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First start today! Everything went well. No drips or leaks (that I could tell). Water temp heated up gradually to operating level and all readings were good. What an emotion that was to hear it fire up for the first time after four months of getting it installed!

Thanks to all for your help, tips, and support; especially Dave Schacht, Mike Davies, and Al Hostettler.

Congratulations!

Keep a close watch on the water level to ensure that the tank remains completely full (no air gap) and that there's sufficient water in the overflow tank (and the hose remains below that water level.) It may take several heat/cool cycles before it's completely bled out. It will typically show up quickly during the first hard on-track run as a spike in coolant temperature or significant fluctuation in temperature.

Also, don't be too anxious to change from "dinosaur" oil to synthetic. Takes a while for these motors to break-in. Following the break-in advise is important if you want to maximize performance.

Have fun!

Bob - Thanks for the tips. Since this conversion was way over my head in terms of abilities when I started, I have been following all the instructions from the manual and paying close attention to all the tips and advice here in the Forum. So far, I've only been able to cycle the engine up to operating temps a few times since I haven't been on the track yet, but I will keep close tabs on the coolant levels. So far so good except for a small drip (mostly after the engine has been shut off and the car has been sitting for an hour or so) from the radiator cap. I'm going to replace it since I know the goal is to has ZERO leaks from the coolant system. I do plan to keep non-synthetic oil in the car until I reach the recommended number of engine hours from the conversion manual. By the way, anyone else have a hard time reading the dipstick on this engine or is it just me?

Yes to seeing the oil level on the dip stick. I took an abrasive pad to the tip of the stick and removed the coating. This helped somewhat to be able to see the oil on it.

If you can do it accurately, drill small holes at each quart marker line. I need to do this with my GEN3 dipstick like I had on my GEN2.

Bob Devol wrote:If you can do it accurately, drill small holes at each quart marker line. I need to do this with my GEN3 dipstick like I had on my GEN2.

Good suggestion. I'll try that. I seem to be very inept at drilling and getting the hole in the proper location, so I'll start with a very small bit to get a starter hole and keep stepping up the bit size until I get a decent hole size.

Jparris wrote:

Bob Devol wrote:If you can do it accurately, drill small holes at each quart marker line. I need to do this with my GEN3 dipstick like I had on my GEN2.

Good suggestion. I'll try that. I seem to be very inept at drilling and getting the hole in the proper location, so I'll start with a very small bit to get a starter hole and keep stepping up the bit size until I get a decent hole size.

For sure that's the way to do it -- start really, really tiny and ream out from there.

Bob: I have the same issue and drilling holes is a great idea. If you have determined the right place for the holes to be drilled for full and 1/2 qt down, can you provide the dimension from the end of the stick for everyone?
thanks

steve kramer wrote:Bob: I have the same issue and drilling holes is a great idea. If you have determined the right place for the holes to be drilled for full and 1/2 qt down, can you provide the dimension from the end of the stick for everyone?
thanks

Gee, Steve, every time I've done drilling it's been at the quart markers. It seems really hard to see the other increments to drill them accurately.