Cylinder Head Completion
I finally put all the parts back in and filled up the fluids. Cranked the starter several times to prime the fuel lines. And it fired up. But it was quite rough. I actually thought it was missing a cylinder. So I did some investigating. Traced my steps back to the installation.
I let the car idle for a few minutes and it started to smoke a bit. And I panicked and turned off the engine. Turns out the exhaust manifolds still had traces of penetrating lube. False alarm. Found a small coolant leak in the housing/hoses below the coolant pump. Minor problem. Since the car had been sitting so long, I was surprised it actually turned over. Then the second start attempt was made and it barely turned over. Time to slow charge the battery.
I came back several hours later still scratching my head. Pulled the spark plugs to make sure they were firing. There was adequate evidence that they were. However some were a bit more fouled than I anticipated. And one was coated in oil. Big scare. Then I realized it was oil from the machining of the head cause it was clear. It probably just leached into the cylinder when the valve opened and dripped onto the spark plug. Which explained the possible poor idle. Needs a bit of time to burn off. Then I fired it up again and drove around the neighborhood. Felt alright. Didn’t want to risk it and drove back after the engine warmed up. It was still smoking a bit after I got back but other than that, everything seemed good. Probably drive it some more tomorrow to break in the new valve job.
Pics to come later.