I was a bit concerned by this time whether Maggie would still run. It had, after all, been several months. I had taken out and replaced the distributor, the manifolds, and I had elevated her into all sorts of positions. I suppose, in retrospect that there was no reason why she shouldn't run, but I was wanting to be to be sure. At the very least, the sound of her engine would spur me on. I was starting to get bogged down in details.
So, I procured a battery, and installed it. As I turned the key, and pushed the starter button, she spun over nicely, but would not start. I discerned the faint aroma of smoke. Even though I was completely rewiring, Lucas was paying me a visit.
I popped off the distributor cap to find red hot and smoking points. They were grounded and fried. I replaced them and promptly fried another set before I whipped out the multimeter and checked the resistance prior to turning the key on my third and last spare point set. With the points open, there was no continuity between the negative coil wire and ground. She was ready to start.
I choked her a bit, hit the starter button, and she roared to life, filling the garage with blue smoke from the oil I had squirted into her cylinders months ago. Lights went on in my quaint Southern neighborhood as Maggie's open manifold alerted my sleeping neighbors that there was still another Rover in town.
I checked the gauges and saw I had no oil pressure. I tapped the oil gauge. No response. I shut Maggie down, and found an oil slick growing beneath her. It was coming from the oil filter. I tried tightening it to no avail. I removed the cannister and saw that I had neglected to replace the seal when I removed the oil filter housing for cleaning and painting. I got a seal down from my supply, and put everything back together. I topped up Maggie's oil with two quarts, and hit the starter again.
No leaks, and a nice throaty idle. I got the water hose and filled her radiator as she warmed up. I blipped the accelerator a few times, enjoying the thunder of her unmuffled exhaust note.
I cut off the engine, and proceeded to wire in the alternator. This time I used a Ford alternator that I got for cheap......well, free. Can't go wrong with that deal! Once wired in, along with a voltage regulator, I fired Maggie up again, reved her to 1500 RPM and watched as my battery charged, and the neighbor's lights came on again.
My wife arrived on the scene and shut down my forward progress. It was 1:00AM, and she gently reminded me of my own complaints when the bikers down the avenue rode their Harleys in late at night. I put down some oil dry, showered, went to bed, and dreamed the dreams of a motorhead.