[Bruce Edwards]

We set our engines up on paper first and that makes getting them tuned easier. Plus I use a list of parts I know will give me the HP wanted by the customer. Having built engines for a long time I know what it will take to fine tune one of my engines. In most cases since it is all thought out before any parts are bought or machine work done I do not run into many surprises.
Like the 351W in Bill's ERA 289 FIA that we fired up the other day. Once I got the timing set it fired right up and sounded good with only a minor adjustment to one rocker and a small turn of the mix screws. That is all I will do to it till we get the wheels on it and road test it. Then I will mess with the timing and check the fuel mix by how the plugs look and the way the car acts under load. In most cases they burn the back tires off from the get go and have good overall performance. Just comes from years of doing it I guess.
The big think is not over thinking it till you get it on the road. Everything changes under load and with different air temps. Finding the best balace is the key.