Got the car all together today, added the last of the fluids, rechecked everything and got ready for the longwinded start up process...You know the drill, crank it over, stand back for the inevitable backfing and loss of eyebrows...pull the distributor and reinstall it 180 degrees out from where it was, find out where the leaking oil/gas/water/beer is coming from...try again...yada, yada, yada.
I can tell you that in 35 years of playing with cars and building engines I have never run into something like this:
I had the boy outside with me holding the fire extinguisher (from prior experience, just in case). All I was trying to do was bump the starter in order to move the timing mark on the balancer to the "0" spot on the timing mark. I turn the key for half a second and the car is running. No cranking, no backfiring, I mean running like I had just shut it off a minute ago. Instant 60 pounds of oil pressure, no weird noises, no leaks, no running out of gas.
So I end up sitting there with a stop watch and running the rpms up and down around 1500 to 2000 pm for 15 minutes. After that, I shut her off and drained the oil - looked clean, the magnetic drain plug was perfectly clean - not even a speck of metal anywhere. Refilled the oil and added another can of break-in additive and turned the key again, and she starts up on the first crank again. Set the timing and we both hopped in.
So we took Grammas Rose's car out for a victory lap and went to Rita's Ice for some Italian ice to celebrate. Got home and here's how she sounds after our victory ride: (click on the photo)
So, between the 455HO my daughter built in 3rd grade and this 350 my son built in 4th grade, the moral of the story is that from now on I will only have my kids build my engines for me.
Sounds like an idea for a new TV show:
Can You Build An Engine Better Than a 4th Grader?