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After working on this thing all weekend I finally got to the point where I was ready to turn the key. The first start is always an exciting time and nerve racking to boot (it's almost impossible to remember if you've done everything right) but in the end it was definitely worth all the hard work.
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Had my wife sit in the cab and turn the key (something i always have her do when I initially start a new engine) this allows me to work the throttle and adjust the distributor. After first discovering that I had forgotten to plug in the starter wire at the ignition switch (there's always some little hiccup), she cranked for about 10 seconds and lit right off. With the turbo tube mufflers the sound is absolutely AWESOME! Took it up to 2000 RPM to break in the cam and had excellent oil pressure (60 psi.). As soon as the cooling system built up a little pressure I discovered a leak at the lower radiator hose fitting. It wasn't bad so I let it run while it leaked water all over the garage floor. Had to add power steering fluid to the pump and while it was running I jacked up the front to cycle the wheel back and forth to get the air out of the system. After the hard time I had installing that damn pump and the hoses I was very pleased that there were no leaks.
After 20 minutes at 2 grand I brought the rpm back down and adjusted the distributor to get a good reliable idle at about 700 rpm. It started to get a little warm (after loosing a bunch of water) so after 25 minutes I shut it down at 200 degrees. Tomorrow I'll fix the radiator hose fitting that's leaking and set the timing a bit better. I may even back it out of the garage under it's own power. Another milestone in the building of a street rod.
It's been a long weekend and I'm tired, but all the work was worth it because in the end, there's absolutely nothing that sounds as good as a HEMI! :mwink:
Centerline
Had my wife sit in the cab and turn the key (something i always have her do when I initially start a new engine) this allows me to work the throttle and adjust the distributor. After first discovering that I had forgotten to plug in the starter wire at the ignition switch (there's always some little hiccup), she cranked for about 10 seconds and lit right off. With the turbo tube mufflers the sound is absolutely AWESOME! Took it up to 2000 RPM to break in the cam and had excellent oil pressure (60 psi.). As soon as the cooling system built up a little pressure I discovered a leak at the lower radiator hose fitting. It wasn't bad so I let it run while it leaked water all over the garage floor. Had to add power steering fluid to the pump and while it was running I jacked up the front to cycle the wheel back and forth to get the air out of the system. After the hard time I had installing that damn pump and the hoses I was very pleased that there were no leaks.
After 20 minutes at 2 grand I brought the rpm back down and adjusted the distributor to get a good reliable idle at about 700 rpm. It started to get a little warm (after loosing a bunch of water) so after 25 minutes I shut it down at 200 degrees. Tomorrow I'll fix the radiator hose fitting that's leaking and set the timing a bit better. I may even back it out of the garage under it's own power. Another milestone in the building of a street rod.
It's been a long weekend and I'm tired, but all the work was worth it because in the end, there's absolutely nothing that sounds as good as a HEMI! :mwink:
Centerline
