Big progress tonight!

Wow, look at this - two posts in the same week! But I made some good progress on the assembly tonight and I'm kind of excited.

First accomplishment for the night was installing the head. That's a bit difficult with the engine in the frame and no assistant. It's the pushrods that make it difficult. You have to shove them up inside the head as far as you can and then hold them in place while you angle the head and slide it into position. That actually wasn't as difficult as I feared, but getting all four pushrods engaged with their rocker arms was a struggle. I'd get three in place then one would slip out of position. I struggled with it for over an hour, but finally got them all in position and snugged the head down. Everything looks good, no pushrods were harmed in the process, and Mr. Valve did not say hello to Mr. Piston when I cranked the engine over. Definitely a Good Thing.

Next up was bleeding the brake. I tried the other night but the line was full of air, having been just installed, and I wasn't having much luck. So I borrowed a vacuum bleeder. That made quick work of the job. Definitely a nice tool to have. The brake feels good - nice and progressive, not wooden-feeling like the stock brake. I can't wait to try it out.

All in all, a very satisfying night!