1978 Y88 Restoration....Engine break in complete.

[wheels78ta]

That looks like a mirror of mine, bundles of wires and gauges hanging on zip ties.
I inquired about if the carb shop had had a chance to look at my Quadrajet, now claiming late January before they even look at it. Bad luck if it was your daily driver, if there were others doing this work their service and attitude would certainly be different.

With all your knowledge and skills I'm surprised you didn't rebuild it.  Is time and space playing a factor in having someone else do it?

[wheels78ta]

Got the battery hooked up.....I thought I had all necessary wiring connected.  No Start.  Won't even crank over.

I have 12v to the starter.

I know I'm missing something.....Connection somewhere......The clock isn't running so that tells me I missed a connection or two or three.

Any ideas?

[wheels78ta]

Brain Fart #1

Found the main problem.

Forgot to connect the battery to the alternator.

Got power to the ignition. 

The new issue is.....when I turn the key to start it......it clicks at this unit. 

What is it and could this be the issue why it won't turn over?

[wheels78ta]

Brain fart #2

I put a jumper on the neutral safety switch and now it turns over.

But......it feels like it's not getting spark.

I'll test all the HEI components and go from there.

More to come.

[wheels78ta]

Brain Fart #3

I thought it was odd that the rotor turned freely.  So I removed the distributor to find out that when I rebuilt it......I put the distributor gear upside down.  It was sitting below the cam and wasn't, thankfully, touching the cam gear at all.  Once I got that corrected the engine had spark.

[wheels78ta]

Brain Fart #4

Now that I have spark.....no fuel to the carb.  So I disconnected the fuel line at the point that it goes to the metal line....just behind rear of front tire.....and blew towards the tank.  Plugged.  With cap removed.  Could not get the line to clear.  I went to the tank to remove the fuel line at the side of the tank.

No rubber fuel line.  And I had it capped to keep debris from entering after the install.  Removed the cap on the line, added the rubber fuel line.....now the line is clear from the front of the car to the tank.  Blew into the line and you can hear the gurgling in the tank.  Done.

[wheels78ta]

Brain Fart #5

After correcting the fuel line issue.......there was still no fuel to the carb.  Pump maybe?

So I disconnected the line behind the rear of the front tire.....added a piece of fuel hose that was sitting on a shelf with other parts stuff.....and stuck the hose into a full can of gas.  Cranked but still no fuel to carb.  So I replaced the pump with another one that I had on the shelf.....still no fuel to carb.  I took the first pump that I removed and tested it on the bench and it pumped fuel.

My head was spinning and I was losing it fast.  What could be the issue?

Then I thought.......is the new piece of fuel hose plugged?  Are you kidding me?  It was plugged.  It wouldn't pull gas from the gas can.  It turned out to be a carpenter wasp nest was about 6" inside the hose from sitting on the parts shelf.

So I put the original piece of hose on and connected the lines together.  Filled the carb with fuel....cranked it over a couple of times..................And she fired right up.

A couple of days later.......I went through the break in procedure.  20-30 minutes of 2200-2500 rpms.  I kept it around 2400 for the most part and went 29 1/2 minutes.  My leg was getting cramped and my foot was going to sleep.  Probably from sitting on a 5 gallon bucket while doing this.  It never overheated....I used a digital infrared thermometer gun while going through the break in plus keeping an eye on the temp gauge.  No leaks any where.  Break in complete.  Oil and filter changed.

And a nice beer break afterwards.

[N PRGRES]

Congrats!!!

[wheels78ta]

Thanks, Dave....It was a big relief when the break in went so well.

Now for the fun/hard part............Body work. 

[roadking77]

Congrats on the run in. I know exactly how you feel. I didnt think I was ever going to hear my motor running. Such a great sound!

[wheels78ta]

Thanks......It was pretty quiet for 2400-2500 rpm.  I have the Turbo Pros on it now but I bought the Race Pros to replace them with.  After it's all tuned up I'll get that done before any body work.

[5th T/A]

Congratulations your car is alive with a beating heart!

Through the years I have replaced a fair number of flat tapper cam and usually went through a twenty minute break in period. I always wondered how the auto manufacturers got around this break in period?