first starting....nervous!!!

Thaplumbr

Thaplumbr

Senior Member
Been here for a little while, i have gleaned alot of experience off of you guys,i am to the point of getting ready to start my 59ab flatty from along slumber. Bought it off craiglist,supposedly rebuilt and run, for a very short time then changed out by the son of the previous owner after he passed away.( he wanted a small block chevy. If Henry wanted sbc's in a vehicle,he would have put them in one!) anyway i have the motor installed, turns over good by hand,i have drake water pumps installed, can i start this engine briefly with belt installed just on the pumps just to make sure every thing is running, or do i need to remove the water pumps out of the equation beforehand? thanks in advance!
Leroy
 
You might as well go ahead and Put the generator on it. That's where you will need to adjust the belt anyway . Make sure it's full of water and oil and it never hurts to have a fire bottle handy . I would also have some indication of oil pressure be it a mechanical gauge or the dash gauge hooked up.
 
Ditto on full of water. I have encountered guys who felt that flatheads could be run shortly without. I felt the need to point out that it ain't the head construction. More important its the rings trying to seal in the fire. HRM did an article showing how quickly weld metal was created between the rings and cylinder walls. Not what we need.
 
"remove the water pumps out of the equation beforehand" --- what do you mean?


I'd say you can briefly run an engine without coolant for a minute or two, just to see if it works. For the naysayers: have you never owned an air-cooled engine?
 
Judging by your name thar plumber, thinking you pressure test your piping before you give it H2o:rolleyes:.

As Ken said, get a psi guage to read oil psi and prime the topend before you start it up.
 
Sounds like me a couple of weeks ago, so enjoy the excitement, Leroy.

I ran mine for about 30 seconds at a clip without water, but I wouldn't do more than that.

Push it outside if possible and have that extinguisher close enough to see but not close enough to be in the fire!!!

Is it in a car - or even better - is it in a truck? Where is your fuel line running - to the tank or to a lawn mower can?

Either way - an in-line fuel filter is a must.

Is it pumping its own fuel or are you pouring it down the carb? Fuel pump should prime itself, but I sucked on the carb line to bring fuel through the pump anyway.

I'm a newbie at this, too - so I hope you have the same rush when it fires up and runs till you tell it to stop!!
 
When ever I fire one for the first time …. I spin it over with the plugs out and get oil presser and check for spark.
This will also confirm no coolant getting in the cylinders … if none squirts out the plug holes :D or :mad:
 
If it's been sitting a long time you could also squirt some Marvel Mystery Oil in the plug holes to lube the rings and valves on start up. Be prepared for some initial smoke. :)
 
If the PO son changed the engine to a Chevy he may have also changed the wiring from positive ground to negative ground. You may want to check that.

Just my 2 cents.
 
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