First Firing

[Mike Meade]

Hey Guys,well I finally fired my rebuilt and modified engine for the first time last night.It took about 5 shots of gas to get the carb bowls full and then she fired.It smoked for about 5 min. while I made some timing and carb adjustments.After a few minutes I had it at a nice steady idle,man did it sound like music to my ears and the best part is no leaks of any kind.This is the best motivator I could hope for.

[greg g]

First song is the sweetest!!!! Great news. Don't forget to retorque the head.

[Mike Meade]

Thanks Greg,I fired it again yesterday and reset the timing and idle screws.It is running about 160 degrees and a little less than 40 pounds oil pressure at idle.I took your advice and retorked the head (it needed it) and next is adjust the tappets.So far so good.

[greg g]

RE torquing is pretty much SOP whenever the head is off, you might want to check it again after a couple more heat cycles. Also give a check to your manifold bolts and carb to manifold also. Not too tight cause they are supposed to move around some with the heating and cooling. The torque on the manifolds is supposed to be 15 to 18 or so. If you can't get a torque wrench on em just go snug and then 1/2 to 3/4 more turn. Your temp and Oil pressure look good. Remember too loose is better than too tight on the valves. Besides a little valve noise will tell you its running. These things are so quite sometimes its hard to tell........