428 do's and dont's

[olblu66]

Well BILL with Southern auto call and said it was the number 1 journel-bearing-i guess, that let go. He said every thing looked good so hes rebuilding it at no cost to me. NOW THATS SERVICE AND A COMPANY THAT STANDS BEHIND THERE PRODUCT. hE DOSN'T think it was caused on his end and thinks it's was just a bad bearing. I know for sure the oil was always ok. On these big-block motors (428) What do you do to keep from this happing again ? When you first start the engine, how long do you sit there before driving it ? Im using 20w50 racing oil in it. Can you tell me some do's and some dont's on whats best on keeping these fe's in good shape. THANKS--PAT

[pgermond]

My experience has been that an FE has to warm up (they are cold blodded).... 3-5 minutes... before it's ready to go. I ALWAYS watch the oil pressure, which jumps (or at least should) to 60 almost immediately. Sorry to hear of your misfortune, and happy to hear Bill is taking care of it.

Phil

427 Roadster, #4279436
Southern Automotive FE
3:31 and Toploader

Roseville (N.Cal)

[eliminator]

20-50 Racing oil is fine.
When the engine starts, keep the RPM at about 1,000 to 1,200 RPM until the engine temperature reaches at least 150 degrees. Absolutely no poping the throttle to rev the engine, biggest mistake 75% of the people make. You go to an event with High Performance engines and listen to the owners start them up, if your an engine builder it will make you sick! Just lets you know they don't know anything about an engine. Take the distributor out when the engine is cold and turn the oil pump manually, by hand. You will have a good idea of what is going on until the oil reaches operating temperature. On a high volume oil pump and a low restriction filter you can easily see 80-100 PSI on a cold engine.


Rick
#4279405

[will butterworth]

Agree with Phil-Rick, same notion with diesel , warm up before putting under load, 2 cents for the day.Looks like our friend in texas, Kelly , is going to be entertained by Rita. This one may bump up to a cat. 5 as it moves over the western gulf hot water.I have been thr. Parham,s shop in Mcdonough, Ga. , outstanding, and they are nice folks.Will-alabama

[will butterworth]

Oldblu--I had a buick 3800 engine spin a bearing couple months ago, 257,000 miles on it. Will-alabama

[olblu66]

Well thanks for youre advise Rich and Phil. I'll remember that. And Will. 257,000. Its truly a blessing when you can get that out of a automobile. Thats a keeper

[will butterworth]

Olblu--bought a used 3800 eng. for 250 doll. , runs great, out of a wreck, at junkyard. Just potluck, it is my work car, park avenue.On road a lot with work. Bush-hogging hundred acres or so, last night was rattlesnake night, i know i saw two in the dark chopped up and rats running in all directions. Owls came swooping in picking up rats-snakes i guess.Fireants have place civered, have to sharpen blades more.Didn,t see any coyotes. Will-alabama

[Aggressor]

Start the engine and drive off immediately when your oil pressure is up. Drive moderately through the gears without needlessly revving the engine until it is warmed up. This is generally recommended for shorter warm-ups, minimizing engine wear, and saving fuel.
I have a good track record to date with this method:
1972 Triumph GT6 - 255,639 miles
1968 Mustang - 139,334 miles
1986 Pontiac TransAm - 168,889 miles
The above vehicles are my older cars and all are good running and highly reliable. All of these engines are original and none have been opened for repair. The TransAm was used this week for a conference trip of 1200 miles roundtrip from Harrisburg, PA to Indianapolis, IN. The Triumph was driven to Huntsville, AL last year for a 2000 mile "leg stretching" business related run.
All vehicles were purchased new so I know the full history with the exception of the Mustang, which had 87,000+ miles when we purchased it 5 years ago.

My Unique 427sc has 10,034 miles and 2004 Mini Cooper has 21,122. Based on my experience factor I will drive them in the same fashion for as long as I own them. While you should exercise some restraint and common sense while driving off cold, I do not believe an FE or any other engine requires warm-up coddling for street use.

- Geary

PS - Pat, are you using your car for street or racing. If it is street use only, did you ask Bill for his opinion of using racing oil. I am just posing a question because I don't have an experience base with racing oil properties. I use Mobil1 15w50 synthetic in the FE.

[olblu66]

Hey Geary. Thanks for the info. I use this car for street. I've never raced and don't plan on it. But you do get some teens who pull up and rev their engines and i just laugh. I talked to Susan [Bills wife ] a couple months ago and she said they were putting 10w 40w in there engines now , so i called Bill and he said it was just fine using 20w 50w oil. When the car was being built i told Bill it was for crusing and shows and not for racing. Looks like you have a nice collection of cars there.

[Aggressor]

Pat, I tend to buy cars I like and then keep them forever. The TR is the best car that I've ever owned. I haven't made a car payment on this vehicle since 1975. I know what it's like with the teens. They just don't have a clue as to what the Cobra's about.

Stay "Sport Minded"
- Geary