Snake Skin Green Challenger Restoration

[lulurocks]

1. Remove distributor

2.  Make sure you have the oil send unit and aux gauge tee plugged(or hook up a temp gauge ,nice to see the pressure)

3. You need a hex shaft priming tool , jegs summit sell them


http://www.jegs.com/i/Milodon/697/23015/10002/-1

4. stick that in a corded drill and turn it counter-clockwise untill  you feel  the drill start to have resistance.

5. Turn crank 90* and repeat step 4 .

6. Reinstall distributor

[magoo426]

What is the best way to remove the gear/shaft that goes to the oil pump?  I've heard that this had to be removed so that the oil pump can be turned freely.

Thanks.

[lulurocks]

Well,

ohh...you have the drive gear in at top dead center already... You will have to line the motor up to tdc when your prime is complete ...   because you will be moving the motor during your prime.

Search tdc bb mopar in google and there are great tutorials on that..

So to your gear removal :


flat head screw driver into the slot in the gear , i believe turn it counter clockwise  , it will jump up .

Then grab it with needle nose pliers  and pull it up and out

Prime and enjoy lining the motor up to tdc before reinstalling the dist..

Ken

[lulurocks]

Magoo,

Check this out its right up your alley :



https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=49-mJ_ZsChU

[magoo426]

Thanks for the link!!  So after i prime and turn the crankshaft at 30-some degrees at a time to get the oil to all the rocker arms, i should be able to put it right back at TDC and drop the distributor right back in the same place, correct?

[lulurocks]

Yes as long as u rotate it thru one  complete   Cycle back to top dead center  .  And u start at top dead center ...

[anlauto]

Don't you mean two complete cycles ?

[lulurocks]

  yeah what he said .....  Lol.


And to be honest a service manual  is your friend when your working in sumthing that cost alot of money if you mess it up ... I still use manuals as a guide/ tool for the small things that i might forget ... 

[magoo426]

I was able to remove the gear with no problems. Wish I would have taken a photo of it before I removed so put it back in the exact location.  I got back in the same location, but I could be a tooth off or so.  Usually I take a photo before I tear something apart that I usually don't work on.  Live and learn I guess.  Below is a photo of where I got it installed currently.

[Topcat]

I used a felt tip pen to mark orientation before pulling the gear out.

[magoo426]

Yup, wish I would have done that.

[lulurocks]

Your all good ... U need to be in the ballpark of tdc  so u gave enough room for the vac advance canister to move  for fine tuning once u get her running.  Verify tdc before you crank her over    Motor looks awesome btw

[magoo426]

Thanks lulurocks.

Does anyone have suggestions on what oil to put in for the first engine start up?  I was thinking 10W-30 and maybe throw in some ZDDP for.  Or since I have a Comp cam I could use COMP Cams Engine Break-In Oil 159.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks!

[lulurocks]

Ive heard good things about this amsoil product i:


http://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-product/motor-oil/racing/break-in-oil-(sae-30)/



Is your motor fresh  out of the box? 

[magoo426]

Well the priming tool finally arrived the other day, picked up some Valvoline VR-1 10W-30 oil and some Lucas break-in zink additive oil as well.  Filled the engine and started to try to prime the oil pump.  It took forever it seemed just to get it to build oil pressure.  After many attempts it finally built oil pressure, roughly 48~50psi.  I'm not sure what it should be, does this pressure sound about right for a 1968 440?

So I figured I was home free, kept trying to build the pressure so that oil would come out by the rocker arms.  Nothing would come out, so I rotate the crank about 30 degrees, then nothing.  I kept doing this song and dance forever.  Then I'm looking at the left side rocker arms I'm seeing nothing, but I then looked at the right side rocker arms and holy crap oil was coming out of them like hell wouldn't have it.  The picture shows the mess I made on the floor.

After I cleaned up that mess, I kept trying to get the other side to fully prime.  It took about another 5 minutes of rotating the crank shaft to find the right location.  But when I did, that engine oil was coming out fast.  Glad I took my time and kept an eye on the other side so I didn't do the same thing. 

At least everything worked.  The engine and transmission are now ready to install into the car, can't wait to get that done, it will be a big step in the 4 years process of getting this thing back on the road!