ERA #776 Initial Startup Questions

[tgitchel]

I have a 390 FE bored/stroked to 445 in my ERA. Started it up for the first time this past weekend. Could only run it for about 5 min or so before the temp. would rise to over 230 degrees and I shut it down (I did this twice). I have the ERA provided heavy duty fan and an external box fan for ventilation (this is inside a two car garage). I have a 13lb radiator cap and about a 70/30 mix on the water/anti-freeze. My carb is a Braswell 4-barrel that was configured by them according to the engine specs. Edlebrock performer RPM intake, heads, and water pump.

The ERA manual shows a 4 gallon capacity of the cooling system, but it took almost 6 gallons to fill it up. is there supposed to be air space in the expansion tank? If so, how much (4 gallons seems too little)?

Should the radiator fan be enough to keep the engine temp below 220 while sitting in a garage (ambiant temp was about 75 degrees)? I have a big metal shop fan I could place in front of the car.

Do I need a higher pressure radiator cap? What amount? I have a preasure tester that I can use. How much higher than cap rating should I test for leaks?

It seems like the carb may be a little lean. How much will this affect the temp?

I am trying to maintain about 2,200 RPM for the initial break-in, but I am just guessing at it since my tach is not working. I'm usually pretty good at this, but this engine is larger than what I've had in the past and I could be off quite a bit. In looking at the MSD 6AL documentation, the wiring diagram in the ERA manual is confusing to me. Should the white/red wires coming from the MSD go to the ERA harness #40 as MSD red to ERA #40 white and MSD white to ERA #40 orange? Why wouldn't I use the tach output on the MSD? My gauges are SW.

I've rebuilt a few cars and boats in my day, but this FE stuff is new to me. Any sugguestions would be appreciated.