Another very successful day!....Check off the power steering conversion

[GrandpaKevin]

Well after over 12 years of sitting in the back of the garage I fired up the rebuilt 440 six pack engine in the wife's car.
It wasn't the best day weather wise, super humid 95 plus degrees out.
Everything went very well.
Nothing is leaking, for now.
The wife freaked out with the typical smoke and smells of the new paint burning off the engine.
A few typical six pack fuel line leaks that were quickly fixed.
This was the first time I was able to get one of those polished aluminum thermostat housings not to leak, I did have my local machine shop sand the bottom of the housing perfectly flat and I used a quality gasket from Superformance.

Got the timing set at 36 total for now and after a few engine run cycles the car idled at 195 degrees.
Was able to get the trans. fluid topped off and drove it up and down the driveway a few times.

So the next challenge is the power steering system which I don't have a lot of experience with.
I purposely left the PS belt off to be able to concentrate on the engine and transmission during this initial start up.
The steering box is a rebuilt stage 3 from Steer and Gear.
The PS pump is tombstone style Saginaw that was in like new condition and the seller told me it worked fine so I took a chance and left it alone.
All new hoses, fittings and belt.

So since the entire system probably has no fluid in it how much fluid should I initially install in the pump reservoir?
I was planning on installing the fluid and belt then jacking the front tires off the ground and having the wife turn the wheels side to side with the engine running adding fluid if needed to burp the system?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice.

[Chaos-N-Mayhem]

Hey congrats on the accomplishment. Stay after it and you will be on the road before ya know it.

[1 Wild R/T]

Pour fluid into the pump till it gets to the neck..... Long as the belt is off if you have an air ratchet you can run the pump with that for 15-20 seconds then top off the fluid....  after a couple more times the fluid level will stabilize... Then install the belt..... Should be good to go.....

[usraptor]

Congrats on a successful fire up!  That's always a great feeling when it actually runs.   

[Cuda Cody]

Congratulations on getting the engine started!   

[GrandpaKevin]

Pour fluid into the pump till it gets to the neck..... Long as the belt is off if you have an air ratchet you can run the pump with that for 15-20 seconds then top off the fluid....  after a couple more times the fluid level will stabilize... Then install the belt..... Should be good to go.....

That sounds like a great idea.

Is it OK to spin the PS pump with the cap off or will that make it rain PS fluid?

[GrandpaKevin]

Thanks guys.

What a great feeling to start the car up and DRIVE it into the garage

I was soo tires of pushing the car in and out of the garage and hand winching it up on the lift, I'm getting too old for that crap.

[1 Wild R/T]

Pour fluid into the pump till it gets to the neck..... Long as the belt is off if you have an air ratchet you can run the pump with that for 15-20 seconds then top off the fluid....  after a couple more times the fluid level will stabilize... Then install the belt..... Should be good to go.....

That sounds like a great idea.

Is it OK to spin the PS pump with the cap off or will that make it rain PS fluid?

If it rains fluid there's a problem.....  Should be fine...

[Chryco Psycho]

Congrats , the car looks great too !
I always leave the power steering disconnected during initial start up for the same reason . it will generally hold less than 1 Lt or Qt

[73440]

 Congratulation on your successful startup !

[Topcat]

Really nice car you have. Congratulations!

[GrandpaKevin]

Well the power steering conversion initial run went smooth as a gravy sandwich
Spun the pump over a few times with an air ratchet like suggested and the pump primed and went right to work, no leaks so far.

I'm starting to get a little nervous as things are going together way to easy on this car.

The wife called Hagerty and upgraded the policy on the car from project to driver.


I did some more tinkering and checking everything out and got everything running excellent.

I had the wife drive us up to the gas station, (one of the many future trips) and the car seemed to shift very well, the shift kit gives it a nice firm shift.
The wife was all smiles, I think she was in shock as it's been so long since the car was last on the road.

Hopefully we'll get the hood on the car next week and the grill and bumper on.
The car still has it's 80's street racer look but I have some wheels and tires I'm gonna try to stuff under it soon.

More questions coming.

Thanks.

[1 Wild R/T]

Excellent!! 

[Chryco Psycho]

Fun but nerve racking to go for the first drive  Congrats !!

[GrandpaKevin]

Fun but nerve racking to go for the first drive  Congrats !!

Absolutely.

I was praying the car would start again for us after putting gas in it.
The different sound of the mini starter is a little unnerving.