First engine start!

I had taken my time getting here I was told.

On the big day I had two helpers/observers in Keith Akerman (built a GD 427) and Steve Hughes (building a GD 427). Steve was the camera and sound man. Keith the eyes on the engine bay etc. I must admit that I was nervous and excited. Anyone who says they are not nervous is fibbing!

Before I turned the Chevy LS6 engine over, we checked the Schrader valve on the fuel rail. It still leaked. Not the start to the day I had wanted. After a quick trip to Halfords we returned with a valve tool and a new valve (I will change this for a genuine part as soon as it arrives from the States). Changing the valve was a quick job and it worked, no more fuel leaks!

Next we checked the dip stick to make sure that the oil level was were it should be. When I turned over the engine a few days ago without the plugs in I had over 30 lbs of oil pressure, so that was ok. We checked the coolant and all connections. The cap from the coolant header tank was left loose at first in case there was any trapped air. I had plenty of trapped air too!

The car was pushed out of the garage on to the drive to avoid any fumes or blackening my new cabinets. Car chocked in place, fire extinguisher ready and bonnet up .......... Ignition switched on. There was the sound from the fuel pump and an ignition light. Good start. Now just press the start button. Go on then, do it!

8 seconds or so turning over and she fired and ran. Grin from ear to ear! Thanks Kyle (engine builder). Here is a video of the big start up taken and edited by Steve. Look out for the child in me! TIP: Use a PC to view this video as it needs a Flash player.

At first there was some smoke and some steam - no worries as I had spilt some brake fluid and coolant earlier so could explain this. Whilst it was running we checked that all header pipes were going a nice bronze colour to indicate that there was a spark/heat coming from all 8 cylinders. No leaks!

Next we checked that the fan was coming on and sucking in to the radiator, rather than blowing forward. Of course it was going the wrong way. Then we checked the gauges (fuel, volts, oil pressure, oil temp and water temp) - all okay there. Oil pressure up at 60 lb or more. Alternator belting out power. Fan cut in at around 80 deg. Still no leaks!

After turning off the engine, I swapped the wires to the fan around to suck, rather than blow. We also noted that the fuse to the fan had just blown, as the rating was too low at 20 amps - Keith saw the fan twitch just as the fuse blew. This was changed to a 30 amp fuse.

We then started it up again and again (yes we all tried it). In amongst the activity, Keith squeezed the coolant pipes to move any trapped air. There was heat in the heater flow and return pipes. All looked okay and it sounded good too. Neighbours came out to see what all the noise was. The Mrs thought it was a plane, but it went on too long. Great feeling!

So another milestone completed in my GD build. Again thanks to Keith and Steve for all their help and encouragement.