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

[My427stang]

Hahaha. Hey Ross.  Yea after I posted, i found that exact picture. Just got back from the autoparts store actually. I actually still had the vacuum line on the saleen engine ( on a stand in the garage). It wasnt long enough to reconnect the Cammer Engine, so I went out and bought a new 4' length. The brake booster used 11/32" thick walled PCV hose, and i ran a fresh hose from the booster to the large port on the throttle body. That large port is actually only on the primary throttle body and its between the throttle bodies on the car. Im sure it wasnt needed, but I also put on hose clamps - 1 on each end.... To be sure I never loose my brakes. Lol

Also capped off the ported vacuum reference port and moved the fuel pressure regulator hose to the direct manifold vacuum port ( trust you guys more than FAST).

Other than an oil change, should be ready for a longer test drive.

Perfect, that should lean the idle a little too, but keep in mind that the computer will still have to learn, so if its too lean and surges a little, don't get nervous

The brakes are likely fixed now too!

[WConley]

Getting closer!  Good that Ross and I are singing the same tune in stereo 

That thing will be such a beast. 

Ross - I've done similar experiments in aircraft, but it usually involves my body equalizing sea level pressure by means of my rear orifice - every few minutes for a couple of hours!

[My427stang]

Ross - I've done similar experiments in aircraft, but it usually involves my body equalizing sea level pressure by means of my rear orifice - every few minutes for a couple of hours!

That goes without saying!

If you every hear one of us say "Howdy" we aren't being friendly, that is just taking ownership of the pressure equalization

[cobracammer]

I know we were talking about heat extraction.  In addition to Ceramic coating the headers.....  I want to purchase this hood.  Not only does this look total bad A$$, but I would imagine that would wick away tons of heat as well as flow cold air right into the intake .....  Also seems to have a bit more "height" so I may be able to run a taller air filter

[My427stang]

I did my Boss 9 scoop for exactly the same reason.  It made a huge difference on idle temps, although lots of guys make it a sealed cold air scoop, I left it open.  Driving air goes in, but if you get stuck in traffic you can see heat come out.  Made a heck of a difference in mine when it was carbed.

At the same time I added a taller air filter and a flat base to eliminate a heat umbrella from the drop base air cleaner over the carb.

[cobracammer]

Just purchased that hood 2 seconds ago.  I think it looks awesome !  I actually purchased this same hood for my 1968 twin Paxton Fastback, but never got it installed before I sold the car to start buying Cammer parts.

Also, since I do not have AC in this car (Not heat), I thought what better way to use the vents.....  Gauges!  Jegs sells gauge holders that you can remove the AC vent in the Dash and "pop" in this gauge holder.  Since in the center of the dash (just above the radio) there are 2 AC vents, I picked up 2 pods ... along with an Oil pressure gauge (since the saleen dash gauge has no numbers on it)...  and a coolant temp gauge (also since the dash gauge has no numbers on it.... and also since I will not keep the handheld from the EFI hooked up once its dialed in).

These 2 gauges (in addition to the Oil temp gauge I have in the toggle panel in the cup holder ) all match and are Autometer Ultra-light electric gauges with their respective senders.

Honestly Ill feel better seeing the exact oil pressure figure and how playing with different oil viscosities will change the pressure.  Im going to change the oil maybe tonight or tomorrow night to the BR30 Joe Gibs 5W 30 Break in oil.  It says its supposed to be used only for 400 miles.

My thought was after 400 miles, the break in oil has done what it needs to do as far as ring seal, cam lobe hardening, and etc.  Then I can go to a thicker viscosity 10w-30, and see what the oil pressure does at start up.... and after its warmed up.  If it needs to be adjusted, then I can move to a thicker oil and "repeat".

I will be taking it easy on the engine during the first 400 miles (highway and interstate) anyway.

Since I have the gauges now (and god knows we have beat coolant temperature like a dead horse), what should Oil PSI and Oil temp be.  If I remember correctly from a few posts back, oil temperature will be a little below coolant temperature.  I know Oil PSI will depend on the oil I use, but what would an Idea PSI be at start up, After warm, and with throttle?  I have the Melling high volume oil pump (from precision oil pumps), but I did not make it high pressure by adding the kit.

[WConley]

Jason -

FYI on a SOHC FE there is no cam lobe or rocker break-in.  The new cams are hardened steel and run against hard rollers. 

The only thing you have to worry about is ring sealing.  A good dino oil is all you need!  Avoid synthetic for the first couple thousand miles or so.  (It's too slippery to give the rings a real chance to get intimate with those cylinder walls.)

I believe in a good hard break-in with lots of speed changes and sudden let-offs of the throttle at highway speeds to pull vacuum.  That approach has always worked well for me on my vehicles.  I've seen too many cars and motorcycles babied during the break-in, that end up using lots of oil.

