67mustang302

You should always prime an engine before the first time it's started. If for no other reason than to be sure the pump will actually make oil pressure. Maybe a gasket is bad, maybe you forgot to torque it down, maybe the pump is bad or the bypass is stuck open, galley plug got left out etc. It sucks to smoke a new engine because it had 0 oil pressure for whatever reason and it wasn't caught because no one bothered to prime it.

fordman84

Thanks everyone for the checklist. I have always primed my other engines before starting and I will be doing the same for this one. I did end up setting the lash by stopping when I couldn't get any "up and down" motion on the pushrods anymore. Might need fine tuning when it is running, but that will get me started.

Thanks again for all this help.