i just got done building a 355 for my 89 camaro, it has a egal crank, h-beam rods, kb 11:1 dome pistons, air gap intake, 750 double pumper, mild cam and heads with 1.5 roller rockers.

i went to prime the motor but the oil didnt come out of the lifters like it should have, the pressure gauge reads 50 psi, is ther somehting im missing, im pretty sure that all of the oil plugs are in and everything is sealed up, can someone tell me what im doin wrong or what i can do to fix this?

 

how long did you turn it? It may take alittle while. Keep turning it and see what happens.

 

we turned it for around 45 seconds constiantly and intermidetly while turning the motor over manually

 

45 seconds is nothing, give it a few minutes.

 

You can buy a oil primer rod at auto zone for like 15 bucks, this is better then turning it because every time you turn that camshaft you are taking off the break in grease off the cam. You can also be turning it the wrong way. If you do buy the oil primer rod, you can hear the oil pump if your going the wrong way. Also, if your distributor not in your not turning the oil pump. The distributor is hook up to the oil pump rod thingy.

 

lol, I done that one wrong once! Well not entirely my fault. I helped a buddy put together a 351 windsor. I tried and tried to get oil to it. Nothing. Went to bed that night and it hit me. Im used to chevys. Ford has the distributor on the other side of the cam, thus the oil pump turns in the other direction. Went out to the shop, put the drill in the other direction and here came the oil!

 

Since he started off saying he was trying to "prime" the motor while turning it over manually at the same time, I think it's safe to assume he was using a drill on a rod to turn the oil pump.

 

ok so im in school tryin to do this, we tried it again n held it for about a min but nothing happened, it build pressure to the oil drain plug on the front of the motor right above the timing cover but wont go any farther, also there is no oil gettin to the top of the heads eather, any sugestions?

 

Sounds like one or more oil galley plug is missing. Do you have an oil pressure gauge hooked up while you're doing this?

 

yea its readin a steady 50 psi while we prime it

 

You haven't put the intake on yet, right? Try removing a lifter, say the #1 exhaust, run the pump, and watch for oil down in the lifter hole.

 

ok so we finally got oil to the head, i id have the intake on but we took it off n figured out that the person helping us prime the mototr didnt have the primer in all the way so it wasnt building the pressure needed to get it up top, shortly after we figured this out there had been oil comin up to the top of the head, now all thats left is plug everything else back up n break it in, thanks for all the help once again

quick question, should i keep serpentine or go to old school v belt set up, which is better and easier to run, i have no ac or smog pump on it anymore

 

Serpentine.

 

ok, ive been hearing a lot about e85, what are the benifits of converting to it and what has to be done, im runnin a 750

 

Likes heat (makes round-robin a lot easier at the track).

To run it, raise the compression to 12-12.5, buy an E85 carb, increase your fuel delivery capacity by about a third.

 

is there a kit i can by to convert the 750 i have or would it be easier to just buy a new card for the e85

 

Quick Fuel Technologies has metering blocks modified for E85, p/n 34-106.

I have a Proform mainbody and QFT alcohol throttle body, but apparently you can get by with a "normal" 4150 carb. I personally don't know anyone who has used those blocks with one.

 

just to add in, there is a Tech Article on here about running the serpentine without the smog pump. Im doing that right now. Only requires a shorter belt. The article mentions everything you need to know about that. Get a AC Delete pulley and you would be set.

 

correction it requires a longer belt. the shorter belt is for those who wish to use underdrive pulleys. i to am doin the same thing