Power to the dash

It's actually been over a week now, but I had finally finished installing my new Champion 3 row aluminum radiator (long story, more on this for its own entry), and got the last of the radiator hoses clamped down.  The entire motor was completely hooked up and wired up, ready to be primed, filled with coolant, and fired up.

Because I was not at a point to start this, the better part of my curiosity got me to at least hook up the battery and turn the key to 'on' just to see what would happen.  To my delight (but mostly surprise) the dash lights came to life, the windshield wiper motor posts were rotating back and forth, and the blower fan came on when I hit the switch (I've wondered for four years now what it would be like the first time that fan ever blew and blew the rest of the crap out that I couldn't get out.  It was extremely anti-climactic, and I had done a very thorough job cleaning out the ductwork).  I hooked up the headlights and they also worked.  My hazards worked (at least on the dash), and I had 12 volts to the electric choke on the carb.  I actually lost my breath for a few seconds when I first saw those dash lights, and the wiper posts going.  This was the first time in my ever owning this car that I witnessed power to anything, more or less something operating under its own power.  It was a sign of progress.

All the action is captured in this video...