Well finaly going to be time to start my new 455. I got some of that shell rotella in there and going to put some comp cams break in stuff in there. Definatly going to be nervous to turn the key. What should I set my inital timing to? Currently have no 1 cylnder all the way up and the rotor on the dist pointing to the no 1 cyl.

Any tips or ideas appreciated.

Also have a big fan I am going to set up in front of the car.

Would it be bad to start the motor bring up the rpms then only let it run for a minuet or two. Shut it off to check for leaks ect then continue the process for another 20-30 mins?

 

I believe you should set it at 12 degrees. If you have a flat tappet cam run it the full 20 min. before you shut it off. Do not shut it off for prior to the 20 min mark. Thats why you are doing the prechecks on all fluids and making sure all hose connections are tight. Good luck

 

Well after I got it primed I put the distributor in but was off by a tooth and it did not want to run right took it back out and got it right. Motor fired fine had a little smoke that burned off w no probs but when it got up to 185 or so I got scared and shut it down. Checked over everything and seemed ok guess the stat did not open and I was nervous. Next start temp was up and then dropped down right away. Verified timing w light and ran it between 2000 and 2500 for a while it got up to 190 and sat there for a minuet and the radiator started overflowing into the overflow tank so I shut it down. There is a new stat in there not sure what is going on seemed like it does not want to open. Guess I should have left it out. Oh yea the temp here is about 30f and had electric fan on the rad and a seperate fan blowing air. So did I totaly mess everything up by not runnign the full 20 minuets should I worry? Probably only a total run time of 5-6 minuets. Maybe 30 seconds below 2000 at most.

 

Just let that puppy run.Everything you're saying is normal.I have'nt heard anything out of the ordinary yet.

You already know it's strong because it's a OLDS MOTOR!!!!!!!!!!

 

So it seems like my stat opend one time but not the next? Is it common for a new one to be bad? Should I just take it out?

 

190 isn't too hot for an engine. If it gets above 210 then I would start to get concerned. Plus, you have to think that your water temp gauge is up by the intake manifold and the exhaust cross over is close by. Just start it and run it for at least 20 minutes like the others said. Break that cam in!

 

It is running a little warm for how short you ran it, I say do too timing. With an aftermarket cam I always run 16* to 18* at 950 rpm. You may want to bump the timing up a tad. 190 is not bad, when it starts to go ver 210 then start checking things out. You should leave the stat in, or at least some kind of restriction so the water will stay in the radiator a little longer so it can desapate the heat.

Gene

 

When you fill a new engine with coolent it will alwasy burp to the overflow to get rid of air in the system. Just run the engine and watch the temp. You should be fine

 

well it was more than a burp if spewed 1/4 gallon into the overflow. Now I am wondering if the stat ever opened. Maybe I should have tried to put coolant into the intake where the stat goes and maybe I would have got some coolant to flow (gravity) into the heads and motors water jacket. I will get it this weekend!

 

Another thing I just thought of is that electric choke. it is probably messing me up should I unhook it?

 

Take a garden hose and put it on mist. Your radiator shouldn't get too hot with constant cold water through the fins.

 

Not sure if thats a good idea its below freezing here like 30*. I have the tstat in water waiting for it to boil now to test it.

 

T-stat is good it opens properly. Poored all the coolant that overflowed in where the T-stat goes. Now just need to fill the rad up and put it back togatehr. Try again tomorrow.

 

A burp is a reletive term. My 57 with a 455 spit out 1/32 gallon before it got rid of all of the air in the system.

 

Well got the cam broke in. Now just need to get the idle right does not want to idle below 1500. Time to get the carb manual out.

 

Sounds like everything worked out. Good luck with the timing