Need assistance - Please

thirt4

thirt4

Senior Member
I have a problem I need assistance with. I can tear an engine down
and put it back together again however, I have NO clue how to wire it to run on my test stand.
I have this wonderful test stand that has the gauges mounted on a dashboard, the stand is on pneumatic caster wheels, it is all painted real pretty but all I can do is only look at my engine mounted on it.
Can anyone send me an accurate and VERY SIMPLE wiring diagram that will show me how to wire my flattie to start and run on this stand?
I have two temp gauges on it and an amp gauge. One of my flatties is on a 6 volt system and the other is 12 volt.
One is stock and the other has an alternator and is a '53 Merc that has been bored, balanced, blueprinted and has Offy heads and intake with a 4bbl carb and is cammed mildly.
I want to be able to start each with a key ignition just like in a car and be able to run them for awhile while setting the timing and breaking them in.
The wiring diagram should show me wiring from the battery to the ground. I think I will stay with positive ground, then what wire goes to the coil, the generator or alternator, the starter, the key switch, the amp gauges, etc.
I have two temp gauges for the two water pumps or the intake manifold but I am not sure. Do I need a condenser and where would it go?
Where does the oil gauge go? I think I have seen them mounted someplace on the engine so you don't have to go in the car to read them but I am not sure.
Thank you all a bunch, and keep the wind at your back!
 
Sorry, I'm not about to answer your question, but, although this all sounds great, you should not run your fresh re-built engines on this test stand to break them in, as the rings possibly won't bed in, leading to a lifetime of oil burning. Just what I've read elsewhere on the net, but the rings need to bed in when the motor is doing actual work, ie, propelling a car down the road. Otherwise they merely 'glaze' the cylinder walls. Brian
 
So, would you not accept the engine that the EFV8 club is raffleing off since it has been run on a stand for almost a year now at all the major shows?
 
For purposes of testing, I would run straight from the battery and skip the generator/alternator because you have no regulator.

Also, for the purpose of testing, polarity will only matter to the ignition coil, so you can do it either way provided you hook the coil up correctly.

OK, One heavy battery cable to the block, done. The opposite battery terminal to the side of the coil that is not connected to the distributor (with a light gauge wire) and touch a heavy cable from it to the starter. Done.
 
All the above have good points. You can run direct reading gauges for water temp and oil pressure so no electricals are needed. The rest depends on how far you want to take it. Some use a starter solenoid for a stock type system and some just jump it off. It would be connected between the battery and the starter with a small jumper wire to your start button and another from the button to ground. As said earlier, polarity will only mater if you run a generator. For your purposes, you can avoid a gen and just use a battery charger. If you only have one coil, you will have to either ballast it for 12-volts or not for 6-volts if it has a 1.5 Ohm primary winding. If you use negative as ground you can connect the power wire to the possitive terminal on the coil and the negative to the distributor. If the coil is an old one it would be marked Dis and Ign you can still connect it that way but polarity would be backwards for negative ground. It should still work though, just not as strong. The old 6-volt coils were set up for positive ground.

To run an engine on a stand is good for seeing whether you will have any oil or water leaks and any other bugs that might arise. To really break one in it takes a good 500 miles of pulling a car or truck around. Running it a short time on a stand shouldn't glaze the cylinder walls to any great extent if you use a straight mineral oil. Just don't run it more than an hour.
 
I just today fired up a 221 engine I have been rebuilding for too long. I built a stand to test it on and it starts first turn and sounds great. I would hate to put it in a car to test and then have to remove it if it had a problem. Used 12 volts to the starter and 6 volts (thru a resistor) to the ignition. Now I have to find a pickup to put it in. John
100_1994.jpg
 
nice and simple....nice job.....can check for leaks, etc., and get it running smooth...break in the cam, then put in a vehicle....Mike
 
oldford 2, seeing your photo motivated me to build an engine stand for myself. The honeydew list will have to be postponed!!
 
39portlander said:
oldford 2, seeing your photo motivated me to build an engine stand for myself. The honeydew list will have to be postponed!!
Click to expand...

Gotta go scrounge up some bed frame angle iron to build one. Some people set up the engine in an old tire and run 'em that way.
 
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Luckly, I have access to alot of metal fab/scrap/ect. Should round up some good pieces to get started this weekend. I have thought of the tire thing but the wheels are turning and I'm itch'en to strike an arc!:p
 
when I were just 16 my Dad showed me how to start the up just layin on the ground with a block of wood under the front of the oil pan .
cheers
tony
 
Old tire + 2 bricks. Stand bricks on end, one under each front motor mount. Oil pan sump goes in tire (heavy 1 ton or pickup size) Worked fine when I was 15 or 16
 
39portlander said:
Luckly, I have access to alot of metal fab/scrap/ect. Should round up some good pieces to get started this weekend. I have thought of the tire thing but the wheels are turning and I'm itch'en to strike an arc!:p
Click to expand...

Post a picture when you make it!
 
Engine stands are the worst thing you can do to an engine. Starting an engine and running it long enough to check oil pressure and lisen to the bearings for any problems don't hurt much. What kills a good rebuilt engine is: Running it for long oeriods of time jut to impress your friends. after a few months of this, you can kiss your rings and cylinderwalls good buy, You just built an oil burner.
 
Ol' Ron,

in reference to running engine for "long periods of time"; how long might that be? when my engine was rebuilt, it ran hot, so we changed thermostats, etc. for several times in the shop. then i started it a couple of times a year for half hour each for a couple of years. do you think that hurt it? now it has been sitting for almost a year.
I hope to install it within a year.

thanks,
fordman
 
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