Morning all

Well can't put it off any longer, hopefully tonight will see the car started for the first time. I'm keeping electrical connections to an absolute minimum to reduce electrical fault finding, basically just the ignition and oil pressure.

Have all the safety measures in place such as fire blanket etc.

Any other tips to help maximise success/reduce potential damage to engine etc.

Thanks
Nigel

Try and turn it over by hand with the plugs out if its been stood for a while. Also a quick squirt of oil down the bores also helps. Then retire to a safe distance.


Steve

Usual practice is to take out the sparks (and disconnect the coil for hopefully obvious reasons). Put a spanner on the crankpulley nut and give it a few turns to get everything moving then turn it over with the starter until the oil pressure light goes out then pop the plugs in, reconnect coil etc. Then cross your fingers, start the engine and be gentle with it until its warmed up.
Obviously if you're starting it up without coolant or without a temperature gauge don't let it run for too long...

Hey Nigel

Oil Pressure is the one the watch for - esp on a newly built engine. Check for leaks once she is filled up.

I took all my plugs out and span the engine over on the stater for a few seconds - this allowed me to see if oil pressures started to build up and helped prime all the relevent components.

I was panicing about it catching fire but it was all OK in the end.

If you've fitted a new cam & followers, don't let it run at tickover for any length of time - you need to be up above 2000rpm. If you don't, the cam can suffer from premature wear and fail quite early.

If not, then take the plugs out and spin it up, to get some oil flowing around (as stated above).

Yes there are new cam and followers fitted, though they are standard replacements.
so I should get the revs above 2000rpm. Is that for a certain distance or time? As the car is not yet ready for the road how should I run the engine to prevent damage? or is it just start it and get it over 2000rpm?

Any help appreciated.

These instructions came with the kent cam I fitted - basically, the first 20 minutes or so should be at or a bit above 2.5K rpm. At this speed the followers fly over the cam surface as nature intended; any slower and the cam has to force the follower up and over the hump, leading to wear.


More info at Burtons, here. The important bits are the first few sentences, and the last paragraph (the rest is about fitting a cam). Oh - it's 2.5K rpm, according to this. If you have problems, stop the engine immediately rather than going back to tickover, then start again later to do the rest of the time.

In my case, I just sat on the drive and kept my foot on the pedal, trying to keep the revs where they should be. It's a great way to impress the neighbours, although I did warn them...




[Edited on 28/8/07 by David Jenkins]

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Originally posted by David Jenkins
These instructions came with the kent cam I fitted - basically, the first 20 minutes or so should be at or a bit above 2.5K rpm. At this speed the followers fly over the cam surface as nature intended; any slower and the cam has to force the follower up and over the hump, leading to wear.


More info at Burtons, here. The important bits are the first few sentences, and the last paragraph (the rest is about fitting a cam). Oh - it's 2.5K rpm, according to this. If you have problems, stop the engine immediately rather than going back to tickover, then start again later to do the rest of the time.

In my case, I just sat on the drive and kept my foot on the pedal, trying to keep the revs where they should be. It's a great way to impress the neighbours, although I did warn them...




[Edited on 28/8/07 by David Jenkins]

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quote:

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Originally posted by Dangle_kt

20 mins with no coolant system...

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