15 Months Later, It Propels Independently!

[keithb7]

Tonight there was a small old 1938 Sedan in Canada that once again, propelled itself.
 

I am tickled to share this brief clip tonight. One more has been checked off my bucket list. Many of ya’ll have experienced this. It sure feels good. A fresh new 237 engine.
 

Now I just need to go find where I put the brakes. I seem to have forgotten to install them. No workee! ?
 

 

Edited February 8, 2022 by keithb7

[OUTFXD]

Bah!! Brakes are overrated!

 

Great video man! Congratulations!

[plymouthcranbrook]

Pretend you Are Ettore Bugatti. When asked why the brakes on his cars were so bad he said his cars are made to go, not stop.  Congrats on getting it running and moving. 

Edited February 8, 2022 by plymouthcranbrook

[MarcDeSoto]

All you have to do when you come to a stop light is open the door and put your left foot down on the pavement.  Don't do this barefoot!  And wear some shoe with a good leather sole.  And give yourself a quarter to half a mile to stop.  Or does Canada use kilometers now?  

Edited February 8, 2022 by MarcDeSoto

[RobertKB]

Congratulations, Keith! Best way to break it in……….drive it like you stole it!?

[SteveR]

It's been a long time sitting. Glad to see the old girl running again. Well Done!

[Sniper]

Very nice indeed

[Young Ed]

That is great news! Don't fret the time either. I know I have a project that's been ongoing way longer ( I have to count years not months) and I'm probably not the only one. 

 

Looking forward to see what you discover on the brakes.

[sidevalvepete]

Yeah, well done Keith. Hasn't taken you long at all. Am keen to see how you feel performance has changed when you get it all fine tuned with the bigger motor.

[Cannuck]

Wow very nice congratulations.

[keithb7]

Thanks for the kind words folks. 
 

I am 99% sure I know what’s wrong with my brakes. They have been sitting with no residual pressure at the wheel cylinders, for the past 15 months. They have been dripping down. Not uncommon for old cylinders that the owner hones, scrubs with scotch brite and re-uses. They’ll seal up and stay dry when used. Park it for a few months, then they start self bleeding. 
 

Despite my reluctance, I am going to install SAE30 oil tonight. Initially I put in 10W30 for first start-up. I’ve flushed it through the engine for probably 30 minutes by now. I’ll dump it now. Then proceed to break-in the rings with SAE30. 100 miles or so later I’ll dump the SAE30 and go back to 10W30. Someone has convinced me the SAE30 is the right oil to break-in the engine. I am skeptical but what the heck. I’ll do it. Won’t hurt anything. 
 

For my fellow Canadians, Princess auto stocks it. Easy to get. 
 

 

Edited February 9, 2022 by keithb7

[keithb7]

10 hours ago, sidevalvepete said:

 Am keen to see how you feel performance has changed when you get it all fine tuned with the bigger motor.

 

Tonight I took it beyond my driveway for the first road drive. I stuck around the neighbourhood. Hilly up and down terrain.  Baby-ing the motor. I pulled a few short hills. Through all the gears. No lugging and no high revs.

 

First impressions: Torque! More torque. I can feel it right off idle its right there. Also pulling turns and on the hills too. In 2nd and 3rd, I feel quite bit more torque. It's quite pleasant. And smooth! Oh boy is it ever a smooth running engine. Like creamy butter is applied when the toque comes on, up the hill.

 

Early indications are this 237 in a P6 is going to be quite a nice little package for me. I look forward to completing the full break-in period so I can work it hard up the big hill home. My testing ground.

 

I topped up the master cylinder and the brakes are back. 

Edited February 9, 2022 by keithb7

[RobertKB]

You can buy oil specifically designed for breaking in engines. I got mine at Auto Plus when breaking in the rebuilt engine in my 1951 Dodge D39 business coupe. I put 500 miles on it and then used 10W-40 for next 2000 miles. No need to change more often than that in my opinion. I never took it over 50MPH for the first 500 miles and then drove it however I wanted. I certainly didn’t baby it. 

[keithb7]

Just a note: with SAE30 oil in there now, I am seeing about 53 psi at warm idle, 58 -ish I'd say at higher RPM. A little more psi than with the 10W30.

Edited February 9, 2022 by keithb7

[RobertKB]

When first breaking your engine in it’s good to have the car pull at close to full throttle to maybe 45-50 MPH and then take your foot off the gas and coast down to 25-30 MPH. Repeat many times. This sucks the rings out to the cylinder walls and really helps them seat well. The first few hundred miles are very important. I had the 260 V8 in my ‘63 Ford ? Fairlane 500 rebuilt last year and was told again by the rebuilder that’s the best way to seat rings. I was reasonably gentle the first 500 miles until I changed oil. Now I drive it a little harder than I used to. 
 

 

Lots of ring seating advice on You Tube. I liked the one on “piston ring break-in 101”,  I think by Luke Shaw. He stresses the engine needs to be worked and not over-babied initially. 
 

However your car, your choice. Have fun!

Edited February 9, 2022 by RobertKB

[Bryan]

6 hours ago, keithb7 said:

Just a note: with SAE30 oil in there now, I am seeing about 53 psi at warm idle, 58 -ish I'd say at higher RPM. A little more psi than with the 10W30.

Glad it's up and running. I sent you a message.  Running it normal, not racing it is good.

[Crazyred]

Congrats Keith!  Glad to see it back on the road again. Thanks for taking us along with you, it's been a pleasure to watch and learn!