The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop First startup after rebuild

So I've finally have everything buttoned up throughout the internals... 292 bored .030, new pistons, reconditioned rods (ARP bolts), completely rebuild head with larger valves, lump ports. Waiting on an HEI, intake, and dual exhaust manifolds before firing it up for the first time. All the internal mating/bearing surfaces have been put together with Lucas Assembly lube (contains Moly), clearanced and torques to spec. I'll be using comp cams oil additive for break in when its time to fire up.

Any last minute tips once I get the HEI, intake/exhaust hooked up and get ready for the first fire-up? I know I have to run a 2k RPM for ~20 minutes to break in the cam/lifters.

Make sure your cooling system is up to snuff, an accurate tach and water temp gauge, and a box fan or some other electric fan in front of the radiator to help maintain temperature during the break in period. Better to break it in all a one crack then stop and start because it’s over heating.

Bought a new tach (didn't have one before), and have a new water temp gauge installed as well. I'll have to remember having an extra fan to help the mechanically driven one out a bit. Thanks

Prelube system by spinning the oil pump with a screwdriver (or a drill with appropriate bit) before installing the distributor.

Garden hose near by for cooling in case fans can't keep up.
Fire Extinguisher near by,
Fill carburetor before trying to start,
Charge battery night before
Once it fires off, get rpm, adjust timing on the fly, KEEP RPM up 1600, step up to 1800 after 15 minutes, step up to 2000 last 4 -5 minutes
Pre-lube before dropping in distributor, Last step before starting.

Don't wait days to start, all internal grease could settle in pan, pre-lube, drop in distributor, set timing by eye, and start motor.

That takes care of the tappets, lobes, rocker contact with the stem tips, timing gears etc.
When this is done, check the lash one last time - if any move, write it down. The valves will sink very slightly as they work themselves in, but the amounts should all match very closely.
The rings need to be loaded (combustion pressure) to seat, can't do this on a test stand.

Back in the 1950's when I started rebuilding engines, Perfect Circle recommended accelerating from 30 MPH to 50 MPH in high gear 10 times to seat the rings to the cylinder walls. When doing a break-in on a dyno, once the initial camshaft run-in was accomplished, we would do 3-minute load pulls at 500 RPM increments from 1500 to 4000 RPM or so to seat the rings.
Jerry

Jerry you brought back some memories. The wholesale parts house I worked for from 1970 to 1972 sold Hastings rings. Their break-in procedure was the same as Perfect Circle.🛠

Jerry,

You realize that when you first started building engines, it was about 25 years before I was born. Not sure if that makes you old or experienced! 😉

Chris

Hey, I'm proud of being an old geezer! Every time the class of 1963 has a reunion I'm reminded of how many of us haven't had the opportunity to get there! There were only 39 of us to begin with, and our number is diminishing rapidly! The first engine I rebuilt was a 1949 Dodge in 1958- - - -an "in the frame" ring and rod bearing job. I was 12 years old at the time!
Jerry

"The first engine I rebuilt was a 1949 Dodge in 1958- - - -an "in the frame" ring and rod bearing job. I was 12 years old at the time!"

How well and for how long did that engine run, Jerry?

It was still running well and not using oil 5 years later when Dad sold it to one of the mechanics at his shop. I guess I did OK on it!
Jerry

What everybody said. Get it turning soon and if not pull plugs and rotate slow, patience is the key. Dragsix may agree with me once broke in run like your going to run it. I always run my drag engines hard for a ten minute cycle, repeat and then add conditioner. Doc

What if it has been several weeks since the build, waiting on the final parts (intake and dual exhaust) to arrive? I assume some of the lube has probably come off everything. Pull the lifters and drop some extra lube down onto the cam? Or would priming the system before startup be enough? I've had the motor built 3-4 weeks sitting in the engine bay as I've been getting everything else put together. Still waiting on intake and exhaust (12bolt is out of stock on the dual exhaust for another couple weeks).

If you are using break-in oil, pre-lubing will OK, just make sure the oil gets to the top of the motor. I doubt your valve springs have much pressure and the camshaft probably has pretty tame lobes, so you shouldn't have any problems. Radical cams and heavy springs cause the break-in problems. Break-in oil will have enough protection for the cam when the lube runs offs, it will eventially mix with the oil and get back to where it needs to be at some point. The real key is to get the engine to fire up within a couple revolutions so the crankshaft starts throwing oil up on the camshaft.

Joe

A stovebolt cam probably won't need a lot of special attention on the initial run-in, other than the usual 20-30 minutes' run time at fast idle before you slow it down. The small block V8 engines we ran on the round track had triple springs with 300+ pounds of seat pressure and considerably more with the valve fully open required a lot of attention. We usually did the initial run-in with single springs, then pulled the heads and installed the race springs. An engine like that was either worn out or scattered in less than 1000 miles of running, but those were extremely stressful miles!
Jerry