ArdWrknTrk Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 That’s a neat picture to have! Well it was a pretty cool day overall for a gear head. This is what the engine looked like when I arrived. I walked in the dyno room and the drill was buzzing away pumping oil all by itself. The main reason I did this was for the break-in, and warranty purposes. This way they can prove that it doesn't leak or make any noises, etc. They had it all dialed in just right so it started right away without hesitation and went straight into cam break-in mode. Dyno pulls also put good pressure on the rings and get them seated right away before the cylinders get a chance to glaze. In the days before nikasil and micro finishes in cylinders "Break it in fast, and it will BE fast" was a very real thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted January 22, 2020 Author Share Posted January 22, 2020 Dyno pulls also put good pressure on the rings and get them seated right away before the cylinders get a chance to glaze. In the days before nikasil and micro finishes in cylinders "Break it in fast, and it will BE fast" was a very real thing. Good point! My main issue was that I had to install the engine by myself in my little attached garage, and doing a 20 minute break-in was not going to be a very good thing to do inside my house (Ask my wife...lol). Also, I had all the trust in the world in the engine shop, but having them beat on it for a day or a half a day would make sure there were no immediate bugs or bad seals, etc. The full day cost me $500 bucks, and by the time it was all installed and set-up, it basically turned into a little over a half a day of actual tuning. After it was broken in, we probably did a dozen or 15 pulls on it. At the end of the day it was very much worth it to me even for peace of mind, but I also got to learn quite a bit that day, and it was fun anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted January 22, 2020 Share Posted January 22, 2020 Dyno pulls also put good pressure on the rings and get them seated right away before the cylinders get a chance to glaze. In the days before nikasil and micro finishes in cylinders "Break it in fast, and it will BE fast" was a very real thing. Good point! My main issue was that I had to install the engine by myself in my little attached garage, and doing a 20 minute break-in was not going to be a very good thing to do inside my house (Ask my wife...lol). Also, I had all the trust in the world in the engine shop, but having them beat on it for a day or a half a day would make sure there were no immediate bugs or bad seals, etc. The full day cost me $500 bucks, and by the time it was all installed and set-up, it basically turned into a little over a half a day of actual tuning. After it was broken in, we probably did a dozen or 15 pulls on it. At the end of the day it was very much worth it to me even for peace of mind, but I also got to learn quite a bit that day, and it was fun anyway. I agree that a dyno break-in is a good thing to do. Dad's engine was broken in on Tim's dyno and I got to witness it. WOW!!! I wish I could have done the same for Big Blue's engine, but I'd had the heads done locally since I expected the original engine to be solid, so it wasn't going to work to have a short block broken in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 I agree that a dyno break-in is a good thing to do. Dad's engine was broken in on Tim's dyno and I got to witness it. WOW!!! I wish I could have done the same for Big Blue's engine, but I'd had the heads done locally since I expected the original engine to be solid, so it wasn't going to work to have a short block broken in. So I had the old Bullnose out for her first proper spring run, even if it was a bit early. She got a bath, and some fresh 2020 gasoline. Now, I have a problem that wasn't present when I put the truck away in the fall. It's now hard to start when hot. All I did over the winter if you recall was fix some vacuum leaks and reset the carb tuning, etc. But, I also installed my new distributor and set the initial timing to the recommended 17deg BTDC. So is the lazy starting a result of the timing being too far advanced? Or bad starter? (It is 36 years old after all). It literally sounded like the starter didn't have enough power to crank the engine, but it whirled over fine when it was cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 So I had the old Bullnose out for her first proper spring run, even if it was a bit early. She got a bath, and some fresh 2020 gasoline. Now, I have a problem that wasn't present when I put the truck away in the fall. It's now hard to start when hot. All I did over the winter if you recall was fix some vacuum leaks and reset the carb tuning, etc. But, I also installed my new distributor and set the initial timing to the recommended 17deg BTDC. So is the lazy starting a result of the timing being too far advanced? Or bad starter? (It is 36 years old after all). It literally sounded like the starter didn't have enough power to crank the engine, but it whirled over fine when it was cold. Cory, if you have DSII, it should retard at least 3* while cranking. 17* initial seems pretty high for me, but I didn't build your engine or curve your distributor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 Cory, if you have DSII, it should retard at least 3* while cranking. 17* initial seems pretty high for me, but I didn't build your engine or curve your distributor. Do you have a reflective heat shield between headers and starter? There's no reason to cook it intentionally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 Do you have a reflective heat shield between headers and starter? There's no reason to cook it intentionally. I do not, no. They are only the shorty headers that fit in place of the stock manifolds, so they're no closer to the starter than the manifold was, although I'm sure they radiate more heat. However...with ambient temps being only 41-42 degrees, I can't imagine that it was getting that hot under the hood? Sitting in traffic in the middle of summer, sure, but now barely above freezing? In any case, it is a good point... I'm pretty sure Scott @ Parkland told me to set it at 17deg BTDC, but maybe that is just a touch too far. I guess it's free to dial it back and see what happens. I was hoping to not have to touch it since it is running so well now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 Do you have a reflective heat shield between headers and starter? There's no reason to cook it intentionally. I do not, no. They are only the shorty headers that fit in place of the stock manifolds, so they're no closer to the starter than the manifold was, although I'm sure they radiate more heat. However...with ambient temps being only 41-42 degrees, I can't imagine that it was getting that hot under the hood? Sitting in traffic in the middle of summer, sure, but now barely above freezing? In any case, it is a good point... I'm pretty sure Scott @ Parkland told me to set it at 17deg BTDC, but maybe that is just a touch too far. I guess it's free to dial it back and see what happens. I was hoping to not have to touch it since it is running so well now. I agree that 17 seems like a lot. But, if Scotty recommended that then that's what I would try initially. However, your description sure seems like the engine isn't liking it during starting. In my experience not all DS-II ignition systems have the retard feature built in. When I got Big Blue it started quickly when cold but struggled when hot. So I tried a different ignition box and it started easily hot. I swapped back and it struggled. And that box said Motorcraft on it. If you have another box you might try that. If not, or if it doesn't help, then dial the initial timing back a few degrees and see if that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 I agree that 17 seems like a lot. But, if Scotty recommended that then that's what I would try initially. However, your description sure seems like the engine isn't liking it during starting. In my experience not all DS-II ignition systems have the retard feature built in. When I got Big Blue it started quickly when cold but struggled when hot. So I tried a different ignition box and it started easily hot. I swapped back and it struggled. And that box said Motorcraft on it. If you have another box you might try that. If not, or if it doesn't help, then dial the initial timing back a few degrees and see if that helps. Gary...good point. You reminded me that I did also swap out the DSII box. The one that is installed now is one of the Motorcraft ones from Amazon...but who knows if it is the same? I think I'll try the old factory DSII box and see how it works. Thanks for the heads up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 Gary...good point. You reminded me that I did also swap out the DSII box. The one that is installed now is one of the Motorcraft ones from Amazon...but who knows if it is the same? I think I'll try the old factory DSII box and see how it works. Thanks for the heads up. I've got the NAPA/Echlin TP-40 box in 'Lil Red. I know it retards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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