The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Need advice - Ready to start newly rebuilt 1957 Chevy 235

I've copied a few notes from other threads, I've never started a freshly rebuilt motor before.

1957 Chevy 235 6 motor was rebuilt by a professional shop. I was given a bottle of Lucas Oil and told to make sure distributor tip was in the slot before starting.
Engine is already in car. I've added 10w30 (no Lucas oil yet)

I understand you can't keep restarting the engine too many times, that it may damage the rings..(?)
This is a concern because I usually need a few starts to get the timing right. Also, setting the gaps for the lifters, unless the shop already did that..(?)

I will be running my radiator plus an electric fan to manage engine temperature, and also monitoring oil pressure with a plug in gauge.
Using drill/cut screwdriver to run oil pump to make sure lifters are being lubricated.

Is there a section or thread on Stovebolt dedicated to this subject besides individual posts..?
Any other tips would be greatly appreciated.

We'll need some more information before we can help. I assume the Lucas stuff is the high zinc break-in product that company sells. Also...do you have solid lifters or hydraulic lifters (your machine shop will know). And the type of lifters and whether the shop did anything to adjust your valves will be of special interest also. I take it the engine was all assembled (including the head)? There isn't a section here, but you'll find lots and lots of discussion about this if you search the engine shop section of the forum.

As for setting timing, I've always set the number one piston to just before top dead center, removed the distributor cap and then look to see which hole in the distributor cap the tip of the rotor is pointing toward. Connect the number 1 plug wire to that hole, put your timing light between the plug and that particular wire, turn the ignition on and slowly rotate the distributor until the light flashes. Do this a couple of times, get that point where the light flashes and then tighten the distributor holding screw. You won't be perfect, but you'll be close. And then going clockwise from the number 1 hole in the distributor cap, connect the number 5, 3, 6, 2 and 4 spark plug wires in sequence.

You won't hurt the piston rings. The danger is damaging the camshaft/lifters. Today's oil doesn't have enough zinc in it, so break-in can be a bit challenging. Fortunately the 235's valve springs are not all that strong.

We'll wait to hear from you.

We'll also need to talk a bit what happens after initial run-in (re-torque of head bolts, timing adjustment, etc).

A cover cut in half? That's interesting. Could have been that or it could have been used to show kids in a shop class what was happening, I suppose. A shop teacher when I was in high school had a valve cover cut this way so you could look in while it was running. He would bring it in and attach it to one side of his engine (a V8, it was).

There's a pretty foolproof way to get the ignition timing within a degree or two of the right setting without starting the engine. It's called "static timing" and it involves aligning the timing pointer and ball in the bellhousing window and turning the distributor housing until the points just barely break. A similar procedure can be used to assure the valve adjustments are correct, so there shouldn't be any reason to tinker with valve adjustment or ignition timing until after the initial break-in run of the camshaft is done- - - -15-20 minutes of fast idle, somewhere around 2K RPM. The closer you can come to "right" timing and valve adjustment before startup, the simpler it will be to get the break in run completed without having to idle the engine. I also keep a garden hose handy to trickle over the radiator and help keep things cool. If you search for my posts on "companion cylinder valve adjustment" and "static ignition timing" on the forum, you should be able to copy and print both procedures for future reference. Good luck!
Jerry

48 general Don't want to muddy the water but I read somewhere you should mix the Lucas into the oil so it will immediately get to the lobes and lifters. When you hear those horror stories of losing a lobe on startup makes you wonder. Have done a lot of them all versions never lost one.Used to use GM EOS right on the cam and lifters,then prime the system,fire-up to 2000 rpm. Good Luck !!

The typical distributor position for installation in the 235 is with the grease cup about perpendicular or so to the motor (pointing to the left side). This allows the clips for the cap to be easily accessed and puts the stud for the coil wire at about the 6:30- 7:00 o'clock position. See the photo in the below link.

https://www.lowrider.com/rides/cars...evrolet-235-convertible-engine-side-view

From that point the wires are typically installed with No. 1 wire at the 4:30-5:00 o'clock position. You might consider installing the cap and putting a chalk mark or silver sharpie mark on the body of the distributor directly under the cap tower for the No. 1 plug wire.

take out all the spark plugs (if there are any installed) and bring the no. 1 cylinder up to TDC. Do this by putting your finger over the No. 1 spark plug hole and bringing the motor around until you feel compression. Once you feel compression, slowly (by hand if possible) rotate the motor and bring the BB on the flywheel/flexplate up to the pointer on the bellhousing or auto trans adaptor plate. Once done, the motor is at or pretty close to TDC (assuming a 57 flywheel or flexplate. Other years vary).

Now you can install the distributor. The trick here is that the tang on the distributor must engage in the slot in the oil pump (shine a flash light down the distributor hole and you will see the slot). If it does not engage, the distributor will not drive the oil pump. The reason this is important to mention is that it is entirely possible to install the distributor, get the motor running, and not have any oil pressure because the distributor shaft in not engaged in the oil pump. I have had this happen to me a couple of times so its important that when you first fire the motor up, if no oil pressure, shut it down and re do the distributor.

Getting the tang and oil pump lined up, while keeping the no. 1 plug wire at 5 o'clock or so might require a little fussing around so be patient. Use a screw driver to adjust the slot, install the rotor, move the distributor, you are likely to pull it out and reinstall a couple of times to get it just right. Once its in, center the hash mark on the octane selector plate with the hash mark on the distributor pad (can be hard to see sometimes but its there - coil side of the pad) and tighten the bolt down. Now install your rotor and move the distributor until the rotor is pointing to your chalk mark on the distributor body. Now tighten the screw on the clamp.

Your timing is at or just about at TDC and you can start the motor at that setting. Now install your cap, run your plug wires and install your plugs. From a timing perspective you are ready to go. After you get the motor broken in, you can recheck the timing with a timing light and adjust if necessary.

This is the way I do it for all my rebuilt 235 and 261 motors and they all fire right up although there are probably other ways to do it too.

Thank you Dragix, and everyone else for the input.