Ignition advice needed

[PhillipM]

Well I am very close to sending my car to the painter but before I send it, I would love to start the motor. This thing has been sitting in my garage while I pre-fit / plan for 5 months and I want to hear some noise. I have built the body bunk and everything has been removed except a few items(less than a days work for the remaining items). Question: Am I missing anything before I start the motor and is the connections done right without the harness? I would love to hear this thing run before I disconnect the fuel system and remove the tank. Am I being stupid here?

1: MSD Red power lead to battery side on Solenoid.
2: MSD Thin Red wire to key switch on IGN terminal.
3: MSD to Magnetic pickup on distributor.
4: MSD to coil Black (-) and Orange (+)
5: Key Switch Batt terminal to Solenoid battery side (power to switch)
6: Key Switch ST terminal to (S) terminal on Solenoid to engage starter
7: Key Switch IGN terminal to (I) terminal on Solenoid

Solenoid is mounted to frame in the traditional location. Oil pressure gauge, water temp gauge and oil filter(Filter is full of oil) lines has been connected to motor. Fuel system and radiator plumbed (distilled with 70/30 mix)

Motor is a SA 452Super FE and has been bench ran at SA and I spoke to Lyle Friday about wanting to start the motor. I will have 2 fans in front of the car before starting it. I would love to hear this thing run if for only a short period (I need my fix).

Note: I have done some research at the following links.
http://www.uniquecobra.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5327&highlight=ignition+switch
http://www.uniquecobra.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5691&highlight=ignition+switch

Any advice welcome.



Phillip

[PhillipM]

Oh, one other thing the MSD box is grounded. Sorry I forgot to add that item.

[will butterworth]

just be ready to kill it if it grenades some--I never was afraid to give it a whirl when I had it up ----just a rip or two.Will-alabama

[JeepSnake]

Some of the extra things we typically have on hand when firing an engine for the first time (in addition to those already mentioned in the other threads by Rick & Brent):

1) Have a trusted pal or two on hand. The calm & cool variety, not the one that will say, "Ah, heck, every engine leaks coolant around the head bolts," or "Hold on, let me spray a pint of ether in the carb to get it going." Extra eyeballs are good. Unskilled commentary is not.

2) Fire extinquisher. No, I've never had to use one, but I always have one on hand - just in case.

3) Wet cotton terrycloth towel. If you accidentally have the distributor timing off, you might get a backfire and fire in the carb. The wet cotton will smother it. Make sure it's COTTON, though - synthetics can melt and get goo in the carb.

4) Small container of gas. If you're using a mechanical fuel pump, dribble a little fuel into the carb to make the engine go ahead and fire up. You don't want to crank & crank waiting on the fuel pump to fill all the lines and the bowls. If you have an electric pump, turn it on and let it do the priming for you.

5) Extra oil.

6) Extra coolant.

7) Water and other cotton rags. Not for safety, but for cleanup. If you spray or spill oil, coolant, or fuel onto your paint, you want to get it off reasonably quickly!

Anyhow, just a few extras.

[Naumoff]

Good luck.
Make sure the animals are put away!

And you might need someone to massage your jaw after your done from the smile you will be wearing for hours.:D

[davebetts]

Just a thought - are the sidepipes bolted up to the exhaust manifold?
Boy - I wish I was there!

[PhillipM]

Gentlemen, we have smoke. Yes, the SA452 came alive in my garage tonight. Boy, I am not sure who was louder me or the motor.:D Next question, how do you get this grin off your face, it is still there?;) Boy am I fired up now, that thing sounded SOOOO sweet.

Will and Zach, thanks for the info. I made sure I had all items in your list. The most important was 2 buddies because one of them saw a fuel leak near the carburetor that will have to be repaired before I can start it again. We tighten fitting but it was still leaking.

Tony, you are right the grin is still there after several hrs.:D:D:D:D

Dave, Yes, we could have used your help because we were short knowledge but long on desire. We manage to work through the issues.

Over all it was a very good afternoon. We fought a few bugs, IE: Battery, fuel and a few loose connections. The only strange thing was the battery. For some reason it worked fine for a few turnovers but after that it would not start the car. A Optima red top from SAM's. Now I am not sure if there are multiple types of red top but I bought the only version Sam's offered. It appeared to not have enough power to start the car. A buddy of mine had a portable charger and it did the trick. After a few jolts the battery seam fine and continued starting the car with no issues. I might return it to Sam's if it continues to act up. Once we got the battery working, I was not getting enough fuel to the motor. After a few false starts and scratching our heads we determined it was not getting enough fuel at the bowls. I took a big syringe and filled the primary float bowl via the tube on top of the carb. Once she was pulling fuel from the tank the sweet sound of FE music started ringing into our ears. What a awesome sound.

Next steps is remove the body Friday and send to the painter on Monday. Man, this will be a tough wait but I know it will be worth it in the end.

Thanks everyone for the help.

Phillip

[Naumoff]

Great job Phillip!

The needle and seats in the carb could be sticking from sitting. If you have any issue with this next time you can tap them lightly with the handle of a screw driver to free them up. Worse case you will have to pull them out.

On the Optima Battery. Be careful how you charge it. It has to stay below 120 degrees Fahrenheit. So only low amp trickle charge.
It is a gel battery and if you fast charge it you can burn out a cell.
Ask me how I know. I had done a lot of research after going through a number of Optimas.

[pbrown]

I have a couple of Optima reds and use a Battery Tender Plus to keep them charged. I also have a Sears trickle charger that never did work well with the Optimas.

[PhillipM]

Tony, I forgot to tap the carb with a screw driver. Lyle stated I might need to do it if it was difficult to start. I know where my leak is coming from on the carb, so it might be fixed over the weekend (interference with Turkey). I plan to start it again once the body is gone to the painter. If the rain holds off, I plan to have the body there Monday.

Pat, what is strange is when I connected my charger it registered Full charge. I am not sure if we hurt the battery or not but we gave it a jolt while trying to start the car. I just bought it from Sam's and they have a good return policy. We shall see.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

[will butterworth]

to hear a big v-8 come alive--gonna love that first drive.We drove a week without hood, doors working on stuff, easier to get to,by dang them altima,s can,t out run you on the interstate either, buggy will go, talks to you,--let me loose--let me go.Saw Allen saturday--aliminum 427 setting on table, dressed out, awesome engine, pretty.Will-alabama

[COBRAGAR]

test test test test test