Because I'm new at this, when it's time for my first start up. Can I just prime my new roller 5.0 by cranking it with the plugs out and coil wire unplugged ? I don't have a priming tool... My engine builder said just start it, but that was when I picked it up and it was spun tested at the machine shop so it was all primed up... Now it has sat in my garage for about 5 weeks...
I have used old distributers rigged up to prime oil pumps - I just knock the cam gear off of them, stick it into the hole until it meets the pump and turn it with a drill
The main thing is to remove the gear completely so the distributer shaft clears the cam shaft - with our racing engines, someone would turn the engine over by hand while priming so the oil would get everywhere it needed to be
OK if I get the gear off, do I run the drill in forward or reverse ? I'm guessing reverse because dizzy turns counter clockwise...
The drill should be run in the normal rotation of your distributor - just slide it in as you were installing your distributer, make sure it picks up the oil pump shaft and spin it - you should also have a remote oil pressure gauge set up so you can watch it
You don't have to prime that engine. Your engine builder did a spin test and primed it and it's only been sitting 5 weeks. Put it together and start it. Would you remove the distributor and prime it every time it sits a few weeks for the rest of it's life? No. Follow the instructions of your engine builder and "just start it". It's already primed and ready to go. Priming it again will not hurt anything, but I don't think sitting 5 weeks is that big of a deal. My stuff sits all winter and I start it every month of so but I don't prime it each time. SPark
