Hello all, I don't get over to this side much since my truck projects always seem to be stuck on the back burner.

In the next year or two I'm hoping to get my 69 back on the road after replacing all the worn out stuff (um, most of the truck lol) and using some body panels from the 71 I have.

I rebuilt the 360 while I was in trade school 8 years ago and got it about 80% done. Most of the things I did were to freshen it up and make it reliable.

I can't remember all the specs (have them stored somewhere..) but it has a .030 over bore, main journals honed, crank cut and knife edged, oiling ports chamfered, and other stuff like that.

Silly me when porting the heads I got a little too agressive and got into the water jacket so I welded a nickel in to cover the hole, oops

Also put larger valves in the heads and new bronze guides.



Now comes the real dumb part. When performing the dissassembly I did not know the importance of keeping the pushrods and valve train components in the right position. Now I have a box of pushrods all mixed up. Also I had taken the rocker assemblies apart, cleaned them, and reassembled them. I don't remember 100% if they went back together exactly how I took them apart, but I'm pretty sure I did. I did get new lifters with the new (stock grind) cam.


I didn't really know about what I was doing so I tried to make the engine breathe better without changing the compression or cam duration. I have full length headers that I port matched and smoothed out. I'm thinking of putting the stock 2bbl intake and carb back on (after a good clean and rebuild).



Does anyone see any issues in my situation that I need to address? Any thoughts on to things that I may need to check or change? Any issues with trying to get an engine running that has been sitting for 8ish years with no oil run through it and only assembly lube?

If I can start planning this now and form an attack plan, by the time I'm ready to fire her up I'm hoping to have everything ok and ready to go. I certainly dont want to turn it into a paperweight after I invested a ton of time and money to try and build a stout and reliable engine.

 

As for the valve train since you are replacing lifters etc probably not that big of a deal to mix up push rods but they are cheap and you only need 16. You can get at Auto Zone for a couple of bucks each. if you did put the rocker assembly together wrong it won't match up and you will know. I have no idea how long assembly lube will stay on them bearing so if it were me I would take it apart relube and check everything over with new gaskets. Peace of mind......** 2 cents on the table**

 

Thanks yetiman, I was kinda thinking it wouldn't be a bad idea to relube everything, I don't really trust the assembly goop to have held its position after sitting for this long.

Do I need to check pushrod length or anything? Can I just take one of my old ones with me to get a replacement? I read the article about bending pushrods and I don't want the geometry to be out, but I haven't cut the heads or the block because it was square.

 

Rather than disassemble, yank the dizzy and prime the oil pump for a couple of minutes till you see good oil flow at the rocker shafts.

 

Engine was new build that never got started.

 

I would guess that you did have a valve job done so it might warrant having lengths checked to be sure. I did not do that but had mine set up at a reliable shop. They also set my spring heights for me was less than $70. I haven't read how to check push rod length so I will "assume" you would use adjustable checker and turn until valve is closed??

 

Yeti is correct, I have not run this engine yet, so IDK if that would be beneficial or not


Yup, did have a valve job done. Hardened seats installed. I remember talking to the guy and he said he'd make sure the install height is correct, but I have not checked them myself since I don't have access to the proper tools anymore. There was an article I think I found on here about doing the check properly, but I can't remember off the top of my head

 

As far as running the engine, I have always used the assembly lube and also built up pressure with a hand drill. I just don't know if you can build up enough pressure that way to entirely lube everything for a first start.......I would check the push rods to make sure they are all stock length. I would think if the heads were done correctly and no reason to think they weren't then the standard size ones are what you will need.

 

I really don't think your original assembly lube would have deteriorated as your motor is pretty well sealed up. I would do as 69CJ suggest and prime with a dizzy. Then I would rotate the motor 45 degrees, prime again, 45 degrees, prime, etc. until you have a couple full rotations. Each prime should have oil freely flowing out along the rocker shafts. I had a motor sit for a couple years and this worked just fine for me, just a novice's suggestion.

 

As a added note, you can prime with an old dizzy or just buy a priming tool, either way works just fine. Make sure you use a 1/2" drill, 3/8" won't cut it.

 

I take it engine is not in the truck? Pull a few caps and see what it looks like. Eight years seems like a long time to me, never let one sit myself but that stuff does say for storage I believe.

 

Once it starts don't forget the 20 minute run in between 2,000 and 2,500 rpms for the cam lifter break in.

 

Thank you all for the tips, I will be asking more when its time to finally fire her, but don't expect that in the near future lol

Nope it is not currently in the truck, hope to repair the suspension bits and such next year, finish some metal work, and get her running.

I want to use this information to build a check list so I can make sure I'm doing everything correctly.

 

By the time you have oil pooling in the heads, the pump is primed and the passages are filled. That is better than firing it up dry. Personally, I would not prime the oiling system until its time to fire the engine. First thing the oil does, is wash away the assembly lube.

I'm going to take a wild guess, that 8 of the push rods are slightly shorter, and go to the exhaust side.

Verifying your push rod lengths is a good idea.

 

I think I may try and figure out the pushrods and maybe be ok with just priming the pump with some break in oil. Something high zinc correct?