Success

Got everything required to run installed: carbs, air cleaner, fuel tank, exhaust system. Tried to start: No go. Additionally, the throttle mysteriously wouldn't move. Tore it down to the carburetors, and the throttle still wouldn't move, with no obvious cause. Remove carburetors; throttle now moves. Cause of the problem: There are some screw clamps which secure the carburetors to the intake, and if you move them too much to one side (so you can access them easier), they interfere with the throttle. Reposition, re-install carburetors. Some of the screw heads on the clamps are in bad condition; I'll try to get some new ones tomorrow.

Re-install air cleaner and fuel tank. First attempt was on the reserve tank, but since the tank seems half full, I switch back to the regular tank. After a couple more tries, it starts to catch. Give it a little choke, and it fires up. I run it for about 10 seconds, and it sounds OK, but it is still stumbling a bit, so I switch it off for the night. I notice a small puddle of oil underneath, but this is due to my leaving off the timing cover.

Some damn wasp has tried to build it's mud nest in one of the bolt holes of the cover; I clean it out with one of the bolts. Glue the gasket on and... now I can't find one of the bolts. I substitute with the remaining original cam chain tensioner bolt, which is the right diameter and thread, but a little short. If I can't the one I somehow misplaced, I can probably find a replacement at True Value. I'll look for suitable clamps for the carbs too.

I'm relieved that it seems to run fairly well. At least I know with some certainty that I didn't screw up the cam alignment. I think there's a little less vibration than there used to be, which was probably due to the valve clearence, or it could have been partly due to junk in the carburetors, which I have now cleaned pretty thoroughly. It should be ready for a road test tomorrow, but of course more thunderstorms are on the way: 40% chance after 2 pm, 97° heat index.

Still to do: Change oil and coolant. Synchronize carburetors. Re-install bodywork.