We will most likely do the intial start-up of my 427 rebuilt BB on tueday morning. Are there any bits of advice that you can give me? Things to do beforehand, things to do afterwords, things to watch out for?

And, what is the definitive length of time and at what rpm are you supposed to run the motor at? Should you vary the rpm during the initial run-in? Cam is regular, flat tappet, hydraulic style.

It's been nearly nine months since my motor broke and I am looking forward to hearing it again! just want to do everything the right way.

Thanks, mark

 

Prelube the engine. An old distributor shaft can be used, then hook up a 1/2" drill and spin the oil pump. Rotate the crank about 90 degrees, wait a few seconds, rotate,etc, to make sure oil gets everywhere. Look to make sure its coming through the pushrods to each rocker. I hook up a mechanical oil pressure gauge and tie wrap it someplace in the engine compartment. Do your best to get the timing set before the intial start. I just set the timing maks to TDC, then eyeball the rotor to get me in the ballpark of the number of degrees BTDC. If you're using a carb, fill the float bowl through the vent so it'll start right away instead of cranking it over until fuel gets to the carb. Start it and bring the RPMs up to about 2500 RPM. Flat tappet cams are oiled by splash, thus the need for the higher RPMs during cam break-in; it ensures sufficient oiling of the lobe/lifter-base surfaces. Watch the oil pressure and the coolant temperature. Get a timing light hooked up, then check the timing. It should be a fair amount more advanced than an idle speed timing setting - maybe 20 something degrees or so. Don't let it run with retarded timing or it will overheat. Let it run at 2500 or so RPM for at least 20 minutes - some say 30 minutes. This 30 minutes doesn't have to be in one continuous shot. If you have to shut it off for something, just start it back up and bring the RPMs back up to 2500 and run it that way until you get the 30 minutes. Couple other things - have a fire extinguisher handy, another person comes in handy, make a checklist for things like gas, coolant, battery and electrical connections, etc. Good luck!

Roger

 

Good job on the start up infor Roger. Also, in my opinion, use HD30 wieght oil for the first 800 miles. Keep Rpm's limited to 3500 for the 800mi. Then switch to synthetic oil and do as you please.

 

Thanks Roger!! Lots of good points to watch for.

Regards, mark

 

Have your timing light hooked up, you can go ahead and set your total timing at start up @ about 36 deg. This is overall a two person job. Change oil after the first 30 minutes of run time.

 

if you used moly kote cam breakin compound make sure you change the oil filter before restarting the engine after the oil cools off as the compound will plug the oil filter and the oil will be going through the oil filter by pass instead of the filter. :chevy