Starting engine on stand

[av8tr33337]

I've been watching some videos on youtube of starting an engine on a stand. I only saw one Generic video on how to get power to the ignition and starter etc. I assume that video was using a distributor with points.

I'm obviously not a motor mechanic. But I think I can figure this out with some guidance. I know I can get gas and water to the engine.

I think I have a stock HEI distributor on this engine, would I need the computer to start it or just a coil and battery. Also I think the carb may be computer controlled as well. It has a pig tail hanging off with 3 wires. not sure if thats just an electric choke or what. If anyone knows anything about the 82-85 Camaro 305's And can kinda give me a run down on what I need I would appreciate it.

I did not save the wiring harness or the computer. The wiring harness got eaten up pretty bad from mice etc while it was sitting out on the farm. I eventually want to use a distributor and carb that is not controlled by the stock computer.

Maybe like this?

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS-Performan...oductId=761348

I could probaby find a points distributor on craigs list just for the on stand start up of I had to.

[_Ogre]

you'd need a pre-72 v8 intake, carb and distributor, sweet thing is... any gm v8
you may be able to omit the intake if a carb will bolt on it
you'll need an electric fuel pump as the efi motors don't have a pump cam on the bump stick
wiring is easy; big battery cable to ground and the starter
a small wire from batt+ to coil+ and coil- to the points
to start it stick a screwdriver from the big cable on the starter to the S post on the solenoid
easy peasy

[OrrieG]

If its a three wheel stand things can get interesting fast. I would think you could rig up a four legged stand out of square tubing pretty quick. don't forget that it will be running without any load on the crank so it will spool up faster and stay up there longer.

[_Ogre]

orrieg makes a good point, i wouldn't start it on an engine stand
you could make a quick stand out of 2x4 lumber that supports the motor on the oil pan flange and keep the motor low to the floor.
last junk yard motor i bought, they had all their motors sitting in old tires
they'd fire the motors right there, rocking and rolling in the tire


bartman sent me a pm: those early emission years are a mix of methods and parts
he has a standard intake with a 4 barrel carb and a mechanical pump
so he only needs to change out the distributor and wire it like i stated in my previous post.
it has an idle control solenoid that would need power with key on.
this solenoid mechanically kicks up the idle with the key on and reduces the idle fuel when you turn the key off to prevent dieseling or run on.
i would test the fast idle solenoid by applying 12 volts to it, it should come out 1/8'' or more with power applied, they often burn out.

it also has an electric choke that will need power with key on, read this post on the hamb
you could also convert it to a manual choke using the stock choke cable, they sell conversion kits
for start up just manually choke it or pour a little gas in the carb

buy a standard points distributor and install a regular pertronics kit in it
no need to get the expensive pertronics II or the flame thrower III, they are more for high rpm control
here is a wire diagram for the original pcm for that yr camaro
i should have looked at it, no fuel injection and the fast idle circuit is shown

[mr48chev]

I wouldn't start one on a three legged engine stand but have started this one sitting on a tire just to make sure it ran ok. That's the 500 Cad I am in the middle of putting in my 71 GMC and it should be bolted down in place for the final time tomorrow night.

If you use a pre computer HEI with a vacuum advance on it you don't "need" the fancy box that is with the one from Jegs unless you see some performance reason that causes you to feel that need. It's just not needed for general street driving with a mildly modified engine or a stock engine.

With a stock type non computer HEI you only need one wire running from battery to the Hei for it to run along with the wires from the battery to the starter and ground and some way to kick in the solenoid on the starter.

When I was teaching auto shop I had test stands made up out of 2 inch angle iron that were about 28 inches wide and five feet long that we fastened motor mounts to and mounted a radiator on the front. I've got photos in a box somewhere of the students working on engines on those stands. Basically they were a table frame with no table top and had casters so we could roll the four test engines over in the corner so they didn't take up a lot of space when we weren't using them.

If you wanted to build a test stand you could use about anything laying around for the frame work and it wouldn't have to be fancy. Just something to hold the engine in place solidly, a place for a radiator if you want one and maybe a gauge panel with oil and temp gauges if you want to get fancy and run the engine for a period of time.

[Denee007]

I heard a story of someone wanting to buy and engine, it was on a stand, had no carburetor, the seller said no problem to hear it run! Shot some ether (starting spray) into the intake, hit the start button, then engine started like wide open throttle, and took off across the garage with the stand! no one was injured! be careful!

[itstheshu]

We use a stand similar to this to run inboards before we put them back in the boat.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Allstar+Perfor...10157/10002/-1
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[av8tr33337]

As usual you guys answered my questions/concerns. I also talked to a guy at work that used to do some racing.

I think I'll just use my engine stand and build a little support to go under the oil pan (resting on the flange) toward the front of the engine just to take some of the weight off the stand and keep it from wanting to torque. I will probably only use it this one time so not going to get carried away.

Thanks for all the diagrams and how to tips.