Mike...
according to the books,
steady state revs. (as in limited access highway cruise) is not conducive to
break-in and is to be avoided.
While it normally takes many, many miles to build a "ridge" on the cylinder
bores, "babying" the motor can result in glazed bores and rings that never
fully seat.
500 miles is normally considered the break-in period on our older rebuilt
engines. Treating them exactly like factory new ("back when" factory new, that
is) seems like the way to go assuming the motor was built to "mid" factory
tolerances.
Short trips, no WOT acceleration, don't "lug" the motor or hold any given rpm
for any extended period of time and keep the revs mainly below 4,500 except for
one or two excursions to the redline in second gear a couple of times late in
the (500 mile) break-in period to "stretch" the motor.
For you're not breaking in just the rings. Your "breaking in" metal surfaces
(cams, bearings, etc.) so they "mate" while removing the minimum amount of
metal from each surface while doing so.
You can "tear off" metal from a surface or more slowly "wear" (burnish) it
down. The former removes more metal for this purpose than the latter and this
will normally affect total engine service life as this metal is not replaceable
except by renewal of parts.
So DON'T BABY IT.... just don't "load" it heavily. Drive it normally at
reasonable
throttle openings but vary the rpm as constantly as possible. Drives on curvy
secondary country roads while constantly varying the rpm on cooler days is
perfect for the purpose.
To minimize circulation of metal contaminated oil you might consider changing
the oil and filter now (at the 100 mile mark) then again at the 500 mile mark.
After 500 miles, retorque the head (cold),
reset the valves, re-tune the carbs and off
you go while including the oil pressure and water temp. in your normal
"cockpit" scan.
Or....you can drive it like you stole it now, at the expense of probably
rebuilding it (restoring clearances) sooner rather than later.
Not a matter of right or wrong...matter of
personal choice. As in....you do your own work or pay for it??
Cap'n Bob
Basic Frog
Cap'n Bob
Basic Frog
Cap'n. Bob '60 :{)
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