sirhk100

Hoping to get a harness and tune on the computer here in the next week or three for a brand new GM crate LQ9 in a project vehicle. The engine has been sitting for roughly 6 years I believe at this point but has NEVER been fired. It's not a rebuild, it's brand new GM parts direct crate motor... Doesn't look it from the outside as 6+ years of machine shop dust will age the look of an engine but shining a light down the spark plug hole and looking down the filler neck shows an absolute perfect shine on everything. I got it from a friend who originally purchased it and I've got zero reason to doubt this info from him...


So... Question is... Once I'm ready to actually turn the key and fire it... Anything I should do before hand seeing as how it's brand new and has been sitting so long before I try to fire it?

I have drained the oil that was in it and put in some fresh break in oil. Quality race brand name oil, not naming details as I don't want to start a oil pissing match... Just assume it's a quality break in oil I put in it.

Beyond that though? Do these things have a way of being primed or anything like that? If so, any info on that? Anything else I should be concerned about on a first fire of a crate motor that's sat so long?


ewww, hagard old grimy motor!!!



Oh but so clean and shiny inside!!! LOL




Thanks,
Khris

conan

iTrader: (5)

You can build a home made priming tool like this...
https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...dry-start.html

https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...l-priming.html

You can also unplug the coils and pull the fuel pump fues and turn the engine over with the starter untill oil pressure shows on the gauge. This is the method I use but I always has assembly lube on all my parts so they are not spinning dry like your dealing with. I would definitely do some kind of priming.

sirhk100

Thanks for the reply! I'm hoping to button up the wiring on the chassis this weekend and then next week I'll focus on getting the harness installed/routed and setup and see what I can do about priming it. I'd really like to get it primed as I'm not 100% sure how much oil this thing needs since there's a decent sized cooler mounted in the rear of the truck for the engine. Not sure how much capacity the cooler and length of lines routed back there will hold. Would be nice prime it and then top it back off to the dipstick full level.

hutchman

Looks like some nice work on that one!!

sirhk100

Off topic but it's my thread so hey, why not right? LOL I got the prime info needed above so all good! That's actually probably going to be an evening project next week.


I'm going out on a limb here guessing this is mostly a car page and mostly a chevy page. I'm one of the types that appreciates just about anyone's ride if they've got pride and built something they wanted for themselves that stands out from the rest. Heck, some of the most amazing cars that I would NEVER own and actually don't even understand are the low riders with the hydros and crazy paint jobs. The detail work is mind blowing on those cars!!! I don't get it, but I can respect the passion and labor involved...

So... that said, my build may be a bit off from the norm around here. LOL I'm a Ford chassis fan. Specifically the older trucks with the I-beam suspensions. Basically 90's and older... But... Common sense in the auto world, it's no secret that HP is owned by the Chevy world when it comes to price vs. hp... So, in my mind, why not built a bow tied powered ford? LOL

This is what the rest of the the hooptie looks like currently.



(the Toyota in the background is 99% home built by me also and we currently race it. This new one is just a toy... May be raced on occasion but that's not the end game, just something to have too much fun with!)




It's got the LQ9 obviously as stated above. It's backed by a heavily built 4L80E that's no longer "E", it's all manual hydro converted, billet torque convertor, billet tailcone, etc...



Hiding in the back under a scoop I've got trans and engine coolers...









Those are all older pictures though, it's been cleaned up SUBSTANTIALLY as the build was started, and then for various reasons it got pushed to the back burner for 5+ years. I'm now in cleanup/finish mode...

My current project is chassis wiring. That picture of the dash above, yeah, there's NO wires connected to anything underneath. I'm no wiring expert and have seen pictures of wiring jobs that looked like art work! I'm trying my best though and well, here's the center console as of 2 nights ago and last night I pulled all the wires throughout the chassis for everything not engine harness related.



Suspension wise, no joke, I'm pulling 30" of travel...



Got some big shocks to control it in the back.





Front is pulling 21" of travel.



with some equally big shocks up front.




It should be a very fun ride when finished!!! Realistically I'm hoping to have it dirt ready in about a month. Still won't look like a truck but you don't need hood and fenders and stuff to drive in the dirt and ride on a trailer out to the desert. I just want to get it up and running at this point and then I can focus on finishing up the cosmetics.

I haven't chose a final color but it should look somewhat like this all finished and done...













For comparison, the race truck we run has a factory stock Toyota tacome 3.4L V6 with 100K plus on it rated 180hp from the factory with 17" travel front and rear on leaf springs at the back vs. this truck I'm finishing up with 400'ish hp right now, 21" front and 30" rear linked travel. LOL, needless to say, I'm a bit intimidated by what this "toy" will be capable of! LOL

Here's me behind the wheel of the race truck...




That picture was from this photo shoot...

http://www.fourwheeler.com/features/...er-time-flies/


The new truck should be a lot smoother and a lot faster then the one we race here...




LOL, so hey, there's my story and what I'm building... Obviously not the point of this thread but I got the info I was looking for so why not reply to the comment with details and who doesn't like pictures right? LOL

conan

iTrader: (5)

Bad *** trucks you got there, very cool project

hutchman

That looks like FUN! And like I said before.....very nicely done! Doesn't matter to me whether it's a Ford, Chevy, or Yugo when the workmanship is like that!!!

sirhk100

Just a quick follow up, still haven't fired the motor as I'm still waiting on my harness but... Wanted to say, the links above worked great for priming the engine! Grabbed my old weed sprayer, cleaned it out. Found a couple fittings I needed. Drilled a hole in the side of the sprayer and mounted a tire valvestem in it. Dumped in my break in fluid of choice and hit it with the air nozzle and before I knew it, I had oil coming into the heads!

Thanks again for those links to the other threads! They were EXACTLY what I needed.