[daveymc29]

Any vehicle new to me will get all of the fluids changed before I try to drive it. Then I will usually put a charger on the battery and slowly charge it up while I take a compression test. Depending on the results I may take the head off or put some Marvels Mystery oil in each cylinder and hand crank it over to get a feel for how it feels to me while listening for any strange sounds such as something loose. Then I bring the timing up on compression until the timing pin slides into the hole in the timing gear, check that with a flashlight and a mirror to be sure the hole is centered, timing advance lever up all the way. At this point I make three marks, one on the front pully and two on nearby bolt heads, using white paint, so I can glance at the front of the timing case as I crank to fint top dead center from now on. Check point gap and undue the fuel line to check how quickly the fuel flows to fill about a cup or so vessel. Make whatever adjustments I think are necessary then try to start the car. (While the plugs were out for the compression check I will clean and gap them before replacing or reinstalling the old. If it starts and runs I feel I now have a starting point and will work from there before I take a ride very far from the garage. These days I have also taken to pulling the fuel valve and installing one of the pencil filters the then go up into the tank when I reinstall the shut off.