[cobracammer]

Ahh....  I was under the impression that the cam lobes would flatten out if you didn't run the break in oil to harden them!  Nice to know they are already hardened.  I just looked them up and it says they are bearing grade steel (I am guessing that means hardened  :0)   

That's good to know.  I was worried I wasn't able to run the car at High RPM's for long enough in the very beginning because of my overheating issue.  I only got about 10 min of it revving between 2000 and 2800 RPM.  Now that I know I didn't have to do that (at least not for the hardening of the cam lobes....  )  I feel a little better.

Thanks!

[My427stang]

When are you going to get this actual 400 miles on the car?

You can't count backing out of the garage and pulling it back in

Run the oil thats in in for a while, it's good oil and after a good long run, drop it hot and replace it with something that will stay there for a while, likely a good dino oil.

[Nightmist66]

Ahh....  I was under the impression that the cam lobes would flatten out if you didn't run the break in oil to harden them!  Nice to know they are already hardened.  I just looked them up and it says they are bearing grade steel (I am guessing that means hardened  :0)   

Jason, like Bill stated, no worries with that cam setup. It is a "roller" cam and can not possibly flatten out becasue it already is. Unlike if it were cam-in-block and a flat tappet (hydraulic or mechanical), those lobes are ground slightly angled and lifter bottoms slightly convex to promote rotation. Also, do you have the Ultra Lite or Ultra Lite II gauges? I have the Ultra Lite II in my car and love them. With the lighting coming through the dial as opposed to around, it gives a very neat effect and the needles light up too.

[cjshaker]

Ross and Bill, I have no experience with EFI, let alone the self learning type used here, but I was under the impression that initial driving with the FAST EFI systems should be slight changes that you slowly ramp up. This gives the computer time to learn what the engine needs and avoids the risk of going lean if one were to "jump into  it" right away, before the system knows how to respond. Is that correct?

[My427stang]

It has a target a/f ratio for each scenario (acceleration, idle, cruise, cold start, etc) and an over all a/f goal. Learning may not rewrite immediately, but an improper mixture will be corrected temporarily as fast as the computer can identify it and tell the injectors to lean or richen, so it'd correct pretty quickly if it's stomped on and the initial setup gets you a conservative tune.   

That's the beauty of these w/b O2 sensor systems, the old narrow band ones only knew it was a little lean.  Matter of fact, many of us actually shut off the learning in our EFI after we get it real close because the fear is it rewrites tables for other changes when you don't want it to

Also, although learning will tweak the base tables, you eventually have to get to every part of the table and the 3/4 throttle low load table values won't fix the WOT crazy man table values

In the end, a good clean setup will be pretty much ready to go and then fix itself (as much as it can) After that, if he thinks its too rich or lean he can tweak the target values and let it adjust itself again

[cjshaker]

Ok. I just wanted to throw that out there in case, so he didn't hurt the engine if it was true.

[cobracammer]

Oil was clean ( no metal at all) this change. And the filter in the oil filter had no metal at all. Double checked by bringing it out into the sun...... Spotless ( yet black.... Im guessing from all the arp bolt lube I used. Lol

Took the car a little further today. Drove out about 1 mile and then back (2 miles round trip). Runs great, stayed at about 200 driving around. When I got back home, i left it idling in the driveway to see how high the temp would go. Stopped at 214. Burped a little coolant when I shut it off. Brakes work awesomely. That vacuum line did the trick ( thanks guys)

Only noise is the fan and shroud rattle. Hope to go a little further perhaps on highway so I can at least run up through all gears. This last drive I got to 4th only.

[My427stang]

Awesome, keep it up!

Here is my recommendation

1 - When it is cold, put a piece of tape at the cold coolant level.  Then next time you drive it and let it cool down again, you can see if it stays stable.  If it is, put a mark with a Sharpie and now you have something the check every time when cold.  214 is not a problem AT ALL

2 - If the rattle won't fall apart, it's fine to drive it, but if it will, maybe it's time to fix the radiator mount so that you have power steering and no more rattles.  That way you can drive it normally, because my hunch is that it IS a normal driver now. 

3 - Said this before, but I'll keep saying to to keep that beauty safe. At some point, do a "nut and bolt"  Start from the rear of the car and check everything.  Rear axle bolts, driveshaft, crossmember, bellhousing, and keep going forward looking for wires that can burn, loose bolts, you name it.  A good day, or even weekend without starting the car could get you to the point that you are FINISHED and the car will be done. 

I'd say you are really close, once you get the PS working, I bet the rest is uneventful.

Then we can see who is quicker   Although I assume when you say you are moving north, you don't mean Nebraska LOL