So, it ran like ass for a little bit. Must be quite a bit of air in the fuel lines. I'm also guessing the fuel injectors had to break in a bit after being rebuilt. So, I dink around with it a bit. I keep topping off the coolant until I get all the air bubbles out of it. I then decide to mess with the throttle. So I bring it up to 2 grand. Then after I get it passed 3 grand, it gets really quiet, I hear something go pssss and see it spray outta no where. I dunno what it was. But I turned it off. I started it back up and ended up seeing a shitload of smoke coming from my tailpipe. So I'm thinking, "Could've this headgasket blown already?" But after it all cleared, it acted a bit better. Must've been burning off all the shit that got into my engine while it was open. I'm also thinking a lot of shit must've dropped into my exhaust. Maybe water or something.
So, I decide that I'm going to see if I can get my van to move from the barn to the house where the other cars park. But first, I gotta put the hood back on and bolt my seat back up so I can have a place to sit. So, I do that. Then lay the other access panel in place and latch the hood down. I start it up and put it in gear. It lurches as it engages. Mom happens to be outside checking it out. As I release the emergency brake and let go of the regular brake to let it move, she goes "It MOVES!!" Then I manage to get it to the house.
So, I gotta mess around with it for a bit. So, I start it up again and take it up the driveway and back. It's jerking like crazy, non responsive, and everything. I go too far down on the gas, it gets quiet again, and the exhaust puffs out more shit. Oh, did I mention the lovely smell I got as the new headgasket and all the other gaskets broke in? Not only that. But when I installed the intake/exhaust manifold to the head, I lubricated the studs with oil. So that oil had to burn off too. So the whole cab filled up with smoke. I didn't have the access panel bolted in anyway. Just had it laying there for the time being. I managed to get it back to the house. On the way, I'm thinking, "Should I kill the engine before it blows up under my ass?"
After some more driving up and down the driveway, it started to run better and better. My tags were expired, so I couldn't go very far. By the end of the day, it was haulin' ass. I would do these drives everyday until I got new tags for it. Then I went for my first drive out on the highway.
That drive went very well. This picture was taken on my way back home. It was smooth sailin' all the way.
