Getting ready to start my first rebuild on a 400 that is going to go in a 1979 F-150. This forum has been incredible in figuring some things out. But I have a couple of questions:

• I want to assemble my engine now but won't be ready to drop it in the truck for a couple of months. I am going to be running the Comp 255 cam. Will the Cam stay lubricated for this period of time with the standard lub that comp sends with all of its cams, or will I have to use something more solid?
• Does it make sense to run a high volume oil pump or not?

Any help would be great.

 

I did the exact same thing as you - I rebuilt both my engine and my tranny, and then didn't start the finished product for something like 6 months. What I did was liberally coat the lobes (with what Comp sends you) during installation. I put the short block together, but installed engine and tranny into the vehicle WITHOUT the intake manifold or heads. Once I was getting towards the time when I wanted to start the engine, I coated the underside of each lifter with a bunch of the red goo, installed them, along with the pushrods, headers, rockers, manifold, carb, etc. I then poured the rest of the red goo on the pushrods.

Now, I still waited probably 2 weeks between the time I did this and the time the engine started for the first time - but so far I've had no problems (granted I only have about 1.5 hours of runtime on the engine so far).

Make sure you prime the oil system and I think you're fine. Run the drill until you see oil coming out of EVERY pushrod hole, and you should be set. And keep the engine varied above 2000 rpm for the first 20 minutes. I think these steps are more important than having freshly coated cam lobes.

Oh, and I installed a standard oil pump, and right now, after the vehicle has warmed up, I have 50psi at idle. Others may disagree, but I think high volume oil pumps only make a difference ina badly worn engine, which you don't have.

-James

 

As for it sitting that long, all you need to do is prime the oiling system in the engine before you start it. I have a Moroso primer, MOR-62220. I would prime the oil system on a new rebuild regardless of how long it sat.....3 days or 3 months. Summit carries a few different brands and they are fairly inexpensive.

I'm running a HV pump in the 400 in my '53. It's fine, but I would probably just go with a standard pump if I was to do it over again.

Hope this helps

 

Thanks. Thats what I needed.