455 Back on the road this weekend

Howdy:

I've been using this board over the past year as the definitive guide to restoring my 72 Skylark. I replaced the 350/th350 with a 73 455 and a TH400 tranny. New Edelbrock 750 carb, TA Perf cam, Hooker Headers, Edelbrock intake, new driveshaft, new 2.5" exhaust, HEI distributor and it is finally all reassembled.

I started the block on the engine stand after priming the oil pump and it turned over great. My question is, once I finish hooking up my vacuum and plumbing, what is the approrpriate break-in procedure? As I said, hopefully I'll be turning it over this weekend for the first time in the car (not to rub it in, but the weather here in San Diego has been amazing lately, which would make it all the better for a drive on PCH).

I know some people have talked about priming the pump, running a special oil/additive mixture, etc. and I just want to make sure I do it right (expecially since I redid the cam, timing chain and cam bearings). Does the tranny need anything special done to it since it is a fresh rebuild (incl new torque converter)?

Any words of advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, any leads on a GS hood would be welcomed as well :grin:

If anyone wants advice on installing hooker headers, I have a tale of install woes for them too (as well as some good tips).

Thanks
Dan

 

Just a quick note on priming the pump, I'm kinda in a rush

This is a great tip that is not my idea. Also it makes installing the distributor easier and less frustrating if you don't mind removing the oil pump cover and gears

remove the pump cover. Beware that the gears do not crash to earth. (as a side note, these timing covers are notorious for being worn out in the pump area. Put an oil pressure gauge in your car, preferably mechanical if you have any hint you might have a problem. heck, do that anyway). Remove the gears, and put them someplace where they won't get dirty.

Now pack the cavity the gears were in with petroleum grease, such as Vaseline. Replace the gasket if you can re-use it (fat chance!) and the pump cover. The vaseline will give the pump something to push (it can't pump air) when you turn the key. i have primed the pump with a tool through the timing cover with the distributor out, and also with vaseline in the pump. Packing the pump was definitely the way to go in my opinion. the other way was a big question mark in my mind the whole time I did it. It worked, but...it worried me.

Plus, if you are timing the engine from scratch, taking the pump gears out and mating the drive gear to the distributor tang is much easier than the other way around, a lot of times


My brand new aftermarket timing cover from TA Performance came packed with petroleum grease, if that says anything about the wisdom of doing it this way. Don't use anything but petroleum grease in my opinion. I have heard other folks say "use white lithium grease" and it makes me shudder. The petroleum grease will dissolve in your oil...the lithium, well, I can imagine it staying in the pan a long, long time

Hopefully my engine will be back in my car this weekend, too. Weather here is crummy, I have some pics of me adjusting my valves with the engine out, and the car covered with snow that were taken yesterday. I like San Diego a lot, my friend used to live on Golden Hill.

if you need headers again, I recommend TA Performance's headers. They fit my '70 like a glove

Good luck and let us know how it turns out. Gotta run :TU:

 

hey dan. where are you at in san diego? iv been trying to plan the same conversion for my 72 and id love to hear more about your combo and all of your experiences. when are you going to fire it up? maybe we can get together and chat.

pete

 

Hi Chris:

Thanks for the tips. Do you have anymore info on the cam break in period, and the initial break-in steps I should take regarding fluids, rpm, etc. I packed the oil pump before I primed the engine on the stand, but not since. Think it is worth redoing?

 

If it makes you more confident in the priming, sure. Only takes a few minutes. I am doing that again myself because I had to turn the crank a lot to adjust my valves. Not a hard job, so why not? It's cheap insurance

When I broke in my engine when it was freshly rebuilt, I did this:

Used 30 weight oil. Not 10W-30

Started engine. Immediately shut it off to fix the gas leak :laugh:

Fixed the leak, and started it up. Quickly timed it by ear (I left the distributor dog only snug- don't stick your hand in there with the engine running, to loosen the bolt!) I broke the cam in for 30 minutes at around 2,000 rpm. I know, I wasn't crazy about it, but that's what I'm told you need to do.

I shut it off, and let it cool. While it did that, I drained the oil and refilled with 10W-30 Mobil 1 synthetic, and I also threw away the oil filter and replaced that.

I checked all my fuel fittings and coolant hoses, and inspected the oil pan and front and rear seals for leakage. I popped off the valve covers and re-torqued the heads one bolt at a time, and I also checked my intake manifold bolt torque, a few of them actually seemed loose, and I know I torqued them- I made up a checklist when I torqued everything

After I was satisfied with all that, I started it back up and timed it for-real, based on the distributor info i got from the manufacturer, and what a vacuum gauge told me. I also tuned the carb while I was at it, and of course I backed the idle back down to 800 rpm.

Then I drove it for a while. I wanted it to see a range of rpms for the first 500 miles, so I avoided the highway, but instead picked roads that not only would have me at stop signs and redlights a bit, but also would get me up to about 45 mph. I changed the oil and filter again after 500 miles

Worked for me, others may disagree, but after 50K miles, all the cross-hatching is still visible on the cylinder walls and lifter bores, so I'm not displeased with my break-in. With a stock-type cam, that engine pulled 19" of mercury at idle, so I think it was running pretty d@mn well. I'll be doing that almost exact same thing again saturday, I hope. Must think positive thoughts, engines can sense fear. :TU:

 

First, thanks to everyone for all of their tips. This board is awesome...I'm sure I spend far too much time at work on it. :Smarty: I had a couple more questions:

- Does the oil pressure gauge simply fit over the oil sending unit (are they universal kits) - I have both the gauge type and non-gauge type sending units (planning an upgrade to rallye gauges)

- Where should I attach the vacuum gauge to (running Edelbrock 750 and performer manifold)?

- What are appropriate readings for oil and vacuum pressure during cam break-in?

- What should my plugs be gapped to (using points distributor)?

- How do I monitor the engine temp (only running dummy lights now)?

Thanks again
Dan

 

Larry, thanks again. I am still confused in my head regarding the differences between ported and full vacuum. Which to use when, where they are, etc. I'm concerned because it is a new intake and carb set-up.

Thanks
Dan