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Freshly Rebuilt sbc 355 cranks over hard

8K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  KA67_72 
#1 ·
hey guys, i just built my first engine. It's a 1989 chevy 2-bolt main block bored .030 over. It's got a 9.7:1 compression ration and i put on new cast iron heads w/ 64cc chambers, new bearings, machined crank, rods, etc. It's all been put into a short bed 1985 S10. I put everything together, checking clearances and everything very carefully with the use of a information book on building small block chevys. I primed the oil pump before starting the engine. I just started the engine for the first time last week and it cranked right over easily when i jumped it with my jeep wrangler, putting out 14v or so when it's running. It ran, although we had to restart it a few times to get the timing right. Now when I've tried to start it up recently (maybe the 5th time or so, it started cranking over hard. Is this because the rings and valves have broken in and become fully seated and sealed and made it much higher compression? Do engines with a higher compression ratio like this usually take more volts or amps to crank over than a normal battery/alternator can dish out? Im kind of worried because it basically barely cranks over, im lucky to be able to crank it over one or two times, although that usually does start it up eventually if i take pauses in between cranks.
 
#8 ·
I'll probably catch some grief for this, but I have a motor that likes a lot of timing also. I just have an ignition kill switch. I kill the ignition, start cranking, and flip it back on. I've tried all kinds of things short of a super starter. The old girl doesn't deserve that kind of money. If I retard the timing to where it will start, it just falls on it's face.

Kevin
 
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