First success

[Jeff Balazs]

Hello All;

The engine in my "new" 52 B-3-C spins freely! I put a rubber strap wrench on it and it turned as nice as can be. I am very happy about that.

So now I guess I can start looking in to all the systems.....radiator repair, new water pump, an exhaust system, carb and fuel pump rebuild, etc...

I have read here in the old threads that it is a good idea to drop the oil pan. What about the oil pump ? Don't these need to be primed? What other things should I examine before actually trying to start the beast?

It seems that the engine is actually a 230 from 54-56. It appears to have been painted battleship grey. Not absolutely certain but I think this may have been a Govt. owned truck at one time......there are some signs of fleet type maintenance in the distant past. Other signs too like never having a radio or an antenna installed. Signs of Navy blue brushed-on paint jobs...and an unusual step bumper that looks like it might of had Jerry cans mounted on it. It would be fun to know the whole story.

Thanks, Jeff

[Young Ed]

I think I'd be trying more towards getting to see if it starts before I drop money on some of those systems. The engine can run for a bit with no water whatsoever so a bad radiator or waterpump shouldn't hurt anything. Same with the exhaust it'll just be loud. The carb most likely will need a rebuild before starting. I would change the oil but worry about the pan later.

[ggdad1951]

yes, you need to prime the oil pump if you pull it. Congrats on the free turning engine!

[Merle Coggins]

Fill it up with good oil, pull the plugs and crank it until you see oil pressure. You can also check for spark at the same time. Replace the plugs, get gas flowing and see if it fires up. Like Ed says, you can run for short times with no coolant (no more than a minute) just to be sure it runs OK. Then get the cooling system in order so you can run it longer. Once you know the engine is sound then move on the the rest.

Merle

[Jeff Balazs]

Thank you guy's;

I will proceed along these lines. Your advice is great.

Jeff

[greg g]

You might want to do a compression test if you have the plugs out and are spinning over any way. That will tell you if you have any valves hanging open or if systems are up to snuff.

Important note, if the screw in portio of the compression tester is longer than the threaded portion of the spark plugs, do not screw it all the way in. A piece of tape or a tire crayon line on the tester will keep you from bendig valves while trying to check them.