If I hook all the plumbing up it will be a bigger job. Mounting the engine, switches, etc. is no big deal. Only the fuel.

For all the things you might find out when initially running it, the odds that they will be overlooked or lived with instead of fixed go up dramatically after the engine is in the car. Piddling with the AMM is trivial in the garage and almost impossible on the car. I hooked a leakdown tester to all four cylinders on the rebuild stand last night and have considerable leakage in a couple of valves. Would run fine, in fact you probably couldn't tell driving it, but if it's still there after running on the stand I'll relap or even machine a couple of seats and faces. If it's on the car I would just leave it.

Running on a start stand really makes sense to me. Maybe I'm just not careful enough and need the reassurance.

Thanks,
mwc