First start after rebuild

[joelittel]

Next Friday I hope to start my car for the first time after rebuilding the engine. I've been reading as much as I can about the break-in procedure and was hoping to get some advice before doing anything.

I'll be using my 285v cams from Allison's so I do not need to worry about breaking those in. I've got lots of assembly lube on everything and the cam boxes & oil filter have been filled with oil.

Am I correct in thinking that I should:
1.) Get the engine started, keep the rps at 1500 until the temp is up and then set the timing.
2.) Take the car out on the road and follow the instructions that came with the rings (accelerating from 30 to 50 ten times etc.)
3.) Bring it home, let it cool down and recheck the torque on cylinder head nuts (I have studs and nuts)

What have I missed? What am I not thinking about? Are there any common mistakes I should avoid?

Thanks in advance

[spidernut]

Check for leaks. I've always re-torqued the head after three heat and cooling cycles. I'm not sure where I learned that, but it has worked for me.

[joelittel]

Good call. In fact I'll go check for leaks right now. It's been full of fluids for 24 hours, now would be a good time to make sure I'm not starting with a leak.

[Jon124]

I would set the timing as soon as it is running, that is not temperature dependent.

[joelittel]

Ok, thanks Jon124, that actually makes me feel better. I wasn't sure if I had to wait until it warmed up and I was even more unsure of how it would run with the timing potentially off.

[narfire]

New cams.....set at 2-2500 rpm for about 10+ minutes with plenty of lube. I'd be setting the timing at idle.

Did you add adjustable cam gears? I ran my FI with Mark's cams with stock gears and it was ok but once I had the engine degree'd in properly with the adjustable cam gears, it was a different motor....way more gooder.
Chris

[joelittel]

Narfire, before the rebuild I had my 285v cam lobe centers set at 109 crank degrees.

Just out of curiosity where do you have yours set?

So here's where it gets confusing for me. I'm not supposed to let the car idle or I run the risk of glazing my cylinder walls, but I have to set the timing at idle.

Should I set the timing as best and ad fast as I can immediately after starting it, and the increase idle speed until it's up to temp?

[joelittel]

It started right up on the first crank. I had a little trouble keeping the rpm low (1500-2000) because it was super sensitive to throttle input.

Hopped out and set the timing to 12 degrees btc, as fast as possible, then jumped back in and kept the rpm up around 1500-2000 again.

Then I saw some smoke coming from the header area, so I thought I'd shut it down and investigate.

As I suspected there was nothing wrong, it was only burning off a little assembly oil/grease etc.

After it cooled I tried to start it again but had no luck. Tried and tried, but got nothing. Tried again, nothing.

Eventually I reset the computronics unit and only then got it to fire up.

I'm guessing that it's all sorts of "off tune" and will need to be gone through before I can even start to break in the piston rings. As it is now I can't take my foot off the accelerator or it dies on me.

All things considered, I'm calling this a successful day and am looking forward to getting back into it tomorrow.

[joelittel]

Success.

I broke it in and took it on an errand this afternoon.

I'm really happy with how smooth it feels. No squeaks, pops, lunges, lurching, pulsating throttle, fluctuating rpms etc. And it goes and stops great.

I only wish I had some way of comparing the first day I owned it with how it drives now. Obviously I'd say it drives better now, but I wish I had made a list of all it's symptoms & statistics (like rpms at specific mph etc.) and how it felt to me (ie. Feels like a tractor in 1st, feels like second is going to spin right out of the car but speed is not increasing ). It would be very entertaining to me to read through that information today.

Super happy. Thanks to all who have gone before me and helped me through what 4 months ago seemed like a huge task.

Count on my donation to this site for sure.

[AriK]

That's great news! Congrats! Must make you wanna not stop driving it.
And yes this site deserves all the support it can get.

[joelittel]

As much as I do want to drive it, I find myself wanting to check it more. I constantly worry about the details.

Are there leaks, is it burning oil, is everything torqued correctly, what did I forget etc etc.

I probably worry about it more than is necessary.

My wife left for a 3 day business trip and had I not been here to talk her out of it I'm 100% sure she'd have jumped in and taken off. It makes me wonder who was more excited to get the car back on the road.....