THSCC Forums

The old Celica is back on the road (3 days before Roebling Rd!). Engine has been in since Memorial Day, but I didn't get all the loose ends tied up until Tuesday night.

So far, so good. I liked the old engine before it blew up, this one is much stronger (sounds entirely different too).

Initial startup was pretty entertaining. I pressurized my accusump with 3 quarts of oil, got everything ready, released the oil to pre-lube the engine, then turned the key.

Brumph, Brumph, blaaaaaa...

Battery had drained. So much for pre-lubing. At the same time smoke started billowing out from under the hood. Imagine the cursing when the engine is smoking even though it never started! Turns out I had a loose connection at the alternator and the big wire that goes to it saw some really high resistence and melted the insulation. Not sure why I didn't blow a fuse or fusible link.

I put a charger on the battery and re-wired the alternator. 15-20 minutes later (most of that spent looking for my wire strippers/crimpers) I tried again. The battery was still weak, but even on a weak battery the engine caught and fired right away. I adjusted the idle to break in the new cam and started watching for leaks.

So far, no leaks, and it runs great. Still is loud and fun. I thought the old engine had pretty good low end torque. Well, the new one blows it out of the water. It's going to be a tough break-in period, keeping it below 4000 rpm and not using full throttle. I wonder how long until I give in?

Scott

That didn't take long.

When's it going to be ready for the dyno?

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In need of car.

When it's broken in. I just have to put miles on it, unfortunately, it isn't much of a daily driver in the summer time. I'll probably do some dumb things like drive the outer beltline at lunch (just do a lap) to get the miles up.

Scott

Up to about 150 miles now... So far so good. eventually I'll actually go full throttle.

First 100 miles was 4000 rpm or less, I'm not up to 4500 rpm "redline."

It seems that every boy-racer wannabe thinks that a roll bar and harness means I want to race them.

They're probably right, but I'm usually smarter than that.

Scott