I was 3 months into the project and things were really coming together. The suspension was done, electrical was done, engine was buttoned up and it was time to find out if the Old Girl would even run. I decided today was the day. I took the petcock off the fuel tank, cleaned it up and polished it. I backflushed the pickup screens to get 15+ years of crap out of 'em and then thoroughly washed the tank inside and out with degreaser and left it in the sun to dry.

I got the radiator topped off with a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and distilled water, filled the crankcase with oil and double checked all the hoses and fittings. I double checked carb sync and air screw adjustments and installed the tank.. I poured about a gallon of fuel in the tank and opened the petcock. The right carb started spewing fuel out the overflow immediately so I shut off the fuel and gave the carb a couple sharp raps on the bowl to free up what I believed to be a stuck float.