The ignition system had seen a new coil, points and plugs, retaining the original vacuum advanced distributor.
With the the cooling system incomplete, the engine start procedure could commence. This involves, first of all, the turning over of the engine on the starter with no plugs, which checks that oil pressure is being generated. The, second, is running the engine until the head is hand hot with no water in the cooling system, this gives everything a good chance to bed before the cylinder walls and head are cooled from the outside.
Now I may be making the initial starting of the car a lot simpler than it was. An hour or so of twiddle this, adjust that, etc? However, the first note that the engine barked was one that shook the floor. Yes the earth did move! Especially as it only had the LCB fitted.
With only a few cosmetic items required, doors (brown), bonnet (green), boot (purple), grill and original exhaust, March 2002 saw Schmoo sitting outside the MOT station. Now that was nerve racking, it's like the school headmaster checking your homework for mistakes. "What colour is it?" was one of the multitude of questions asked, but failure was the eventual outcome. Not by much, however, it was only on two points, a spring washer on the nearside lower ball joint had split under load, and to quote the examiner "That is the noisiest exhaust pipe I have ever heard, can't pass that!"
Two days later, Schmoo had a brand spanking new RC40 and an MOT certificate. A quick trip over to the DVLA in Northampton, and it also had the all-important Historical Vehicle added to the V5 and a Tax Disc, the free ones somehow look prettier.