Zeeeezz...Now I'm afraid to start my race car. It has no prop and no flywheel effect. Just a flex plate looking thing to hold up the starter ring and a 5 1/4" clutch pack. Designed to have minimal rotating inertia.

 

All of the replies so far have been true enough.............However..........

 

I have started engines on the floor with no water in them and no oil in the sump. It works great and does no damage. Just to show that the engine will start. Has enough compression to get fuel to vaporize and so on just to sell a rebuild. Not even an intake manifold. Just some fuel in an oil squirt can. I have also set my pants leg on fire on one occasion and scared the crap out of the buyers on others.

 

The bearings are massive for the loads involved, and are well oiled during rebuild. Of course the engine is run only a few seconds and at no load and very low revs. Unless you like to rebuild these things, probably not a great idea. 

 

If Bruce did it, I will guarantee it will start. So, there is no need to jump ahead to this page of the book.

 

If you just have to play with it, you can do some stuff that will pay off when the time comes to start it up and break it in for real. 

 

With a brand name dino oil in the sump and no plugs installed, (no power to the ignition systems at all)

 

remove the filter from the stock or remote stand and crank the engine until a large amount of oil escapes from the stand, indicating the pump is primed and is pumping oil. Stop. Clean up mess. 

 

Fill filter with same oil and install on stand. Oiling gasket and getting it real tight.

 

Spin engine again with the return line disconnected from the engine and stuck into a clean coffee can mounted higher than location of oil-in fitting. . 

 

Spin engine until obvious amount of oil appears in can. (oil pump works and clean oil has been pumped through hoses and filter and to the end of the hose. 

 

Clean up mess. Connect hose to oil in fitting on the engine. Back up the fitting. This means use two wrenches, one to hold onto the fitting in the engine, so you tighten the "B" nut on the hose to the fitting against the second wrench and not against the block. This so the torque is not used to over tighten the fitting in the block. 

 

Remove the oil pressure sender fitting from the block. Spin the engine until oil squirts out of that fitting.  

 

Clean up mess.

 

You now have a solid column of oil from the pump to the main oil gallery of the engine.

 

Now check the oil level and refill as required.

 

Spin the engine for 15 seconds, stop and listen. Repeat. When the sound of an elephant with diarrhea stops, all of the air is out of the oil column.

 

Check oil level again.

 

This is all you can do. If the whole rig sits for 6 months before start up just repeat the part about the oil line into the block. To be sure the pump still works against no back pressure. If the pump was assembled dry (shame on somebody. I use grease, because it stays in there for years). or has drained dry over time. Remove the oil pressure in line to the filter stand.

 

Tie the line up as high as it will reach. Fill the line with oil. Stick in the air chuck. Wrap an old towel around the junction. Close your eyes and give the chuck a few squirts. This will drive oil backwards through the pump and wet the pump. Spin the engine to be sure the pump is now working and oil comes back out of that hose end. Repeat ever thing. Clean up the mess.

 

If you hook up all of the oil lines, and come back in 6 months to start the engine, then it won't start for several days while you crank and crank. The oil pump will pump against compressed air in the system, and when you stop cranking the sound will be oil blowing backwards out of the pump, and once dry it will never prime on its own. This would be the case in a street engine but for the engine starting quickly and going to idle RPM. Very tired engines sitting over winter will sometimes run dry and need some help making pressure. On a street engine, you can take off the filter. Pour oil down the side hole or the center hole on the stand. Do the air chuck trick. clean up the mess and all is well again.

 

Squirt some oil into the plug holes. Spin the engine a few revolutions. Install the plugs. Good for at least 6 months. Repeat as required.

 

Build faster.

 

You can check the timing with the plugs out, all of them. But with plugs installed on the wires and the plugs clamped firmly to an engine ground and located away from the plug holes so no ignition is possible, and the grounded thing is so the ignition systems are not destroyed, and the timing light works.

 

This works for fixed systems. Tells you nothing if a curve is involved. I check timing at 6,000 RPM because we use an electronic distributor, and all of the jerking and bouncing is gone by then..The advance weights are installed but no springs. All of the advance is in from the git-go. 

 

If both leading and trailing systems have rev limiters, Then you have rev limiters and that chip means it will start shutting off at that number. If only leading has a limiter, then there is no limiter. Under a big load you may see a difference on the tach when the leading hits the limiter. But maybe not.

 

Back the idle stop screw out until you can see daylight between the screw end and the throttle lever. 

For start ups, use a normally off push button to supply power to the ignition. Have an easily panicked person hold the button down. When they flee the area, the engine will shut down. Piece of cake.

 

Lynn E. Hanover