2010 Front Engine Dragster Week 2011 01 17

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Ok, I feel like a schizophrenic, one update predicting doom and gloom and this one that is all good.

For an unofficial car nuts meeting we had Tom Deyle, Vince Falco, Jim Boehly, and Jack Dennis show up to lend a hand.

There will not be any unofficial meeting of the car nuts Tuesday or Wednesday, but will be Thursday and Friday with an official meeting on Saturday where the intention is to fire up the engine. This engine has not run in over a year! It needs to live again!

Jack went through all the hose clamps and removed the excess band that was sticking out to the clamps. Verified that all clamps were tight and filled the coolant system. The water pump was run and there are no leaks! That makes two of the five fluid systems that have fluid and no leaks.

Vince removed the valve covers, and cleaned any grime that had fallen through the holes in the covers before they were covered with tape (more of a precaution than anything else. He then added 8 quarts of oil into the engine. The oil system was primed and brought to pressure. It was noticed that there was no oil come up to the rocker arms. It turns out that the Pontiac engine is like a Chrysler engine in that the oil for the lifters comes through the number four cam bearing. If the cam is not lined up so that the oil can pass through the lifters will not get oil. Pressure did build in the system and we had no leaks! That makes three of the five fluid systems that have fluid and no leaks.

Jim put fuel in the tank (after he was reassured that the fuel system had been gone through and that all fittings were tight). The fuel pump was run.

Guess what? I had forgotten to check the fittings at the carburetor. Jim almost received a gas shower. After those lines were tightened up the fuel system was run and brought to pressure. No leaks. That makes four of the five fluid systems that have fluid and no leaks.

The neutral safety switch in the shifter was checked (not intentionally). We went to crank the engine over with the starter but it would not crank.

We brought the mulitmeter out and starter to check wiring and relays. In checking the wiring we found the wiring for the neutral safety switch. We then realized that the shifter was in gear (remember there is no drive shaft and the shifter cable is not hooked up to the transmission). There are parts coming from California to get that task done (why are all the good parts 5 days way in California?).

It should be noted that all these test runs were through the wiring system that has been installed over the last two weeks.

Speaking of wiring the harness is almost complete. The transmission brake has been wired; the low oil pressure warning has been wired; the volt meter wiring has been completed; shift light wiring is complete ( in that process the air scoop was removed and disassembled. Any bolt that could come loose inside the air scoop has either been double nutted, and the screws in the lights have been covered in silicone sealer so that the carburetor will not get the chance to suck any unwanted stray items into it.

	Tom finished up the install of the modified remote oil filter. He also modified the volt meter bracket and installed it (does not sound like much until you realize this is all stuff that has to be created).

We are looking to fire the engine up that Saturday. Before that we have to get the transmission cooling system completed and filled with fluid (the last fluid system), the coil has to be installed, the spark plug wires installed and the oil pressure gauge has to be plumbed.

That does not sound like much, but tomorrow I have to move a car, Wednesday I will be in the shop powder coating. I believe it can be done.

I talked with Roo Man today and he said the drive shaft should have been drop shipped today, he is checking to make sure that was done. If so it will not be long before the dragster will be able to move under its own power.

Don’t get me wrong there are still a lot of loose ends to complete. Not the lease of which is wiring the steering wheel to activate the air shift and transmission break (we are really not sure how to accommodate this, in the Firebird there was a lot of steering column to rap a coiled cord around, in the dragster the steering wheel is right up against the gauge panel and does not allow for this); plumbing for the air shift; receive and install the control cables for the fire system, main power shut off; driveshaft; the list goes on, I will keep you updated.