Smoke em if you got em.

I knew I was in trouble when the basement filled with smoke. But I didn't really care because it was alive. For the first time in 20 years the Caddy was running. The big V8 loud and proudly announcing its existence to the world. I could have taken more safety precautions, you should learn from me and be more careful when you get your old Caddy running.

I put in the new fuel pump and ran a couple of flexible lines into a small gas can. One line for input and the other was for the overflow from the hard to find fuel filter. The 1968 Caddy has an external fuel filter, those will run you about 75 bucks on ebay. Luckily there was a new one with the car when I bought it. The pump and the filter were the last things I needed to add to bring my car back to life. With one turn of the keys it would be alive again.

So I hooked everything up and turned the ignition. Man it was loud. Sounded good with the huge exhaust leak just before the muffler. It rumbled mightily soothing my soul. Everybody on the block heard the big Caddy motor. Hey, what is that smoke?

I had the garage door open in my basement garage. But it wasn't enough. The motor had been setting for 20 years. There was oil in it. It produced enough smoke to fill the basement. I thought the garage door would be enough, boy was I wrong.

I was giddy with joy and maybe just a touch of smoke inhalation as I opened every window and door to the outside. You should do that before you touch off a motor that has been setting for several years to a few decades. I put fans at the doors to blow the smoke out. Probably should have done that first. Setup your ventilation first. It was funny at the time because I was OK, but exhaust fumes are nothing to play around with. Don't waste your life just because you were in a hurry to get the old girl running.

For sure I could have done it much, much better. Yet I treasure the memory of the big motor, big sound, and even the big smoke. The smoke did clear out after the motor had run for a bit. Don't worry if it smokes at first. At least it is alive.