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Starting the New Engine

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I wish it was as simple as an upside down t-stat.
Installed an electric fan.
I'll probably be driving to TRF tomorrow to get new head and manifold gaskets and a heater valve.
I have a thermometer...great tool. Thanks
 
Sorry for asking the obvious, but:

Is the radiator hot or cool when this happens?

Do you see any brownish "froth" in the oil?

Do you detect excessive moisture from your tailpipe?
 
Drained the Break In oil tonight, looked new. No transfer of oil/coolant. My gauge reads normal and all of the thermometer readings are normal.
The rad readings I got were in the 130 - 165 range. I could only get the outer edge readings because of the fan. Everything covered by the fan better be normal....
No excessive car related moisture, but ma nature is doing her best at keeping excessive moisture everywhere else.
 
It could be a bad or wrong radiator cap.

But, if it isn't overheating, I'd say just go ahead and drive the thing.
 
I'd love to be able to do that. Too much time, effort and money involved.
 
It was the head gasket. I replaced it and have run the engine to temperature a couple times and things are normal
 
Huh? What was the head gasket problem, Doug? Did you find anything definitively wrong?
 
I could see a couple areas where coolant/water made contact with the head, primarily around a couple of the stud holes Must have been enough of a leak to pressurize the system. Didn't see anything obviously wrong with the gasket, but the new one has eliminated the problems.
 
Short drive this evening. Very happy with the torque, though I didn't push it. There are a few things to sort out, and the OD needs adjusted. The car should be on the road this weekend...knock on wood.
Need to get some drive time in since I plan to take it to MidOhio for the vintage races.
 
whats the correct procedure for breaking in an engine? seems everyone has their opinion. I heard once you fire it up hold he rpm at 2000 for 10 minutes to break in the cam, then take it out on the street and floor it and back off. floor it back off to seat the rings, then within the first 500 miles you should vary the rpm while driving and not cruse at the same rpm

so confusing
 
I used Brad Penn Break In Oil for the first 30 minutes run time at 2000 rpm. Drained that and changed the filter and refilled with Brad Penn 20w-50 Green Racing Oil with Comp Cam Break In additive. I will run this for the first 1000 miles keeping the rpms at 3000 and below, varying the engine speeds as I go.

That's the plan, though I ran it today at about 3800 rpm. My clutch hydraulics decided to spit a bubble making shifting impossible. Kinda hard to run on a highway in second gear, while leaning over holding the OD lever...at least the OD works.
 
The engine is running well.

The clutch left me stranded today. Rebuilt the slave, and chances are the master will need it too. The Dot 5 was fairly black within the system.

The OD and hood still need adjusted and of course the interior. I'll retorque the head before the weekend, and hopefully everything will come together for it's inaugural trip next weekend.

I got an early front carb that will allow me to hook up the vacuum advance. We adjusted all of the jets to the level recommended by Joe Curto, so everything is well balanced.

Getting anxious....
 
The engine is running well.

The clutch left me stranded today. Rebuilt the slave, and chances are the master will need it too. The Dot 5 was fairly black within the system.

The OD and hood still need adjusted and of course the interior needs completed. I'll retorque the head and hopefully everything will come together for it's inaugural trip next weekend.

I got an early front carb that will allow me to hook up the vacuum advance. We adjusted all of the jets to the level recommended by Joe Curto, so everything is well balanced.

Getting anxious....
 
DougF said:
The clutch left me stranded today.
Click to expand...
One of those essential skills that they don't teach in driver's ed : driving without a clutch. It's actually quite doable, I've driven home that way more than once in both Triumphs and American cars. (My last Chevy would break a clutch cable every 60,000 miles or so.)

Turn the key off, put it in first, start it in gear. With the engine warm, the extra load on the starter is minimal (no worse than cranking a cold engine). When you get up to a comfortable speed in 1st, feather the throttle, shift to neutral, let the engine idle down to the right rpm for 2nd, then tug it into gear. Lather, rinse, repeat. At a stop sign or light, feather the throttle, shift to neutral, stop, turn the engine off.

Not much fun (especially in rush hour traffic), but better than being stranded (maybe).
 
I was sitting along side the road with zero pedal and just kept working it. Somewhere, the rubber found enough strength to eventually get me going and actually allow me to shift. Shifting was a good thing as I passed a couple police cars pulled up to one another with nothing better to do than pull a little noisy car over doing 30 mph in a 55 zone to discuss the dangers of no transmission tunnel, etc.
I will try that if I get stuck again. Thanks.
 
Rebuilt the clutch master cylinder and adjusted the OD. Both are working great. Now I can put the interior back together and have a car to drive. It will be ready for the Vintage Races at MidOhio this weekend.
It's a ball to drive, even during break in.
 
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