It's Aliiiive!!!!

[John]

Ol' Twilite roared back to life yesterday afteroon. What a sweet sound. Took a lot of cranking with the spark plugs out to turn out the oil light. I was concerned, because I had primed the oil pump when I installed it. Once the carbs had primed, it busted right off. It wouldn't accelerate at first, but after tweaking the timing, it revved just fine. And, NO LEAKS! I followed Wiseco's recommended break in procedure of letting it idle until it was up to operating temperture, and then shutting it off, and letting it cool to ambient temps...three times. I did get ride it to the gas station,(1/2 mile each way) but I didn't twist it up...much. I did play a little in second gear, and it felt much stronger. Today I will adjust the pilots a little, and set the base idle up if it still needs it after tweaking the pilots. I will post again after I get to road test it.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey there John,

Congrats. You didn't mention about re-torquing the head bolts/nuts?? That was the other thing that was recommended to me after letting it cool down!! Enjoy!!!

[John]

Pics!!!! (yea)

http://community.webshots.com/user/john80sg

Comments?

[John]

Originally posted by TopCatGr58
Hey there John,

Congrats. You didn't mention about re-torquing the head bolts/nuts?? That was the other thing that was recommended to me after letting it cool down!! Enjoy!!!

I don't recall being told to re-torque. It probably wouldn't hurt. I sure am pleased with the results...just the fact that it lit right off was very encouraging. It seems to run a little hot though. I gave the pilot screws another full turn out, but that seemd to richen it up too much as the plugs were blackend when I checked them. I turned the pilots in 1/2 turn. That should do it. It didn't seem to change the idle any. Had to increase the base idle also.

[TopCatGr58]

Originally posted by John


I don't recall being told to re-torque. It probably wouldn't hurt. I sure am pleased with the results...just the fact that it lit right off was very encouraging. It seems to run a little hot though. I gave the pilot screws another full turn out, but that seemd to richen it up too much as the plugs were blackend when I checked them. I turned the pilots in 1/2 turn. That should do it. It didn't seem to change the idle any. Had to increase the base idle also.

The racing shop where I had my boring done told me about the re-torquing. Yeah, mine runs a bit hot also, and you out there in that Texas heat, you'll need to be wary of heavy stop and go traffic. Have you put bigger than stock main jets in? 'Cause with those pipes, it will be breathing better even though you've got OEM filter, and so it could also run a bit lean. I realize you said your plugs were blackened, but that was mostly low RPM and idle, not sustained running after breakin!! BTW, are you using Premium?? With the new 10.25:1 comp ratio, you might want to protect against pinging!?

NICE PIC, almost needed to put my sunglasses on to look at it!!! Have fun breaking it in!!! T.C.

[Jerry]

Looks good! Congrats!

[John]

Good point about the idling vs high RPM. I am using premium fuel. Nothin' but the best for my dog. The carbs are from the 78E that I parted out. The pipes were on it also. The mains are the OEM 137.5's, and I did not change any of the other jets either. I left the carbs alone until I could see if I needed to mess with them or not. Pulling these carbs is not one of my favorite tasks. I was running these carbs on the old motor as well, and the plugs looked fantasic. My air cleaner is a Uni foam filter. I haven't had a chance to take it out and test it yet. I had two sick kids home from school today, and SWMBO was at work.
Thanks for the compliment.