I successfully cranked over the rebuilt original 3.4L XK engine from my 1957 MK VIII yesterday in my engine test stand. Since my last post I have: painted the cylinder head duck egg green; painted the oil filter canister a silver aluminum; installed the new water pump, rebuilt generator, and new fan belt; installed the rebuilt starter and new starter solenoid (the original had failed); painted and installed the exhaust manifolds; installed a spare used ignition switch, new starter button, and a used spare oil pressure gauge in my test stand instrument panel; and a whole lot more.
The starter cranked the engine nice and strong. The oil gauge started to read oil pressure during the third 30 second cranking (about 15 mins between cranks) with a new oil filter. Oil was visibly filling all camshaft areas. The oil filter did not leak (boy was removing the old seal and replacing it with a new one a real PITA) under cranking pressure of about 28 PSI on the old uncalibrated gauge.
My next steps include: installing the camshaft covers; doing a compression check; building up the remaining harnesses in order to run the engine in the test stand; installing the radiator and cooling system components; installation of the rebuilt carburetors and the rest of the fuel delivery system: and installation of the exhaust downpipes. I still have a lot of work remaining before I will be able to run this engine in my test stand, but I was pleased to have gotten this far.
Paul