Triumph Repair: STARTING FOR THE FIRST TIME A REBUILT ENGINE, catalic, engine lube

Question
DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS BEFORE I START MY TOTALLY REBUILT ENGINE? (I USED ENGINE LUBE ON ALL PARTS)
WILL THE OIL PUMP PRIME BY JUST CRANKING?
SHOULD I PUT A SMALL AMOUNT OF OIL IN THE CYLINDERS FOR THE RINGS TO SLIDE ON WHEN FIRST CRANKING?
DO I LET CRANKING FILL THE CARBS WITH GAS OR MANUALLY FILL THE FLOAT BOWL?
76 1500 CALIFORNIA CAR WITH CATALIC


Answer
Jack,

It's not a bad idea to sqirt just a little oil down the spark plug holes to "pre-lube" the rings.  

While you have the spark plugs out (and the ignition disconnected) it's a good idea to crank the engine until you get oil an oil pressure reading, assuming you have a mechanical gauge.  If you don't, it's an easy installation and nice insurance.

An old trick I've heard of was to pack the oil pump with vaseline during assembly to facilitate priming.  There also used to be pre-lube kits available that would pump oil down the pressure gauge fitting in order to backfill the pump.

All the cranking to build oil pressure should also fill the float bowl.


Cheers,

Jim