Starting the Engine - Day 4

I installed my new American Eagle radiator (#AE340) today.  The core is only 2-1/8" thick, but the location of the mounting brackets leaves me with only about 1/4" between my fan and the water pump.  I could have replaced the electric fan but it is essentially brand new so this is about the biggest radiator I can fit with those restrictions. 

The new radiator core is slightly more narrow when measured from top to bottom.  As a result, the stock fan shroud does not fit.  Rather than cut the shroud, I decided to just leave it off for now.  It is not original to the car (as it did not originally come with one) but I believe it is an original '69 model shroud.  Since the found is mounted flat against the radiator rather than spaced away, I don't really know that it would help all that much. 

The hose connections all fit perfectly as if it were a stock radiator.  However, the mounting holes on the side breackets were not spaced properly.  The holes were too far apart.  Since the brackets are aluminum, it was easy to drill the holes out slightly so it would fit properly.  I then mounted it using the stock air deflecting shields on the sides. 

I then removed the distributor and primed the oil system.  I started up the engine and the timing was at 34 degrees when at 2,200 RPM.  This was perfect so I just decided to run the engine as long as I could without it getting too hot.  I think I let it get a little too hot before so I was more conservative this time.  Additionally, I had a few fans running to have air moving through the radiator and engine compartment.

I can now watch the temperature hit 180 degrees and then drop briefly when the thermostat opens.  Once it climbs to 180 degrees again, I can see the fan turn on and it again drops below 180 degrees.  At the end of the 10 minutes, I was at 200 degrees and just stopped to let it cool down some.  This is much better than with the old radiator.

After cooling for about 30 minutes, I started the engine up again and repeated the process for another 10 minutes.  Paired with my two runs last Monday (at 8 and 6 minutes), I've 34 minutes of run time on the new cam. Comp Cams sugests 30 minutes for break-in so everything should be fine.



I decided to call it a day as if I kept going, I would not know when to stop and would work until bedtime.  I still need to take care of the following and then I'll get it inspected.
- Set idle RPM
- Set timing at idle
- Set idle mixture screws
- Connect vacuum advance
- Install Stage 8 header clips
- Clean up fan wiring
- Install windlace
- Test drive