Engine pre-lube is good
Phil
Been away playing in the snow in the Caribou, none in Vancouver. Lots of high tech talk on the old 1929 designed stove bolt. Good stuff gentlemen.
I used to rebuild Detroit's and just before I dyno'd the engines it was standard practice to pre-lube freshly rebuilt engines mostly to ensure valve trains were adequately lubricated. It takes a minute or 2 for oil to reach the valve train, if couldn't do this in the field I used the the starter with just a non-firing to spin over for a minute. Also just pouring a quart of oil along the top of the head with the valve cover off. You tend to get a bit of splash but its a good idea to observe how things are moving. I have found even the best mechanics find issues with things breaking at start up, like keepers popping out of valve stems, rockers breaking and things like that. Also at first fire up in the initial run just to observe oil pressure beginning to ooze out of the the rocker shafts. After oil pressure checks and a final check for coolant air pocket traps in the head the the cover goes back on for a warm up run, usually babied until 110F then mid-speed until the thermostat cycles, this is where leaks start to show up. Caution is to stay away from hot water blasts from vents and rad overflows, been caught a few times. Most of the time its a hose tightening, others times its a revelation in jobber rebuild quality like leaking water pump seals. So it is normal to find issues (sometimes). With the engine cooling down I spray it down a little with thinners to wash the external oil spills off. Just make note of the fumes and enclosed spaces near ignition sources. Than tested it in chassis, with no major issues, just a leaky radiator, since replaced with a good one. I painted the engine light grey, but it looks too white for my liking. Then I made a temporary driving station and drove the CGT around to my back yard, tarped it and proceeded to the next project; making a couple of CGT fuel tanks.
Walde
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