Build 59. Engine Start

I thought now was probably the best time to start the car, the main thing to do here is to prime the engine with the oil (make sure it is pressurised) before it fires with the fuel. This is done by removing the inertia switch which is shown below, found in the engine bay near the bulkhead, steering wheel side. This basically stops the fuel pump from pumping fuel down the lines.

Prior to this I'd actually started the ignition with this inertia switch connected and with fuel in the tank, which means I actually had some fuel in the lines, so I had to disconnect the fuel line from the plenum (and mop up some leaked petrol when I did it) to ensure that it would not fire.

At this point I had already put 20l of fuel into the car using a jerry can and a couple of trips to the fuel station and I'd already added all the oil and coolant required. The car was also placed into neutral to be sure (although given the clutch has now fluid in the lines, the clutch should never engage anyway, but this was just to be sure).

The next job was to turn on the ignition and hold the starter for 5 seconds to turn over the engine, I repeated this until the oil pressure gauge started registering.

Once there was oil pressure, I turned off the ignition and reconnected the inertia switch (and also the fuel line in my case). Usually you would have to then turn the ignition on and off a few times to pump fuel down the lines, but I already had some in the lines as noted above. For me I simply turned the ignition back on and then tried it, and it sprung into life!

Videos

And then then engine start once the oil pressure was up, and the pump plugged back in: