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First run...

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SaltandPepper:
Well made my first run tonight.....and my only run. Did an 11.94 which I am happy with since I never ran a FED before. My first run was not without it's problems though. As I went to tune the engine last night I noted my fuel regulator went south and was allowing the fuel to push past the needles. I went out this morn and bought a new one and dialed it in at 5lbs. The engine ran great but at the track I overheated like a big dog. by the time I got to the line I was at 190 and on the return I was steaming. I have a feeling this thing sat for a while. I guess my first thing will be to put a new thermostat in it but I wonder what the deal was. once I got it back to the trailer I was able to allow the water pump and fan to run and it did cool it down. Could the radiator be stopped up enough from sitting to let it overheat on a run? Any ideas on this would be appreciated.

dusterdave173:
Drag cars do not use thermostats  take it out and toss it
*******make sure you had it filled no air pockets--with lay down radiator that was most likely your issue******
You need lots of initial timing to run and idle cool  you need it with big cams anyway so you should be 15 min and maybe 20 degrees BTDC at idle and then make sure your mechanical advance is limited and only adds enough at RPM to achieve your desired total timing usually around 36-38 degrees  so what kind of distributor do you have and I can tell you how to fix it
You could have carb too lean but I seriously doubt that

Bet it was guess #1 but hey--you made it and did not hurt yourself or anyone else
You are on your way to Fun!!!   Congrats

SaltandPepper:
Dave, I have a MSD, how old I do not know....I included a pic. I had to drain the radiator due to a leak....there is a hole on the top that I assume is for a temp gauge that the fella had the wrong size plug in. I ordered the correct plug, which was a special thread from the place the radiator came from and refilled it. I assume I would have to let it run a number of times and keep checking and adding water till it gets the air out? Dave I would be appreciative of and advice you could give me.

Roger:
Do you have a picture of your radiator, plumbing and water pump? I agree with Dave, check your ignition timing. Too little and it will run hot. No thermostat, let the water flow freely and control the temperature with the on-off switch. If you fill slowly with the outlet side of the radiator tilted slightly up if space allows, you can get the air out of the radiator. I run a radiator with gas and haven't had a problem with cooling, made 8 passes with it a couple of weekends ago and it never went above 205*.

SaltandPepper:
Well obviously we still have some work to do. I checked the timing and it was on the mark the previous owner had but that means beans I guess. From the residue I obviously sill have a little antifreeze in it even though I drained it and replaced it with water. I knew this would be a project so I will just take my time. That silver plug on the top still leaks a bit...not bad but I hate leaks. I got to look on the positive side though....the tranny shifted fine and I have no more leaks from it since I replaced the shifter shaft and pan gasket, car ran straight as an arrow. I feel I have joined a good forum and thank all who are giving me advice. This winter I think I will have to dump some $$$ into it to upgrade the systems. The fuel regulator I replaced was a Barry Grant which I was told the company went OOB a while back. For this summer I will just concentrate on getting the bus ironed out. Below are some pics of the water system.

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