Fordillac V-8 engine running, finally

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gbritnell

Project of the Month Winner!!!
Project of the Month Winner
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Gentlemen,
After many trails and tribulations the flathead engine is running. As the video states many changes were made along the way to first correct my design miscalculations and second to get all the components of and internal combustion engine correct, spark, fuel and compression.
I had the engine ready to go right after Christmas but didn't want to spend time in the cold garage trying to fine tune everything.
The last couple of days saw temperatures in the low 80's here in Ohio so I had no more excuses not to try and get the engine running.
Everything was hooked up, fuel ignition and wiring. I set the ignition timing to around 20 degrees advanced to get started. The fuel needle was just cracked so that I didn't load the plugs right off the bat.
A short spin of the drill while adjusting the carb needle had the engine running on it's own. While running I made adjustments to the distributor but found the timing window was very narrow. A little too much one way or the other would stall the engine.
I started the engine without coolant figuring that whatever changes would need to be made would only be complicated by draining coolant every time. When the engine seemed sorted out I then added coolant and found a few leaks, mainly from the hose clamps. The coolant was drained and the radiator removed so that I could modify the clamps to get a tighter squeeze on the hoses.
I would eventually like to go back to the dual carb setup but for now I'm thrilled to have it running after almost 2 years, from inception to life.
gbrtitnell
https://youtu.be/694CKZlDyzg
 
Another masterpiece, George ! I've been waiting for this one. Great work!
 
It is great to see this engine running. I followed the entire post and I have been waiting.

I can't think of enough superlatives to describe this, so just

congratulations.

And thank you for posting this project and providing helpful information for the rest of us.

--ShopShoe
 

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