Its off the stands!!!, I can almost hear it running Options

[skline]

The car is off the stands and I am sure my neighbors will like that. Until I fire it up the first time. I had forgotten what it looked like on 4 wheels. I will try to finish it up tomorrow and get it over to the muffler shop so I can get it running. The hard part is done, thanks for the advice, my idea worked out just fine. Safe too. It looks pretty cool in there, I can hardly wait to hear it run and then the first drive. 2 years ago it was just a dream, now it is only days away. Time sure flys when you are having fun.

[John2kx]

Good job Scott!! I'll add a couple of tips to getting that monster running:

Fill cooling system with water and leave cap off overnight. This will allow bubbles to escape. You'll be busy when starting engine for the first time but I recommend leaving the fill port open during first start on a virgin cooling system. This provides a path for any trapped air out of system. You'll only be able to leave open about 5 minutes or until water begins to expand. Do not turn engine off until radiator cap is reinstalled or you'll have a mess on your hands. It's best to have a friend around during that first start to assist in starting engine, monitoring water temp., checking for leaks, monitoring fans, engine rpm, etc..

If this is a brand new engine and your going to run it at 2000 rpm for 20 minutes to break in cam, bypass (trip) fans to operate prior to starting engine. This will aid in keeping engine cool during this critical period and not have cooling system playing "catch up". Use 20 minutes or 220 degrees on your water temp gage as your cut off point..........which ever comes first. Mine did not overheat but this is a critical time to pay particular attention to engine temperature.

You may also want to leave cv axles and shifter linkage disconnected until you perform your first run up to save time. In the event engine has to come back out, you'll only have to remove these again. But, you muffler guy will need cv axles installed if you intend to follow your original plan. Maybe you could come up with a flexible (spelled mickey mouse) exhaust setup to allow run up at home prior to taking to muffler shop.

If your not going to pull distributor and spin oil pump to lube everything prior to initial firing, pull coil wire and fuel pump power.......then spin engine over until you see oil pressure on gage. This should only take about 10-15 seconds. You may also want to pull spark plugs prior to spinning engine over depending on how tight things are.

Use blue locktite on cv axle retaining bolts. Retorque after 50 miles of driving and then again at about 200 miles. (all 4 flanges)

If your using a kevlar clutch, drive it like grandma for the first 100 miles. Hard to resist but required for chatter free operation after broken in.

Be prepared to spend a little time getting clutch adjusted right as well as shifter linkage.

Have a method for catching oil in the even you have to adjust lifters if you happen to have one or two that make a little noise. A cut down valve cover or set of rocker clips come in handy here.

Good luck, your almost there.

John