. (20-32 degrees and 24 degrees at the time of test) This startup was BEFORE I PUT IN THE NEW PLUGS. Someone above had mentioned white smoke and I had never noticed it before. Well... here in this video I definitely noticed some white smoke. That being said.. I replaced the plugs with the NGK's and it started right up with no smoke. I have yet to have the car sit overnight and see if it smokes with the new plugs or not. Definitely confused about what is going on here for sure. Here is a link to the video... Just posted at 2:04PM... so it might take a few minutes to be available.

Exhaust test - YouTube

Seems like so far with a new battery and the NGK's it is running good. Didn't see any smoke after being parked from Wednesday till Sunday over the holiday.