First Drive Questions

[cliffords]

Now I have done a whopping 75 miles, the car seems great and surprisingly good for something I built. The ride and steering etc are very good considering I set it up with spirit levels and bits of string.

What I have got is a series of questions that I suspect will grow over time. What I thought I would do is put them all on one post and keep this post for my questions. If it drives you mad it is easy to ignore whilst they are all in one place. Last week I was a builder pre SVA, then I become a new owner with questions, I guess at some point I will be a seasoned owner with all the answers. So here goes round one.

Cooling. It is the AK set up Rover radiator, AK header tank etc, 16'' pacett fan.
If I run with the thermostat in (179 degrees/81 ish C) I gets to about 90 degrees quite fast and is fine whilst cruising but at tick over it starts to get very warm 100+, fan going like stink and oil pressure at tick over lowish , so I guess it is hot. Run down dual carriage way and back to 90 degrees. With the stat out it takes a while to warm up, runs at 80-85 on the dual carriageway and gets to 90-95 at tick over. Any views on different stat, or restictor plate or thoughts really.

Oil temp and pressure. 75 at start up cold. 45+ warm on dual carriage way at 2000 revs and 70mph when engine is hot. At tick over (800rpm) when hot about 20-25. I am of course not sure about the gauges accuracy. Question is straight forward I guess, is this why some fit oil coolers ? As a guess I think the oil is quite hot.

PCV valve. Had a moment of horror when I decided a rocker must have come loose as there was so much clattering noise in the rocker cover. Unplugged PCV valve all goes quiet.
It is the real steel PCV valve. Rattles like mad, If I take it out and shake it about, it does the same. Do they all or is this one faulty.

Running on. It does run on a bit when hot, got lots of tips on this yesterday and may adjust timing today . Plugs are a good colour , almost like the healthy picture in a Haynes manual. Have had some improvement with reducing tick over. The rolling road that set the carb, emissions etc ( by the way they were not tested at my SVA, he did not do the test ) said I needed to run for around 1000 miles before he can set it up, but it was ok with the settings he had put in on timing and mixture. Obviously want the engine to make the first 1000 miles , should I consider any other checks or changes here?

That's it for now, as ever many thanks

David

[Nobby]

David are you using an MSD electronic ignition? There are issues with run on with this unit.

[Toddy]

David, I have now done 600miles and my figures for oil and temp are as follows

Temp gets to 90 and stays fairly constant (within about 5degrees reading the gauge) regardless of whether travelling or still with the fan on

Oil pressure cold 70psi and hot 55psi. Have recently carried out first oil change and changed fro Fram to AC Delco (for no other reason than thats what I could get) pressures still the same (Dash gauge) Oil is Millars 20-50

75 miles, come on !!

Engine is 383 Stroker from Mr Huddart

[stevee8]

David,
What size motor and state of tune? This will affect comments/suggestions.

In the warmer weather you will get quite a lot of heat soak in the engine bay.
Your 81 deg engine stat should be OK but what range is your fan stat?
If it's a high range you may find fitting a lower one will improve things.
Once the fan kicks in, does the water temp stabilise or continue to climb?
If the latter, then you may need to look at increasing the fan output - perhaps someone can confirm if they are running a single 16" successfully with a similar setup?
For definitive values, the gauge readings won't necessarily be particularly accurate.

[cliffords]

Originally Posted by Nobby

David are you using an MSD electronic ignition? There are issues with run on with this unit.

Hi, using a Mallory Unilite Distributor.

[cliffords]

Originally Posted by Toddy

David, I have now done 600miles and my figures for oil and temp are as follows

Temp gets to 90 and stays fairly constant (within about 5degrees reading the gauge) regardless of whether travelling or still with the fan on

Oil pressure cold 70psi and hot 55psi. Have recently carried out first oil change and changed fro Fram to AC Delco (for no other reason than thats what I could get) pressures still the same (Dash gauge) Oil is Millars 20-50

75 miles, come on !!

Engine is 383 Stroker from Mr Huddart

Do you have an oil cooler fitted ?

[cliffords]

Originally Posted by stevee8

David,
What size motor and state of tune? This will affect comments/suggestions.

It's a 383 with a comp cams 282S with solid lifters. melling high volume oil pump.

In the warmer weather you will get quite a lot of heat soak in the engine bay.
Your 81 deg engine stat should be OK but what range is your fan stat?

Set on lowest setting comes on at 90 degrees.

If it's a high range you may find fitting a lower one will improve things.
Once the fan kicks in, does the water temp stabilise or continue to climb?

Stabilises and then falls

If the latter, then you may need to look at increasing the fan output - perhaps someone can confirm if they are running a single 16" successfully with a similar setup?
For definitive values, the gauge readings won't necessarily be particularly accurate.

I put the answers in your text , thank you.

[Clarkson]

All sounds normal to me,buy a new PCV valve and drop your idle speed. What does it idle at??

If you fancy a drive to the next town I can have a quick look if you want??

[TINKA]

I know this is a silly suggestion but have you checked to see if the polarity on your fan is correct and that it is in fact sucking and not blowing. The AK system for cooling works really well so I am a bit puzzled as to why you are having heating issues. The stat you have is fine and as was covered in another recent thread, it is the stat that regulates the temp so putting a lower rating one in should not really solve what ever the issue is if the one in at the moment cant do it. It is a 3 core radiator in isn't it?

What engine have you got in at the moment, for a RV8 those figures are fine for a Ford or Chevy then possibly a bit low.

[Toddy]

No oil cooler .