Superformance MKII, Riverside Racer 289 FIA vintage race car

[1795]

Originally Posted by Moto One

Jim, are you running a thermostat for the oil cooler? Mirrors look good, better yet they are now useful. We too will be going to a larger mirror (maybe even a day/night) on the cowl.

Mark.

Mark,

No thermostat on the oil cooler. The engine will be running between 4,000-7,000 rpms during each race, with most of the time being in the 5,500-6,500 range. Between warming the car up on the grid and during the pace lap, the oil will easily reach temp and I want a clear flow of oil through the cooler. You would not run your car this way on the road.

Jim

[xb-60]

Bill is right....excellent motivation for us builders!

Great progress Jim.

Cheers,
Glen

[1795]

No pictures today, filling oil lines and pulling spark plugs is not that exciting. When I had the 428 Cobra Jet in my ERA I thought that it was a pain to do spark plugs, especially on number 8. Well, a 289 FIA is no better. Still a tight fit and the forward brace tubes can be in the way at times.

Pulled all of the plugs, disconnected the coil and after fill in the oil filter, oil pan and getting as much in the lines as I could. Started cranking with the starter. Did short bursts to avoid over heating the solenoid or the starter. After a few attempts, started seeing some oil pressure. gave it a rest and then was able to get 50 psi with the starter motor and no leaks!

Getting late, so it looks like tomorrow I will give it a test start. Still need to bleed the clutch and hook-up the HTOB. Will see if I can elicit some help for that, as I would like to have the HTOB and clutch operating before I test start.

Jim

[1795]

While I really wanted to start the car today, discretion and the tough of potentially harming things got the better of me. I decided to wait until I get the exhaust installed next Tuesday to wait for the start up. Did not want flames shooting out of those open headers and damaging anything. Also, did not want to take a chance on damaging the exhaust valves either.

so, I worked on bleeding the hydraulic clutch, still getting tiny bubbles. So will work on that some more this weekend. Placed pieces of leftover hose around oil lines where they were close to metal, and at Blas' suggestion installed some heat shield over the fuel line near the header.



I also re-installed the heat shields under the car and a few other minor things. I will need to find a couple of people this weekend to help me get the hood back on.

Jim

[blykins]

I would not use the starter to prime the oil system. That engine has been sitting long enough that it will be dry all over. Use a priming tool on the pump shaft to build oil pressure.

[1795]

Thanks for the suggestion Brent. I did remove the valve covers and our some oil around the pushrods to try to get some oil down to the camshaft. Will take that into consideration the next time that I have to have the engine out.

You are a quality person and your reputation is well deserved. I appreciate it.

Jim