Barring another hurricane, the motor is going back in Sat!

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Man, as if one hurricane isn't enough, we've had to deal with 4 in a month! Are you kidding me?! :evil: My poor falcon is sitting in the garage still and my beautiful new motor is sitting on the stand still...and they've yet to meet! Hopefully, that will all change this weekend. I now have all my parts and as long as God doesn't feel the need to smite us once again, we'll be swinging the motor and tranny back in Saturday and Sunday if needed.

So, on to my questions...they deal mostly with procedures for starting and setting a new motor. Yes, I've read the handbook and I have the shop manual. 8)

the details: '68 I200 with an OZ2502V head, Holley 2300 (500CFM), decked and milled to shoot for 9.6:1, full roller rockers, cam, DSII & MSD6, etc...the works.

in no order...

1. my instructions (set to TDC, adjust certain valves, rotate, adjust certain valves, etc) tell me to adjust the rockers after the motor is warmed up. That's easy on a motor that can be warmed up, but this one has yet to be turned over. Should I just follow the instructions anyway to get me started?

2. once the motor is in and the buttoning up is done, what should I do before cranking the motor? Pre-oil some stuff? Hand crank it to pump some oil?

3. I have the initial timing set so that TDC is at the 0 on the dampner. I've read lots of suggestions for initial timing. Where should I start? Which rotation (CW or CCW) of the dizzie will advance or retard the spark? BEFORE TDC means the spark is advanced, right? the MORE before TDC yo go, the more advanced the spark is...right? Really showing my skill level now! :oops:

4. anything and everything else I need to know so I don't break her on the first go!! :P

Thanks as always to all! I will hopefully have some latest and greatest photos Saturday or Sunday!
 
Well, tomorrow is the day...anyone want to chime in with some suggestions or info? Please.
 
Eat a good breakfast, take your time, lot's of pic's, and keep us informed. :lol:
 
Speaking of smiting...
...and it came to pass that fuel did flow into the carburettor, and the boot lay heavily upon the pedal. In time did the shaft begin to turn, force came unto the rear of the beast, and tyres smote heavily the ground, leaving great clouds of smoke. The sky was darkened by the burning stench and deafened by the sound. Such was the confusion the number of the monster could not be assured; some swore six and others eight...

- Save the drinking until after it's gone terribly wrong, or you've finished.

Seriously: The motor should have been assembled with #1 on TDC compression. If not, with the rocker gear removed, rotate until this is the case. Reassemble. You don't want to turn the motor until it is expected to start.

Do your cold clearances as per the manual, and use the ones you can do as a guide for the ones you can't get to without turning the motor. Leave the valve cover "tacked on" with a couple of bolts for dust purposes. Make sure the spark plugs are tight.

As the motor is set to TDC compression on #1, you need to dial back the dizzy say 8° advance. This assumes you have installed the distributor with #1 terminal now lining up perfectly to the rotor button. Use the diameter of the cap to calculate the circumference, and guess the amount to rotate the unit in fractional inches.

Probably about time for the transition from engine stand to the leveller and hoist. You made and tested some lift eyes, right?

Attach the motor to the tranny, test then fit the starter. You'll find it easier to get the whole deal in the bay with your centre link and belly brace removed. Get a feel for raising and lowering it; practice outside the bay mimicking the intended manoevres.

With the carb and intake off the motor, fill your carb with fuel through the vent tube with a squeezy bottle (not to the top) and check the accelerator pump works, before mounting it all. It's easiest to install the 2V with the intake off, exhaust on. Make sure your header flange is correctly torqued.

Secure your temporary padding to the aprons and front sheetmetal with heavy tape. Time to wangle that sucker in. When it's approximately in place, keep the hoist attached and tensioned, refit and tighten the belly brace and loosely bolt the rubber engine mounts to their body brackets. Attach the rear transmission support and bolt up finger tight.

Let off the hoist tension and tighten the engine mounts, then the rear support. It's a good time to do the starter and ground cables. Hook up the fuel pump and distributor/coil.

