New Engine Start up - NOT

[Tomnistuff]

I'm going to be doing a lot of "Touring" in June.  In addition to all the other tours, I'm going to take the Split Linkage Tour.  I either put too much oil in the cylinders when the car came back from Metric Motors (and more about a year later), or it's really rich.  I couldn't tell what color the smoke was, Black for fuel or Blue for oil, since it was almost dark outside when I got it running.  Anyway I figure the Split Linkage Tour will at least give me an idea where I am.  Then I can know which way to go from there.  Thanks again all of you for the encouragement and advice.  Especially you, Dan for not letting me give up without at least getting it running.

Tom Kizer

[andyburns]

Tom I think it's safe to say that if you have had a complete engine rebuild undertaken its highly unlikely you have done any lasting major damage and the smoke you see will more than likely subside once you have done your final timing/tuning and run the car under load for a little while.  Did you disturb any of the linkage rods during the rebuild process?  If not its probably not going to be the issue.

[Benz Dr.]

I'm going to be doing a lot of "Touring" in June.  In addition to all the other tours, I'm going to take the Split Linkage Tour.  I either put too much oil in the cylinders when the car came back from Metric Motors (and more about a year later), or it's really rich.  I couldn't tell what color the smoke was, Black for fuel or Blue for oil, since it was almost dark outside when I got it running.  Anyway I figure the Split Linkage Tour will at least give me an idea where I am.  Then I can know which way to go from there.  Thanks again all of you for the encouragement and advice.  Especially you, Dan for not letting me give up without at least getting it running.

Tom Kizer

I kind of thought that you had an ignition related problem so I went in that direction. Since you have a fresh engine, most of the settings you once had will likely need to be adjusted to reflect all of your new running parameters. Keep in mind that there's a very specific break in procedure to obtain a good running engine. If you need help with that let me know.

[Tomnistuff]

Quick follow up.  I took a few minutes to advance (literally) to the next step.  I advanced the spark one more time (unknown amount), disconnected the I.P. linkage, opened the idle air valve a little and tried to start it.  It idled quite well for about 2minutes but with lots of black smoke (fuel).
I then open the throttle and, without the I.P. Rod, it reved smoothly to at least 1500 (guess) with lots of black smoke still.
Question: is it normal to have to make significant changes to a newly rebuilt I.P?  If so, I'll continue with all the "tours" without fear.

Tom Kizer

[Benz Dr.]

Maybe you should check your CSV to see if it's leaking. If your engine ran OK before rebuild it really shouldn't run that rich now.

[Tomnistuff]

A really good idea, Dan.  When I bought the car in 1987, the CSV fuel line was blocked off with a small ball bearing and the wire was disconnected.  The car was "iffy" for a couple of minutes but otherwise OK.  I think I still have the ball bearing.  I may need it.

I'll follow your advice.

Tom