I thought I might fire the motor for the first time this weekend but after filling the cooling system I sprung a leak at the thermostat gasket joint. Of course it didn't become apparent until I had it completely full. So, drain, remove, cleanup, new gasket, water pump/thermostat RTV and let sit for 24 hours. I did put 4-1/2 gallons of fuel in the car without mishap - and the gas gage works. As soon as I top off the
antifreeze and pull the distributor to prime the motor, I should be ready to fire it off.