Mike P's test stand And Breaking In New Rings

[Mike P]

Still working on the little motor. I spent last weekend cobbling together a little run/storage stand. I got a new battery today and had to run out and see if the new fangled starter would work. Seems good so maybe I’ll have a chance to finish up some wiring and light it off this weekend??!

https://youtube.com/shorts/7xG2TS6CZ6s?feature=share

[bmorgil]

Very cool setup Mike!

I love the YouTube link. A lot of members are trying to figure out how to upload video's. It looks like you have found a great way.

[Mike P]

Very cool setup Mike!

I love the YouTube link. A lot of members are trying to figure out how to upload video's. It looks like you have found a great way.

Thanks bmorgil! Yes I was happy the copy/ paste of the link works as I didn’t see a way to embed it here?
I’m pretty happy with the little setup. Had most everything on hand from past builds of stuff so I didn’t have to buy any steel or hoses!

I pre-lubed the oil galleries/oil pump by squirting through it all from the top filter hose with an oil can until it came out the other end so hopefully we are good to go!

[LarrBeard]

I want to see the video of it running - hopefully you won't have to chase it around the shop!

[Mike P]

I want to see the video of it running - hopefully you won't have to chase it around the shop!

Haha! Well there’s so much stuff in the shop it won’t get very far! ;)

[gmwillys]

I like your test stand. You shouldn't have to chase it around too much.

We run our power packs on a maintenance stand, that is on wheels. At 4,560 pounds, and 320 HP, and 800 +/- pound feet of torque, it stays put fairly well. On my next trip North, I'm picking up a skid used for a fire fighting pump. It was powered by a Willys industrial L134, but when it was put out of service, it wasn't drained and set outside. The pump and engine both cracked during a cold winter, but long story short, it will make an excellent ground hop test bench for any future Heep engine projects around the rust ranch. It has gages and tack/hour meter still in place.

[bmorgil]

A test stand is a very nice thing to have.

[Mike P]

A test stand is a very nice thing to have.


Haha! Well there’s so much stuff in the shop it won’t get very far! ;)


I like your test stand. You shouldn't have to chase it around too much.

We run our power packs on a maintenance stand, that is on wheels. At 4,560 pounds, and 320 HP, and 800 +/- pound feet of torque, it stays put fairly well. On my next trip North, I'm picking up a skid used for a fire fighting pump. It was powered by a Willys industrial L134, but when it was put out of service, it wasn't drained and set outside. The pump and engine both cracked during a cold winter, but long story short, it will make an excellent ground hop test bench for any future Heep engine projects around the rust ranch. It has gages and tack/hour meter still in place.

That sounds perfect! I have a metal stand from a ford industrial v8 flathead that a friend gave me I was going to use but it is pretty wide so I opted for this instead.

[Mike P]

So, this happened tonight!!!

https://youtube.com/shorts/EUkmXTxiVco?feature=share

I need to get some water in it (hopefully it holds?!) and do some run time this weekend. Run it for twenty minutes or so and vary the RPM yes? No revs above 4000k???

[bmorgil]

Nice Mike! She speaks. Don't run it without water on those new rings. I don't know if you are running on a new cam. In any event, no idling allowed for the first few hours. The cam needs sufficient oil splash to break in the cam and lifters if they are new or mismatched from the way they were run prior. The rings can live or die right here. The most important thing to remember about rings is they need pressure to seal. Under load the combustion pressure pushes the rings against the cylinder wall. On a new or rebuild, the preparation of the cylinder wall is the single most important aspect of cylinder seal. The carefully prepared finish is designed to do several things. In the first few minutes of engine operation, the rings "wear in" so to speak. The rings should never actually touch the walls of the cylinder. There is a very thin film of oil that creates the seal. If there is no cylinder pressure the rings will leak combustion gas past them. This will "glaze" the cylinder walls and ruin the new rings. After this they will never seal properly. The oil will get dirty quick and the motor will foul and be down on power.

So bottom line, don't let it idle. Don't rev it too high ever. 4000 RPM is about all that little motor can do. If you looked at this in a perfect situation, you would bolt the motor to a dyno, hold it at a load of about 30 percent at 2,000 to 3,000 RPM for about 20 minutes and call it done. Change the oil and filter. Cut the filter open ad make sure there is nothing weird in the paper.

This video is of Lake Speed Jr, of Total Seal Piston Rings. His father was a legendary Racer. Lake travels all over improving horsepower and durability for the top motorsports teams in the world. The secret to modern horsepower, durability and longevity is in the cylinder finish and ring technology.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhA_nVRhYew

Here is what I do if I cannot get to a dyno. I make very sure it is ready to Drive. I get it somewhere where I can drive with steady load for a while. I fire it up and drive it. No idling for the first 100 miles at least. I take it for a 20 minute spin and check it over. Its now a "Ready Teddy", lets hit the track.

[bmorgil]

Here is another great read on engine break in.

https://www.enginelabs.com/news/dispelling-engine-break-in-myths-with-high-performance-academy/

[Mike P]

Great article and vid. Thanks for that!