Attach the intake manifold and carb, with a little Permatex No.3 on the intake gasket faces. Again, observe torque settings. Install the valve cover bolts, and fill the engine with the "dry" quantity of oil.

Fit your radiator and hoses, fill with coolant and bleed. Bounce the car if required to help this. Convince yourself the thermostat is in the right way around.

Top up the carb float bowl a little if you wasted lots playing with the accelerator pump. Hook up the fuel lines, and double check everything. You need some form of temporary tacho and throttle control.

A spray with instant start, and a quick crank should do it. Many people go all out pre-priming the oil pump and galleries etc, but if you pack the pump with moly grease when building the motor and then get it started right away, the risk of dryness is greatly reduced. Everything's full of assembly lube, which is designed for this purpose. You could run the oil pump through the distributor shaft hole, using 5/16" hex section of steel rod. Mark the dizzy before removal if you do.

Main thing once it runs, is to keep the 2K RPM for the first 20 minutes. Watch the clock, if you have to stop, ensure the time deficit is made up immediately on restarting. Expect it to run a little hot, too.

I'm sure I missed plenty (and maybe offended a few people with my quote). Good luck; we look forward to the pics.

Adam.
 
Congrats on the new motor.
Most, if not all machine shops will adjust the rockers once the motor is assembled. I wouldn't go too crazy with adjusting anything until after you have the motor in the car. I learned earlier this week that the best way to adjust the adjustible roller rockers is by doing it while the motor is running, one valve at a time. But again, the shop that built your motor should have already adjusted everything.
I found that taking several small breaks, to drink water helped keep me from getting to frustrated and dehydrated at the same time. Like it was said earlier, take pictures to use as a reference.
I put my motor in in about 45 minutes to an hour, but the trans was already in there. Putting everything back on the motor took me about half an afternoon. Main thing is to take your time and recheck the work you do before you move on to the next item. Some things like header bolts may only be tightened before you bolt on the intake (OZ Head). Ever hear of the saying measure twice, cut once? Here it would be check twice, buy once.
Good luck and let us know if you have any questions.

Ted
 
OK. She's all back together and after tracking down a PITA wiring problem, she's ready to go. That is, I'm ready to start her! I've done the cold clearances/setting on the valves and primed the carb a bit.

I've tried turning her over, and she cranks fine, but won't start. I've got the MSD wired to a DSII via the MSD pigtail. I've got switched 12V to the MSD thin red wire and direct battery connections for the large MSD black and red....all right out of the MSD instructions.

Which way do I turn the dizzie to get to 8deg BTDC? Counter clockwise or clockwise? We built it up right dead on #1 TDC.

Here's a quick pick to wet your whisltes...
newmotor1.jpg

Don't mind the nasty black rubber hoses/lines. Those will all be braided and/or chrome shortly! :wink:
 
Hey Chaz, i have an idea! How about you come up to Boca, I'll buy lunch and beers, and you can help me get her running!!

Just primed the carb a bit more and she sputtered!! Making progress.
 
VVRROOOOM! Imagine that...outta gas. :oops:

Maybe not, but I added fuel and vrooom! Fired up NICELY. I ran it for a few minutes to warm her up. Now I'm going to go back and do my valve adjustments.

I'll be back (probably with more questions).

Actually, first question...

I bought an aftermarket tach. It says to hook the green wire to the negative coil plug, but I get nada there. With an MSD and DSII (with pigtail), do I need to do something differently? The MSD/DSII pigtail has an orange and a purple and a grey wire I think.
 
Hooking up a tach

Tach should have red, white, black, and green wires.

Red = switched 12V
Black = ground
White = dash lights
Green = Neg. side of coil

if you are still having problems on the weekned...and I dont go to Tampa...I will shoot on up there...gladly
 
duh. :oops: You think I would have read the MSD instructions for hooking up a tach, right? The MSD6 has a tach output terminal. Spade connector on my green wire and viola.
 
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