You have done some great work here, keep it up.  When it comes to breaking new engines, well that's a big kettle of fish.  Lots of opinions, lots of facts to back up those opinions. This is how I do it because it makes sense to me, straight 30W oil with some added zinc for the first 100 miles then 15w40 diesel oil from then on. The first 10-20 miles take it easy but not staying at the same rpm for too long, then 10x in a row hard acceleration up to 3000 rpm followed by hard de-celeration which means foot off gas but no brake but still in gear. Hills are good for the load it puts on the engine, you want to make those rings work. Let the engine cool while driving then another set of 10 hard up and hard down, change the oil at 100 miles. By the 200 mile mark I have done another 20 sets of hard up and hard down but up to 4000 rpm, by 300 miles 20 sets up to 5000 rpm and so on. I've done it on 2 car engines and 3 motorcycle engines, they all had good compression and no oil burning.

I used a high zinc but inexpensive Quaker State Defy 10-30 for the first 2 changes now it's on VR-1 10-30. Walmart has their version of the QS Defy but the real deal was just a couple of extra bucks.
I kept mine under 2,500 rpm but did a lot of downhill engine breaks to suck the rings to the walls for the first 200 miles. Changed oil and filter, cut the filter open and drain the oil through paper towels looking for metal shavings. Everything looked good so I ran it up and down, 4,000rpm max. After 1,000 miles, drove it like I borrowed it from an ex-wife. 

I guess I'll get some QS oil that you're talking about. I bought a reusable filter from zcardepot that can be open and cleaned. I think that will be a good way to keep an eye on metals in engine. Acceleration and engine brake looks like the way to go. I'm installing a MSD 6al2 ignition with a optical pickup so I can limit the rpm in case I get too excited.


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2 hours ago, siteunseen said:

drove it like I borrowed it from an ex-wife. 

Haha!  I've never heard that one before. I've heard "Drive it like ya stole it", but your version is rougher.  

11 minutes ago, Captain Obvious said:

Haha!  I've never heard that one before. I've heard "Drive it like ya stole it", but your version is rougher.  

CO, you beat me to it. i had beer blowing out my nose when i read that

Intermittent wiper control using the diagram on 91 civic wiper mod. Park relay is tucked under the dash. The Old intermittent relay works just fine but more adjustability is welcomed. Put it under the steering column for now.
And PWM led dash light dimmer using woodworkerb's diagram. I changed all the bulbs in the dash and it's too damn bright!
And lastly the center panel with some switch on it. I won't use the fuse box location as it's too small. So a few switches for launch rpm control, dash light, etc.
Oh, The Grand Tour had it's final episode of the first season. Gotta wait for the next episode now...


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About break in oil: I'm thinking of getting Pennzoil SAE30 or 10w30 plus half bottle of redline break in oil. second change to same 10w30 and rest of the break in oil. After that dump in the VR1 synthetic. This should work, right? Also should I buy some filters beside the reusable one for breaking in? Or new filter cores?

Edited February 3, 20178 yr by RS02

Have you seen that Fast N' Loud program where they used the cheap oil and the zinc additive?  It cost them a motor.  Made entertaining TV though.  For all of the money you're spending on the engine parts, why take a chance?  Use a high-quality proven oil with zinc already added, designed for breaking in these types of engines, I'd say.  There's no magic blend you can make yourself that will be better.  And it's not "synthetic" that matters, it's the zinc.  To be clear.

You haven't described your valve train pieces.  That's where the problems happen.  Cam lobes and rocker arms.  Make sure that those are right, otherwise the oil used won't matter.  People still wipe cam lobes with good oil, but bad parts.

Have you seen that Fast N' Loud program where they used the cheap oil and the zinc additive?  It cost them a motor.  Made entertaining TV though.  For all of the money you're spending on the engine parts, why take a chance?  Use a high-quality proven oil with zinc already added, designed for breaking in these types of engines, I'd say.  There's no magic blend you can make yourself that will be better.  And it's not "synthetic" that matters, it's the zinc.  To be clear.
You haven't described your valve train pieces.  That's where the problems happen.  Cam lobes and rocker arms.  Make sure that those are right, otherwise the oil used won't matter.  People still wipe cam lobes with good oil, but bad parts.

So non-synthetic vr1 or even RP brake in oil? I'm using the stock cam reground by delta. Also sent the rocker arm to renew. New intake and exhaust valves and valve seats, changed the intake to later bigger valves. Nissan head gasket, Kameari timing chain and cam sprocket. Cam tower has been shimmed so the cam will not retard itself. New lash pad and checked rocker pad contact. Everything seems to be in order. Or at least what I see. Now I'm trying to find valve lift using dial indicator. The lobe kept hitting the gauge. I'll post if there's anything unusual.


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Definitely break in additive for reground parts, cam and rockers. Lucas makes some that's available at chain parts stores. You should have some paste for the lobes and rocker pads, molly something or another. Those two things came with my reground Schneider. 

Edited February 3, 20178 yr by siteunseen

Definitely break in additive for reground parts, cam and rockers. Lucas makes some that's available at chain parts stores. You should have some paste for the lobes and rocker pads, molly something or another. Those two things came with my reground Schneider. 

I put some assembly lube on there. It says that it can be used on bearings and cam lobes. Vr1 with some redline break in lube seems like a safe choice for oil.


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Timing cover and oil pan is in.


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My coolant outlet have the temp sensor stuck in place, and inlet has vanished metal pieces on the neck. Everything else is fine. Probably start putting it in next week.


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