Building your own engine can certainly become a gratifying experience. Beginning from scratch, assembling the engine and finally firing up the mill can become quite a hair raising situation. You begin to double-check and rethink all of your previous wrenching. Were the main caps torqued correctly, were the main bearings clearanced, was the oil pump driveshaft even installed? If you’ve put together an engine, you’ve probably had a similar self-interrogating situation.

However, when it comes down to it, firing up the engine is what it’s all about. Before it ever goes into the engine bay, installing your newly-built mill on a test engine stand is probably the best insurance you could ever buy. With so much on the line, firing one up on a setup like the one in this video, it’s certainly money well spent. Of course, as any well-conditioned engine builder would know, breaking in a new camshaft is a crucial step and can prevent flattening that new ‘stick.

While the break-in procedure theory is quite elaborate, it’s important to know that a flat-tappet is most susceptible to severe wear during initial startup. In a nutshell, since this is when the lifter and camshaft lobes create their initial wear patterns, its critical to adhere to a consistent break-in period, whether in the car or on a test stand like the video example above.

Our break-in video features a fresh 396ci big-block, complete with a Holley 750cfm carburetor and Edelbrock PerformerAir-Gap manifold. Of course, the real treat is the Lunati 60202, flat-tappet camshaft inside, which pushes on Comp Cams beehive valve springs and Pro Magnum full roller rockers. Of course, all those spent fumes are sent through a set of Patriot Clippster mid-length ceramic headers. Sit back, crank up your speakers and enjoy the lope of this classic big-block.