The Go-Devil lives!

Finding the tarp blown off my L-head after an overnight wind storm and water standing in the intake manifold was the kick in the butt I needed to finally put the time and money into getting it running. (I know, kinda sad, but...) I bought it from a fellow ECJ5er 2 years ago, and have had something more pressing to spend the time or money ever since so the engine has just sat under a tarp in a '66 CJ5 frame behind the garage. So having procured a carb. from another fellow ECJ5er and having the afternoon free today I went to work. Getting the water out of the manifold required taking both manifolds off and giving the intake a good flush with carb. cleaner - no water had gotten into the cylinders, thanks to the short time it was out in the elements and the L-head's intake passages being vertical, therefore prohibiting water from just running out of the intake and into the cylinders as it would have on an OHV engine. Reinstalled the manifolds, drained out the old oil which was replaced with Valvoline conventional 10W40 plus a ZDDP additive (just for good measure), replaced the rat-chewed plug wires, cleaned the plugs and poured a little oil into the cylinders, bolted the Solex carb. on, hooked up a battery and cranked it over a few times with the plugs out (a half-hearted attempt at pumping some oil up into the engine before startup), and then determined that the starter didn't have a prayer of turning the engine over with the spark plugs in! Well, I don't have a big stash of Willys parts, but there was a starter that came with my engine-less DJ3A - it was even crustier than the one on the engine and had probably been sitting in the DJ for at least 15 years, but I'll be darned if it didn't crank the engine over! After a little spritz of gas from a spray bottle (don't have a fuel pump at the moment) I touched the coil wire to the battery and a jumper cable to the starter terminal, and the ol' mill hit once. Another shot of gas and another time or two on the starter, and she fired twice. After getting dad so I didn't have to juggle starting, ignition, and fuel supply all at once, she coughed, belched, blew out all the dirt and oil smoke, and fired on all four! It probably only ran for 2-3 minutes total, but it starts fairly easy, runs and accelerates well, and was showing 80 PSI on the oil pressure gauge. I'll set up a sustainable fuel supply and a radiator soon so I can actually warm it up and get it halfway tuned, but for now I'm pleased that it runs on all four cylinders and didn't reveal any major problems right off the bat.

What's you guys' best recommendation for a fuel pump? I don't need vacuum supply.

 

Thanks, Steve. I'd thought about that, purely for the "quick and easy" of it - but I'll use a mechanical pump once I install it in a Jeep and that's one less set of wires to string around the engine while I'm trying to "bench-run" it.

Thanks!

 

Does this mean the Dj3A project is on? Way to go!

 

Not necessarily, Bill - I'd like to at least get the engine in it so I can move it around, but devoting the money and time to making it highway-worthy and decent looking is a different story. We shall see.