Common first start up issues

[mopar0166]

What the common isse people have run into when starting up a freshly built 440 ?

hopefully brining this engine to life this saturady and want to be prepared.

[Cooter]

Kinda depends on who has been working on it. I've seen marine (Reverse rotation cams) installed by "rebuilders" and cannot get it to run, I've seen people All but always get the distributor in 180 out, back fire an OLD holley carb blowing both power valves os when it does start, it is running raw fuel out the pipes, I've seen Dist. correct, but wires in wrong order, Carb's NOT rebuilt, or rebuilt incorrectly dumping raw fuel into fresh engine, I've seen camshaft lobes Wiped due to incorrect start-up/break-in, and on and on and on....

[Dino]

Prepared?  Make sure you can disconnect the battery in no time and have a fire extinguisher next to you just in case.  Apart from that make sure you have enough beer in the house.  

[ottawamerc]

If you have new headers make sure you keep an eye on them on startup, by my own experience recently the engine started and ran great but once the choke was coming off it started to lean out and baked one of my nice new ceramic tubes  Watch your oil pressure (did you prime the pump?) Good luck on Saturday.

[bobs66440]

Make sure you have a proven, tried and true carburetor and ignition system on the motor for the first start up. You don't want to be tuning or troubleshooting while doing this. If you are breaking in a new flat tappet cam, you need to run the engine up to 2000-2200rpm IMMEDIATELY after starting and keep it there for 25-30 minutes, varying the rpms a couple hundred up and down frequently. NO idling at all. Be sure to add break-in additive to the oil or use break-in oil. Change oil & filter immediately after break-in.

Double check to make sure your plug wires are routed correctly. This is a common error. And as mentioned, make sure the dizzy is set to fire on #1 terminal with the #1 piston on TDC on compression stroke. Initial timing set to 10-12deg BTDC, total around 36 with vacuum advance disconnected. Fine tune timing afterwards.

Also, set up a fan blowing at the radiator and keep a garden hose close by to spray the radiator if it starts to run hot.

I know it sounds obvious, but make sure it's not in gear when you start it...

[mopar0166]

ALl Great Stuff guys, i guess im just over worried for all of yo uthat have dumped big money into a 440   

I like the beer idea

[Dmichels]

Agree with all above
short list
fire extinguisher
water
rags
tools for quick repair

Be prepared for
fire
electrical problems
fuel leaks
oil leaks
coolant leaks
shit burning on the exhaust
idle speed
timing adjustments
radiator burping (need to add water)
also be ready for immediate shut down and battery disconnect.
Good luck you will be fine
Dave

[heyoldguy]

ALl Great Stuff guys, i guess im just over worried for all of yo uthat have dumped big money into a 440  

I like the beer idea

Yeah, beer, right.

My youngest and his friend got tired of waiting for his buddies engine to get bolted together. So they and a case of beer went to work on the engine installing pistons. There are only so many ways you can install a piston wrong. They figured out an used every one of them.

[bobs66440]

Oh yeah, almost forgot. Use straight water in the cooling system and no thermostat for break-in.

[bull]

Leaks. Pretty much every fluid you can think of. I left my steering pump belt off... one less thing.

Overheating. Get yourself a box fan and a platform to put it on so it sits right in front of the radiator.
Get yourself a temp gun too so you know how hot it really is in case your factory temp is off and then
make sure the upper radiator hose gets hot once the thermostat opens.

Oil pressure. Same thing as above. Keep a mechanical gauge plugged in and ready to read. Both
oil pressure and temp will most likely be above average during initial startup, but shouldn't be too high.
Be sure to pump the engine up with oil before starting.

Electrical. Make sure all the switches are turned off and all the connections are tight. I heard a related
story about a guy who put his wiper arms on before making sure they were parked. The switch was on
when he fired up the car and the wipers scraped across the freshly painted cowliing.

Last but not least, if it's a four speed, make sure it's not in gear (no, I didn't do that).