My 427 SOHC Build..... Finally the time has come!

[turbohunter]

Thank you both. With all the knowledgeable people on here, I seriously feel like that kid on the bus with a helmet on.... finger in nose   

You're not alone

[WConley]

Having said all of that, once you get the engine running and self-tuning, you may want to ask about sneaking the fuel pressure around a bit.  That will depend on how linear those big 88 lb injectors are.  In the old days we would not have dreamed of running injectors that big, or we would have progressively run small + big injectors.  The new injectors seem to be a lot better at low flowrates.

I bet the tech guys know what an ideal pulsewidth is for those injectors.  Once the engine is happy you should probably adjust the pressure to get your pulsewidth in that range.  Part-throttle driveability is super sensitive to air-fuel ratio...

[cobracammer]

Hey Guys....  I was digging for hours last night and finally came across an article of a guy (I think hes actually on youtube as "Fridgeguy")  He has been using the FAST EZ efi dual quad unit and had excessive fuel swamping issues.  His seem slightly different than mine, but he was down in the 20's for his fuel pressure (smaller engine), so 32 PSI is starting to look right.

What he had mentioned, and what started to worry me last night was...  He was saying that after he had the throttle body dumping fuel on all of his attempts to start, he was worries that the unburnt gas was going to destroy (not his exact wording) the cylinder walls?  Also he said that when he changed the oil, there was a ton of fuel in there too.

Before I try this again, is there anything I should do to prepare?  I still have the Joe Gibbs break in oil in the engine....  but I am more worried about possible corrosion from the fuel on the cylinder walls since it has been about a week since we tried firing it up last.

[My427stang]

Check your oil level, smell it, feel it, and if its significantly overfull and smells like gas, dump it out. 

Corrosion is likely NOT an issue, but reduced lubricity/viscosity, etc from fuel dilution could hurt it once you fire it.

[machoneman]

2X to 427's answer. I'd carefully drain off a small sample from the pan or pop the filter and let that drain a tad. Smell, feel as noted. Heck we'd often super clean the oil pan plug area after a 20-30 minute initial break-in, dump all the oil into a clean pan, check same for bearing or iron material and if all looked good, dumped it right back in for a much longer driving break-in.   

[cobracammer]

Thanks guys.  Yea, replacing the oil wouldn't bother me (assuming it smells like gas).  I was more worried about the gas on the cylinder walls.  If a non issue, I will be sure not to do any revving of the engine until the oil has time to splash around.  Hopefully that will do.  :0)

[cobracammer]

Hey Guys,
Update...  I got home today and got started.  Taking the headers out wasn't that bad, but there is definitely a method.  They have to come out in a certain order, and the bolts have to be loosened in a certain order (Remember this for later in the post).  Then it was a matter of disconnecting FAST Computer and the MSD ign box.  Then disconnecting the battery.  Pulled off the ground wire I made (out of battery cable) and the Saleens stock ground wire.  I wanted to do what was mentioned by someone in a past post....  I wanted the starter grounded to the block, the block grounded to the battery (Which is the stock saleen cable), and the block also grounded to the frame.  The stock saleen ground wire I stretched over a little and wollowed out in order to remove one of the motor mount bolts and clamp it under it(Battery to block).  Then I reconnected my thick gauge battery cable ground wire from the starter to the chassis (Starter to block).  I still have the braided line running from one of the heads to the frame (Block to chassis).  I am not sure if overdoing this is a bad thing or not, but at least I have the car back to its original grounding configuration (plus 1!).

So starter is in... power wire reconnected.  Signal wire reconnected.  Check and check!

Then it came to putting the headers back on!  Long story short, I put them in -in the reverse order I took them out, but I must have tightened the bolts out of order, because there are now 2 bolts I cant reach at all.  I tried a swivel head socket, I tried a U-Joint fitting on the socket.... I tried the swivel with the U joint fitting.  LOL 

I have reached out to Chris at the header shop to remind me what exaclty he said about the order of replacing bolts.....  gonna have to write this one down for when I get them ceramic coated  LOL

Other than those 2 exhaust bolts, car is ready to ....  I can try getting is started with all of the changes we discussed in the last few posts.

[cobracammer]

OK... the day we have all been waiting for!!!

Let me get started by saying that yes I got the engine running, and it was self sustaining.  Let me also preface this by saying that 1) the timing made no sense at all, 2) Car would not restart after I shut it off and let it cool down, and 3). I dont think the thermostat worked because the overflow tank.... well, overflowed.  I am in the process of uploading the video (not a great video as I was filming with my phone and running around to check the handheld, use the timing light and adjust a portable fan in front of the radiator....  but you definately can hear that tell tale "thumpity-thump of a cammer at 1000-1100 RPM. 

I will start by saying that I had adjusted the Fuel pressure to 31 PSI (although left the EFI computer at 43 PSI as directed).  During the first few minutes, my eyes were burning from all the white smoke.  It was coming from the breather caps as well as out of a few of the spark plug tubes.  I am guessing that I need to lower the fuel pressure even more , but we can deal with that in a moment.

The car started when my wife turned it over, but I turned the distributor a tiny bit in the clockwise direction.  In the beginning, it was running pretty high (the handheld said it was at 1200 RPM.  Trying to turn the distributor in either direction made it run a little worse, so I got it back to where it ran the best and tightened it down.  A few times it sounded like it was going to stall, so I hit the throttle a little and it came back.  This I only had to do like 2 times.

