good luck bence,its ok be a little scared on firing it up and thinking somethings gone to go wrong,ive been building them for 15 years now and every time i still think that.youll be fine :cheers:


[Modified by pats406nitrovette, 8:32 PM 5/9/2002]

 

I have two of primers. A real cheap one that is just a shaft tha fits on the oil pump and yes the dist has to be off. The second one I bought fits like a dist and is clamped down just like the dist. It always the whole system to get pressurized just like having the dist on. It is made by Tavia and costs $23.50 from Summit (little more than I remember but still cheap insurance). The cheap one would be better than not doing it at all. Hope Shane takes the hints. GM actual states to prime the oil pump their break in instruction. The company I bought my crate engine from gave me a copy of the instructions with 'Prime the oil pump before starting' in hand writing even though it clearly states it in the instruction. Guess they feel it is important.

 

Shane

Look into Moroso spiral mufflers for the sidepipes.

Let it rock.
:cool:

 

That's cool that you're so close. My engine is being held captive by my machinist. He's in a different time zone than the rest of us, even though he's down the street. But this has given me time to rebuild other things.

Good luck and here's to hoping you have it running for the weekend! :cheers:

Keep us posted!

 

Kick back and relax. Everything is going to work out well. It's going to run like a bat out of hell. And when it does, put the air conditioner back on :seeya

 

Bence,

You probably won't be this nervous again until you get married! :yesnod: Some may say my comparrison is crass, but, you will probably remember the moment just a long :smash:

I really liked Barry's timing suggestion, simple and effective. I agree whole heartedly with the pre lubing of the engine prior to startup. It really is a good idea. Be carefull when you do it though. With my high volume stock oil pump, the primer rod did spin in the drill bit which can cause metal filings from the rod or drill mandrel in your new clean oil. This would be 1 step forward and about 10 steps backwards. Make sure the rod is very tight in the mandrel!

If you preset the timing before you prime the oil, line up 2 plug wire bumps on the dist cap with some reference point on or in the engine compartment and mark it, and then do the same for the rotor. It is helpful if you can remember where the rotor was pointing as it rotates clearing the cam gear and the position of the slot in the oil pump so you can twist it back with a screwdriver when you are ready to replace the dist.

An engine stethoscope (~$20 @ Sears) will be very handy for listening for the little ticks, knocks and other normal and abnormal sounds. This is especially true if you are not running mufflers. The sound will overwhelm you, but the doctor like ear piece will make it easier to hear what's going on inside very clearly. If you haven't listened to an engine before with one, you will be truly amazed! You can pinpoint all kinds of sounds. Every part has a different sound.

Your car will probably sit lower once you get it rolling. It usually took about 30 feet, whether in one roll in one direction, or 10 three foot back and forth moves to get it to settle. There are few cars more menacing looking than a C3 lowered. It looks like its sniffing out its next kill!

The last thing I would tell you is de sure you don't look down the carb. A backfire gives no warning and will blind you to say nothing of what it will do for your good looks! I have used up all my spare lives doing this very dumb move.

Enjoy your day!

Chuck :cheers:

 

Good luck! I'm looking forward to hearing your excited account of bringing a big block to life.

 

Chuck

Those back fires can jump up at you in a hurry can't they? :eek:

Lucky my head was back a foot or two but still almost filled my shorts. :bb

The Tavia primer has a triangular head so no slipping like the cheaper one I bought. Come to think of it, that is the reeason I bought the Tavia, the cheaper one slipped on the first motor I installed.

 

Hey - I have been running with open headers for a total of over 2 years/20000 miles (in 2 different Vettes) and I am still not deaf...

:cheers:

Olivier

 

Good to hear that it's finally coming together. Don't have any fear about it running. Did you make a checklist of things to check? Like fuel line nuts and hose clamps?

I've done a number of rebuilds, and I always do a once over for the entire engine compartment to make sure wrenches or sockets aren't still on a nut (like a socket on the harmonic balancer that was used to turn the engine and line up cylinder #1). I don't think I've had any of them fail to start. You will want to prime the carb...not just down the venturi, make sure you get some into the reservoir so it will run for about 15 seconds to get the fuel pump primed and pumping fuel instead of the air that's in the lines now.

Try to get some video.

 

That's awesome! I'm excited for you. My project is coming along a lot slower. So much that I don't have an engine yet. :D

But I know EXACTLY what you mean about not thinking it's going to work. I know it's different, but when my dad and I were working on his sled last winter, it was just like that. The engine was blown... we tore it down, replaced everything with forged stuff, had the cylinders ported, the carbs bored, etc. Then on the day we finished putting it back together...

Dad: "Ok, I'll hold the oil pump open (to make sure it gets all the oil it needs), you start it up!
Me: "Uh... ok... I can do that." Then I just held onto the handle, re-thinking everything. Did I hook the oil line up? Of course. The fuel lines? Yep. But... what if we left a gasket out? Or what if the machinest shaved too much off of the head...?

Of course I pulled it, it sputtered, I pulled again, and it fired right up. :cool: Been running like a friggin' bat out of hell ever since.

Goodluck man!

Jerry


[Modified by jerryjfunk, 4:48 AM 5/10/2002]

 

Yes, installing the distributor should be one of the last things done. Just before you install it, use a "device" on a drill to extend down to the oil pump and spin it until you see oil at the rockers.

You can very quickly tell when the pump picks up the oil. Your drill will be spinning freely, then suddenly a resistance is felt and the drill slows down.
You have now 'struck oil'.

You would have to spin the engine many, many times to equal a few minutes with the drill.

The last engine I did, I couldn't locate my primer rod. (Thought I knew exactly where it was).
At this point you are anxious to get it fired up. So I took a piece of threaded rod stock, flattened the end with a hammer, put it in the drill, worked great.

I totally agree with pre filling the carb as well.
With the carb filled with gas and the ignition preset, the engine will fire just as if you had shut it off a few minutes before. You will hardly even hear the starter engage and it will be running.
Barry

 

Why not just take a sqirt can with your favorite oil in it and squirt oil on the rockers and all it's friction points shortly before the startup? Or better yet, use eos (engine oil supliment) from GM. It's as thick as molasess!

 

sounds great bence :cheers:

 

The thing with the oil pump primer and seeing oil at the rockers is not to lube the rockers. When you see oil at the rockers, you know that all the passages inside the engine have been filled with oil and the last stop is the top of the engine, the rockers.
When you fire the engine you know that the pressure will come up quickly, as all the air that has been trapped inside the engine will have been eliminated.