Yep, that pretty much sums it up!

The day started very nice for mid-January [01-22-12]. It was a sunny Southern California day that peaked in the high seventies.

Mike, Bill, Hal, Robin, and Stan were all present for the break in. Mike, Bill, and I were there to run and wrench when needed. Robin was there to take pictures and video. Hal & Stan were the supervisors.
All we needed was a union rep and we would have been government approved!

We ran a safety check; double checking all the wires, hoses, fluids, and connections. With Mike at the controls, I primed the carb and we held our breath as he hit the starter button…
she started within the first couple of revolutions! Man, that is one sweet sound!

Mike adjusted the idle screw in till it reached 2K rpms, I marked the start time on the pad, and we started checking for leaks, odd noises, or anything lose or flopping. Everything was going really good until a slight sputter and silence. We scrambled to figure out what happened [I marked the time on the pad] and discovered that the [brand new] mechanical fuel pump gave up the ghost.

I had an old electric fuel pump in the garage, vintage ‘unknown’, but we hooked it up anyway with jumper wires and presto, we had a functional fuel delivery system again. Mike hit the start button, I marked the time, and the sweet sound was back!

We were able to successfully finish the break-in with thirty minutes of run time. We did discover a few problems along the way:
The driver’s side exhaust manifold had a leak between #3 & #5 cylinders
One of the water pump bolts was leaking
There was a slight 'lope' at idle
And of course, the mechanical fuel pump was dead

We let the engine cool and did a compression check, all cylinders were within spec, so not really all too bad when you think about it!

But then it got worst…

Mike wanted to perform a leak-down test to make sure everything was proper [gotta love a guy this thorough!], so he and Bill came over Monday evening [01-23-12] and we got started…and that’s when the certified fertilizer hit the oscillating rotator...again! When we applied air to the #1 cylinder we heard a hissing sound coming from the front passenger side of the engine. Searching for it we discovered an air leak at the front passenger corner of the intake manifold…out came the tools.

Over the next couple days Bill and I disassembled the top end and chased down parts. During this time I pulled the driver’s side header and found a manufacturer’s defect in the mating surface between #3 & #5. I called Summit Racing and they warrantied the headers sending out a new pair. Great company!

Come Friday [01-27-12] Hal, Bill, and myself finished cleaning and preparing to reset the intake manifold. We also pulled the mechanical fuel pump and covered the hole [I will be putting an electric fuel pump on the van] and mounted a new electric fuel pump on the stand. I replaced the spark plugs just to be sure, and retightened the water pump bolts. We hooked up the replacement headers, double checked everything, and called it a day. Mike would be coming over Saturday to reset the intake.

Saturday afternoon [01-28-12] Mike arrived and we got to work reassembling the intake and putting the rest of the engine back together. Mike wanted to let the sealer cure overnight so we buttoned everything up and called it a day.

Bright and early Sunday morning [01-29-12] Hal showed up, so he and I hooked up all the cooling hoses, refilled the radiator, and rechecked all the wires, hoses, connections, and fluid levels.
Bill and Robin came over and it was time…with Bill at the controls we fired her back up. She started within three revolutions and settled into a nice, smooth idle. We let her warm up the adjusted the timing and carb. We searched again for leaks or loose parts...all seemed good. Bill 'blipped' the throttle a couple of times kicking it into the 3500 to 4000 range…no problem and no hesitation.

Bill’s 400cid big block Mopar engine is next on the stand…