It's A Big Day Tomorrow

If all goes well I'm going to be starting up my project after it being dismantled for a year and a half. Before I took it all apart I fogged the engine and drained everything but the oil. Do I need to prime the oil pump before I start it or will it be good to go? I'm thinking I just need to fill up the coolant and keep an eye on the gauges and I'll be set, but I'm not sure.

Also, everything in the braking system but the master cylinder is new. Should I take it somewhere and have it bled by one of the machines or is it doable to bleed at home? I hate brake bleeding, I'm wondering how much worse it will be doing a whole new system

 

Speed bleeders are worth every penny....

 

Dane,
For sure ...... drain the oil , & find a Wix filter and install new . Refill with a good oiil for that engine. The best way to prime the oil pump after sitting, is to pull the distributor and use an old shaft on a drill mot=or , to spin the pump until you O. P. gauge shows pressure. Or you can Pull the coil wire, & crank till your oil pressure gauge shows good pressure .
As far as the Brakes go, I myself , and doing mine now, But 'Cuz you hate it so much & if you can tow it to a place , Have them flush , & bleed the whole system and you will be good there.
Good luck and Do Not Seize that engine after all your work.
Richie----Lockman

 

Thanks for all the info! I changed the oil before storage so I'll probably run it for a week or two to dirty it up, then change it. Good call on the wix filter, I'm running them A while ago I ordered a few brands of air filters from rock auto to compare, and long story short wix is all I use now. Anyways maybe I'll pick up some speed bleeders, thanks guys! I'll let you know how it goes.

 

I would pull the dist and reprime the engine by spinning the pump

 

What tools do I use to spin the pump and where would I get them? I was reading a screwdriver would work...? Turn it clockwise? This is on a 258

 

You need to replicate the the end of the distributor shaft . An old one , chucked into a drill motor works great. I Think someone sells a tool , also ? And yes, i'm 90% sure a 258 spins clockwise ?

 

They just did this on the most recent Roadkill with a pontiac engine.

 

X2

 

Dang!! You watched that quick, minutes after it posted . I really enjoyed that episode.

 

I had lots of time this morning. Good episode

 

Wondering how the big day went?

 

I didn't finish as much as i had hoped but im close! Im thinking this weekend I'll be able to!

 

Time is weird but I just got it done! The drill built pressure pretty fast, so i might not have needed to, but I feel good that I did it the safe way. I also learned a bit as ive never had a distributor out before, I had the timing off about 90° when i tried it last night. Tomorrow I bleed the brakes and coolant and cruise the neighborhood!

 

HEAR , HEAR ! Goodluck & Godspeed , Brother.