When I used the timing light, it was at 60 degrees BTDC  HAHAHA  No Idea.  I tried loosening the distributor a little and turning it counter clockwise a tiny bit at a time (when I did this the timing went more toward 30 degrees BTDC, but then sounded like it was going to stall.  So I put it back to its temporary sweet spot and let it run.  After a few more minutes, the white smoke stopped completely. 

UNfortunately I did not start filming the video until about this time........  However, the handheld finished "cycling the program" as the engine got up to operating temperature.  You can hear in the video that the engine sounds identical to the "Tom Fry 427 SOHC" video on youtube.  Honestly, it it didnt start overheating, I would have loved to let it run a lot longer and let the computer keep learning and dialing it in.  By the end of the video, the RPM's were ranging from 1000 to 1150.

I am not sure why the overflow tank started to boil over, but is it possible the thermostat did not open?  Or is it because the overflow tank is tied into the top radiator hose instead of its usual location on the bottom radiator hose?

Long story short, after I shut the car off to let it cool down, (about 30 minutes), I tried turning the key and it would not start.  The distributor is in the same location it was tightened down as the car ran beautifully for the last 30 minutes or so.  Why is that?  LOL  still too much fuel pressure? 

If I could get the car to run like it was at the end of the video ...... and start up as soon as I turned the key (and not overheat).....  I would be set!  Any and all thoughts are welcome and appreciated!!!!!!  I have to say again I am sorry for the quality of the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBpGR1edWBo

You can tell from the start of the video to the end that the EFI computer starts to learn and the RPM's drop to a more mormal sounding engine

[ScotiaFE]

If it was me, I would pull a couple of plugs now and have a look see.
Not sure bout that timing thing.

It is really a great job you did bringing a SOHC to life. BZ!

[blykins]

Couple things....

That wispy white smoke is steam and you shouldn't be having that coming out of the overflow bottle.  Did you top off the coolant after the thermostat opened?

The other thing is that blue smoke that was hanging in the air was oil mist.  You should never have that much smoke or mist coming out of the breathers, even in the first few seconds.  Torque plate honed cylinders with the correct rings and gaps just don't smoke.

Take some time to make sure your timing marks are correct.  It's very easy to cook an engine with incorrect timing.

[cobracammer]

Honestly, not sure anout the timing. The coolant expansion tank was boiling, and I know why...  I forgot i pulled the sensor that turns on the fans in order to get more movement on the distributor. i think the thermostat opened, but the fans never kicked on.... So it overheated

The white smoke was definitely gas vapor. It realed of gas and was burning my eyes. It actually went away totally after a while of running... Just about the time the computer went into learn mode ( once engine was up to temperature). I am positive I have TDC marked correctly. At most maybe or + or - 2 degrees. How its running well at 60 BTDC... No idea. Even reved it up toward the end and was very responsive. Then it dropped right back to the 1000 RPM no problem

I reinstalled the temp sensor for the fans and am going to try running it again Monday.  Maybe i should take the thermostat out?  Do I really need it anyway?

Also monday, i will pull the plugs like Howie said and see if they are fouled. Im guessing low 20's on the fuel PSI would be best, but time will tell

[My427stang]

You need the thermostat, the EFI needs the temp to be stable to allow to choose the proper strategy and various different values at different times.

One thing that concerns me though, is your learning comment with the EFI.  The learning ability of EFI is only to do minor tweaks. It is really not designed to take a poor base tune and bring it to good.  Is it possible you made a mistake in programming?  That could also explain why you needed to band-aid it with low fuel pressure

[machoneman]

2X to 427. Drill a 3/16ths hole in the perimeter to allow coolant flow. Check it first in a pot of near boiling water to ensure it actually does open.

http://erareplicas.com/427man/cooling/thermomod.htm

Others here can speak volumes on aftermarket EFI control systems, but as noted something is badly amiss with your base timing...and maybe fuel parameters too.  Is it automatically retarding the timing (like a ton!) at the key start (cranking)?  If the base timing at say 10-13 degrees is mechanically locked in at the ditzy, it should start.  I'll also question your timing light's accuracy. Can you borrow an old school non-dial back light and check it against your current light? If so, pull the plugs, pop them back into the boot,  ground them with duct tape to the intake, and have someone crank it over while you check the initial distributor mechanical setting.   

MSD's and EFI controllers have often messed up accurate timing with many a trick timing light. Ask me how I know this! 

[blykins]

I would pull the plugs before you did anything else, especially run it again.  Post pics of them here. 

On the timing, if you're 100% confident that the balancer/pointer is right, then you absolutely can not run that engine at 60°. 

I'm not trying to be negative Ned here, but you have a very expensive engine and a lot of things are balanced against you right now....you've already overheated it, you've had it rich enough to supposedly push fuel vapor out of the breathers, and you've had the timing WAY advanced.  Take your time, think through things, and bounce things off of us here.  Don't want to see you have to pull this one out and tear it back down. 

Bob raised a good point....are you using a dial-back light?

[machoneman]

Here's an old school, non-dial back light. Doesn't need to be a Sears light either, just a non-dial back unit. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Sears-Best-Craftsman-Chrome-Inductive-Timing-Light-Model-28-2134-/151670632020?hash=item2350462e54&item=151670632020&vxp=mtr