This very nearly became one complete cockup due to running the engine without the oil pressure release valve installed?!
... and for all I know it still might turn out to be one. Without a valve installed does that mean zero oil pressure? Certainly didn`t sound as it should to me.
I`d mistaken the OPRV hole for one taking an oil pipe ... and there was nothing in it. How fabulous I thought... or not as the case was.
What made it worse was that its very tricky getting in there and WORSE STILL
.... somehow getting the valve in AND securing it with the round circlip whilst in situ; MURDER, ended up taking the oil pipes off again to get a little more space.
Good job I had to remove the sump after breaking the sealant putting in the studded Timing Cover because even after draining it was full of what looked like frog spawn ... literally congealed coolant and dirt/bits from getting the TC off and dropping in at the front.
Filled with oil and coolant (in separately this time
) and taking some time to get the coolant to work its way thru the system, lots of pipe squeezing and refilling.
Anyhow, after getting my courage I started her up and let her run for 10 minutes on idle to warm up and she sounded `normal`... as in a normal D1V8 with no tail box
Can`t say there are any `lessons` learned to pass on here because we all do things our own way, but nevertheless thinking your way thru things and perhaps having a checklist wouldn`t go amiss.
Footnote ..: If I have ruined the engine with one small but crucial mistake then c`est la vie, it`ll be rebuilt with a Kent H182 Cam and further upgrades.
So, there`s ALWAYS a Silver Lining