Classic Military Automotive

The 134-L engine is very fragile and can be destroyed very easily. These engines are antiques and are very old and the metal is brittle and can crack at any time, if properly taken care of your new engine will and can last a long time, but here are the important things to know:

Special note… It is the customer’s responsibility to make absolutely sure that you maintain a 14:1 fuel/air mix ratio. When the mix is too rich, the rings and valves will become gummed up with carbon and the rings will stick, causing severe internal wear and engine damage.  When the mix is too lean, you can burn the valves and glaze the cylinder walls.

1. It very important that this engine is warmed up properly before moving the vehicle, DO NOT GOOSE THE THROTTLE WHEN COLD! Allow your new engine to come up to full operating water temp 160 to 180 degrees at fast idle, 800 RPMS.
2. Every 6 months, if possible, bring the vehicle back to the CMA shop for inspection of all engine systems, and or to a local mechanic that the proper experience to work on Antique vehicles and to perform a valve adjustment. Valve adjustments and head bolt torque should be performed on theses engine every 1000 miles AND OR EVERY 6 MONTHS under normal conditions. The correct valve adjustment is .014 IN. Ex. .014 “COLD”.
3. USE ONLY Shell Rotella “T” 15-40 ENGINE OIL, Oil changes should be performed every 3 MONTHS and or 500-Miles due to the lack of a full flow oil filter set up. Do not allow the engine oil to get dirty, the oil filter only filters 10% of the engine oil !!!! ALWAYS INSTALL A NEW OIL FILTER AT THE TIME OF OIL CHANGE ! ALWAYS USE THE ZINK OIL ADDITIVE ZDDP, AT EVERY OIL CHANGE FOR THE LIFE OF THIS ENGINE! which is available from Santa Rosa Auto parts.
4. Use a minimum of 50/50 coolant – antifreeze mix with distilled water and change the coolant mix every 12 months. Make absolutely sure at, all times, that your cooling system is clean and working properly. The water temp is critical and overheating can cause severe engine damage. Make sure that no pressure is allowed to build up inside the radiator. Make sure you use a cap that does not seal and or build up pressure inside the radiator.
5. Use a minimum of 87-Octane gasoline only in this engine, unleaded fuel is OK as the valves and seats have been up dated. DO NOT USE CHEAP GAS! If your engine is going to sit for more than 3 Months, drain the fuel from the fuel system, use fresh gas every time. DO NOT ADD FRESH GAS TO OLD GAS! It is OK to use Soltron additives in this engine. Make sure your fuel cap is venting properly. Make sure your fuel filter is checked and cleaned every 6 months. Make sure that you are not using ethanol fuel! If you are not sure, use 90 Octane unleaded racing gas!

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 30th, 2014 at 3:12 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.