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Today was a milestone.

filled radiator, pressure tested after i had double and triple check all the hose clips and joins I belive there are 41 joins in my cooling system, ( may be forgetting the to heater hoses where they conect to the heater.)
anyway had a little drip at the breather up front and checking under the car a decent sized one under the car middle.
check hoses and quick find had tightened everthing except the brass bug at top of water pump. ( needs to be slightly tighter than finger tight.)
Used a vacume ventury system recomended by Mike Drew.
worked very well and would have worked even better had i found the loose plug sooner.
so coolant in Battery conected, the first $50.00 of fuel to pass her lips for 8 years we then hit the ignition, cranked and cranked and finally fuel arrived and she coughed then caught the first time i have heard her in 8 yrs. a rush.
followd by more rushing to get rags and stop new car from going up in flames. as we had fuel dripping out in 3 spots in the new areo fuel rail.
provied with incorrect washers where it connected to the new 650 Holly and a little breather bug that leaked and needed some sealer.
luckily i still had the original waasher that mr Holly had provided and he had a change around and no leaks.
timing done, cam had its running in party and a beer by us to celibrate.
had a smalll drive once clutch adusted to get some gears.
what a glorious sound.
popped her back in the shed turned the key of and it didn't miss a beat. just kept ruuning even with the key out of the ignition. so we now have next weeks job.
No tach working with new MSD ignition. even though i have installed the correct tach adaptor, may have to try it with out one.

well guys, still have a ton of work todo but have had a smile on my face for most of the day.

Smiler
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Congratulations Chis. There is nothing like the sound of an old American push rod V8. I love it!

When you check your timing make sure you are getting the correct amount of advance (check this with the vacuum disconnected and plugged) and that it is coming in at the right time. When I first finished my car I didn't do this and had no idea how much power I was losing. When I finally learnt more I spent a long time getting it just right by and felt like I had another 50HP, not to mention the improvements in fuel economy.

The best way is to have your distributor set up on a distributor machine but I doubt that's an easy thing to find in New Zealand. I dont know of anyone in the UK that can offer this service for a V8 distributor.

Johnny
Chris,

Congratulations!!! You must feel great to finally have crested that mountain. Now just a few bumps remain and soon you will be driving and letting the years of hard work fade into the distance of the passing scenery.

I don't suspect you need any assistance, but there is a fairly active group of GT40 Kiwis who may be able to help if you need it.

Mark
Fantastic! I can identify with your experience; my car ran for the first time in many years last summer after a complete teardown and reassembly. What an accomplishment for you.

I had the same problem with the car continuing to run with the key off the first time I started it. I even disconnected the battery and it kept going! The fix was to insert a diode in the "run" circuit.

Matt
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