new bbc crate motor problem

installed blueprint 496bbc about 5 months ago. used shell rotella with lucas break in addative with zinc. primed oil sys. wth old dist. for 15 min. fired and ran at 2000 for 20 min and everything was good. started and even drove about a mile since then and ran great. finally got the body ready 4 paint and it will not run. have an ebay edelbrock 800 elect. choke carb that is pumping fuel at accel. pump. new f.pump and reg. msd ready 2 run dist. checked spark at 2 plugs and was good. seemed to get harder to start when cold but ran fine when up to tempuntil now. pops through carb and exhaust. plugs were black and wet. cleaned and reduced gap to 040. no luck. checked rocker arms. a little loose but 1/4 turn was all needed. hyd. flat tappet cam. checked compress. 130 across the board. im at a loss right now and not to happy. any thoughts on this?

 

What about your distributor? What are you running? What is the timing at?

 

msd ready 2 run timing at 14

 

exhaust on rear 2 cylinders on both sides cold

 

install New Sparkplugs >>>>.

 

used ngk 2817 as recomended from blueprint initially gapped at 45

 

Once plugs are gas fouled it's almost impossible to clean them up and get them firing...also, MSD seems to better with the plugs gapped at 35.

 

thanks will give it a whirl. any opinions on ngk or champ?

 

I am thinking the carb is the issue. I had an edelbrock that sat for a few months and it was also new. I ended up having the same symptons as you. Took it apart and found that the corn fuel had caused the aluminum in the bowls to corode leaving a white chalky powder through out the carb. Took it apart cleaned it with carb cleaner installed new gaskets installed it and the engine fired right up. No problem since but I now use a stabilizer for any kind of short or long term storage.

 

i know ethanol is **** and evaporates quickly but engine wont fire when dumping fuel directly into carb.

 

Sure sounds like fouled plugs

 

I'd like to know if BLUEPRINT actually recommended the Rotella oil.

 

bought motor about a year ago and pamphlet that came wth it did.old material idk. but used used break in add. to hedge my bets. i heard rotella nolonger contains sufficient zinc.

 

I've heard the same about Rotella but don't know for sure. Also, I prefer NGK's for BBC...Champs for Mopar. No good reason I suppose, just the way it's always been.

 

What is the fuel pressure set at sir?

The .045" gap on the plugs would be for a HEI type distributor that I believe Blueprint ships with engines that are purchased dressed.

It's good that yopu added the ZDDP, but you need to lose the Rotella, yes I build engines for a living, much higher end than Blueprint sir.

 

X2 on the NGK plugs, V-Powers. try them gapped at .035" with the Ready to Run MSD..

 

fuel pressure is 6lb. motor came without dist. have msd ready 2 run with msd coil

 

thanks tr will try new plugs. amazing that once fowled plugs are ruined. will most definitely use billy penn in the future. if i cooked the cam would not the rocker arms be loose? what about consistent compression?

 

Optimum fuel pressure is 5.5 if you can regulate it that close.

Explain the priming of the oil system for 15 minutes, I ***umed you ground the gear off of the old distributor right?

You should have had pressure within a few seconds of spinning the drill motor. From there you rotate the crankshaft 90 degrees for a few seconds and repeat several times and your done.

 

ur welcome >>>>.

 

yes that is exactly what i did. had press on gauge immediately. rotated 1/4 turn about 8 times and continued to prime .overkill i guess

 

Yes sir, Brad Penn, Valvoline RACING oil, Joe Gibbs Oil, there are many to use.

I'm hoping you didn't flatten a cam, think positive for now, could be as simple as stale fuel.

 

I am x2 everythign tradition is saying, Rotella and Blueprint,

One thing cought my eye.... The initial post said, the valves where loose. was that after it sat? or right after it ran? the reason I ask is, if it is after it sat, the lifters may have bled off and now they are to tight.

Hi end Pennzoil racing only available through better engine builders is high Zink, I use Castrol 30 HD. Never an issue.

 

What does the "engine builder" say to do?

 

after motor would not fire today i ran down list described including checking rockers. first time i checked them. 3 miles on motor.

 

I wouldnt run ngk plugs in anything, always see misfire problems with them. I have great luck with autolite plugs.

 

Autolite plugs........throw away the NGKs, drain old gas. add new (with Stabil if it's going to sit for more than a month). Re-check valve adjustment, they probably had bled off just a bit. I don't think there's a problem with the engine, just the fuel and tune-up.

 

Good point!

 

Agree here!

 

From their install info:
1. Fill the crankcase & oil filter with the recommended oil
and amount, based on the type of cam your engine has:
a. For engines with flat tappet cams: Use an O.E.
recommended or API SN service-rated multi-viscosity
(non-synthetic) oil containing zinc or use a zinc
additive for cam break-in. Common break-in oils with
high zinc content are: Torco “ZEP” Zinc Enhanced
Engine Protector, ZDDPlus, GM EOS, Joe Gibbs
Break-In Oil, and Lucas #10063 Break-In Additive.
b. For engines with roller cams: Oil containing zinc
or a zinc additive is not required. Use an O.E.
recommended or API SN service-rated multi-viscosity
(non-synthetic) oil.

So NO, they do not recommend Rotella