Coolant!

[Roger King]

Good point, Clive. If they have, no problem! ...as long as you haven't changed the cam since.

[John H]

He needs it running to get it through the noise and emissions as its a 1984 engine. I will talk to him though. Clive the engine has never run supplied it built and set up only. Brian at Roadcraft built it.

[Roger King]

He needs it running to get it through the noise and emissions as its a 1984 engine. I will talk to him though. Clive the engine has never run supplied it built and set up only. Brian at Roadcraft built it.

I don't understand - do you mean he wants to build the exhaust system and check it for IVA at the same time? Never heard of that - for the cars I've IVA'd (actually SVA) we've built the exhaust and fitted it, then taken it for the test and (ahem) adjusted the revs for noise level. I've had at least ten systems custom built and I've never yet run the engine until I've driven the car home, assuming it was driveable (and it usually wasn't). So unless your engine has been run on the dyno I have no idea how you can do a cam break-in without an exhaust - hopefully someone with more knowledge of IVA can step in and help.
If Roadcraft have set the engine up, presumably they've run it? Maybe ask Roadcraft for advice on cam break-in?

[peterc]

Roger , I can assure you that full blooded reverse J turns in the middle of a hotly contested auto test means centrifugal forces make the oil ride up and out of the deep section of the sump. A few seconds of no oil in the bottom of the sump for the pump to suck in soon has its affects. A little green light on the dash tells all. By the end of the season it's best to change the big end bearings.
I created a baffled sump which improved the status but you have to be careful that the oil can still get back down to the pump pick up. Of course having a dry sump system is the proper answer.
This is by far a more arduous a condition than just racing round a bend on a circuit.
Peter C

[Roger King]

I promise you that the parabolica at Estoril is a far tougher test than any J turn!!
Seriously, if you are having problems with that you need to go to a Canton diamond baffled sump, with spring loaded baffles, and a boxed pickup. That'll sort it out - takes around 10 sec for the oil to move away from the pickup. I guess the truth is that Americans have been racing SBFs for so long that all eventualities have been covered, probably not so for the Fido motor.

[John H]

Quick update.... fully filled with around 13.5lts of Evans coolant..... borrowed exhaust installed (thanks to a very generous member) and oil priming tool sourced! So I need to check the fans operate but after that no excuse but to fire her up for the very first time . I am not sure I am looking forward to glowing manifolds during the cam break in though!

[Roger King]

I am not sure I am looking forward to glowing manifolds during the cam break in though!

S'gonna happen. Have the dizzy lightly nipped up with a half-inch spanner at the ready, and a timing light connected up too so you can dial the dizzy in once she fires. Give it about 32°BTDC at 2-2500rpm, it shouldn't pink as it won't be under load. Don't go over 36° unless you know that your pistons are not hypereutectic cast alloy (but I wouldn't anyway).
Don't remove the rad cap whilst it's running unless you are absolutely certain you have no air locks in the system (in other words, don't remove the rad cap!). Watch the temp gauge and if it gets really silly and the manifolds are glowing bright orange shut off and investigate. Get as much air flowing around the motor as you can and, obviously, leave the bonnet open. Change the oil filter after the break-in, and I'd do the oil as well although the filter is more important.

Good luck! It'll be noisy...

[Roger King]

I promise you that the parabolica at Estoril is a far tougher test than any J turn!!

I should probably explain this. Turn 13 at Estoril is a long, constant radius right-hander of getting on for 180° which is followed by a long straight, getting on for 1km long. Accelerating around this curve has the effect of shifting all the oil in the sump over to the left rear corner, even with spring-loaded diamond baffles and a block pickup. The SBF has notoriously poor oil-drain back, and if you have a high-volume oil pump fitted a prolonged period of high revs, say 6-6500rpm for around 30-35sec, has the effect of pumping all the oil up to the head area and starving the bearings, with rod bearing no.3 taking the first hit as its supply is weakest from the pump. 5 or 6 laps of this and hey presto, knocked out rod bearing. Please don't ask me how I know this to be true, but at least I'm in good company as Barrie Williams once told me he'd blown up a couple of 289 engines doing exactly that in exactly the same place.*

*that clanging noise was the sound of a name dropping, in case you hadn't guessed.

[clive]

John, you might consider using an infra red thermometer to keep an eye on the radiator temperature. If you don't have on you can get them from Mapping or you can borrow mine.

[John H]

Just a quick update - my FIA is alive! I did the cam run in today. Took an age getting the distributer back in after the oil priming. Took about 30 mins of trial and error to get it aligned , but got there in the end. Priming also nearly did my electric drill - it was smoking! I did check that oil had reached all the valves. I have to say there was more smoke than I expected, not least of all the plastic cover to the starter motor connection melted away! She ran for 30 mins total before I could not control the heat anymore and shut her down. It was done in 3 goes, first after 10 minutes and getting hot I had a major leak from the top of the rad. Then shut her down because I thought the plastic melting was going to catch alight. So not perfect but my first time doing that. Roger you will be pleased to know the manifolds did glow red towards the end. Since cooling she developed a couple of other coolant leaks interestingly enough. All quite exciting really! Oil and filter change tomorrow. Thanks for the help.