I was wondering how i could wire the motor up so it would run just to make sure everything still works right? i heard it only takes 4 wires to start a small block. anyone know which ones they are?

 

Yes! You need the starter mounted and the battery cables connected; pos. to the starter and neg. to the head or some solid spot. Then you need a hot wire to the + side of the coil, and one wire to the battery terminal of the starter and then connect that to a pushbutton swaitch, and from the switch to one of the small teminals on the starter solenoid; can't remember if it's R or S terminal, but I think R. You can skip the switch if you want to just hold a wire and jump between the terminals, but I always slip off when it starts cranking, so it's no good for me.
Of course you'll need a radiator if it runs very long, and alternator if you run for long and the battery starts dying. Plus you'll need either the fuel pump and a tank, or at least a container of gas for the pump to draw from. I've actually run an engine pretty nicely by using a squirt bottle filled with gas and just squirting it down the carb, but the idle is all over the place that way!

 

ok cool thanks for the info. i just gotta rebuild my carb and get a new dist. an i will try this method thanks again

 

Make sure you've got it bolted to something really solid before starting it up! Either bolted in the car, or to a real engine stand designed for running an engine.
Or at least sitting right on the ground! I've done a few I test ran on the ground before purchasing them, but you can't rev them or they'll flip over! I saw a guy start one on a regular engine stand and drop it on it's side when he hit the throttle.

 

hahaha thats funny my motors still in the car so im good

 

I got some piccs around here somewhere of what I tried. It had duct tape wrapped around the pulleys for the water pump. I just shoved the garden hose in the water pump. Then I took a 20oz soda bottle and cut the bottom off, put a hose barb in the cap and used a bungee cord to hang it from the garage door. Gravity feed fuel pump! It sucked that thing dry in less than a minute. I gotta find that pic. Had a oil pressure gauge hooked up too. All that was on one of those four legged engine storage stands.

 

I have to interject before someone with a freshly built engine gets anxious and thinks this is a good idea just to get it fired up before peeing their pants in anticipation. Starting a new engine just in the garage without taking the car out on the road right away is bad enough for the rings. But flooding the engine that way is worse because all that extra gas will be washing right down the cylinder walls removing the oil as it goes down into the crankcase (bad for the rings, bad for the bearings).

 

I agree with not running an engine that's new for long, as you'll need proper breakin speed and adjustments made. If it's either a used engine, or you just want to proove it runs and then shut it off, then it's not a huge deal. I've even run a used engine with no water for a couple minutes, just to ensure I wasn't buying more junk.

 

Yeah I'm noy sayin it was the best thing to do. It was not a new motor either. My stroker is sitting on a stand in the corner until its time to do it right. The engine on the floor was to see if it would work. I thought it was gonna flip. To be honest it went into my truck and is sitting on the floor next to the 383. Just though it was a funny story, not a how to.

 

just fyi its the S terminal on the starter that you want