ckhorne wrote:I'm hoping the oil priming will show if they're all open. In doing this, I had to unscrew all the valve adjusters out of the way, but I knew they had to be reset, so this gave me the chance to loosen them all up.
It's looking really, really good! It's likely that no oil will reach the top end when just priming with the oil pump because there is only two tiny spots per cam revolution where oil can get to the top end. Unless your cam is perfectly aligned (they're probably less than five degrees wide), no oil will make it to the top. However, driving the pump to pre-prime the oiling system is important, followed by cranking the engine with the spark plugs out for a bit. Then you should get oil to the top. I actually put a mechanical gauge on the main galley so I could watch the pressure in real time. Using a drill on the oil pump achieves up to 60psi, cranking without plugs gets 25psi, and up to 75psi when running.
Lastly, I wrapped a rag around the oil pump drive shaft (the home made one that goes to the drill) to seal the distributor opening. The oil belches up a bunch and if you don't seal it a bit, you may get a shower...
Have fun!
John