mike tkach is the man
 

Mike makes it look real easy, before I knew it the motor was running and we were looking for my oil leak..

http://33outlaw.zenfolio.com//img/s2...GVDj91nHpII9o=

Whos that guy working the flashlight? :)

He also has a legit run stand. But to de-rig the trans, coolers, and all the other stuff, it just made sense to start it and let it run as it sat. Oil leak found, fixed, and ready to drop back in in short time....Nice.

Running it on a stand followed by 02 tune in boat is a proven method but it does not give you the load and data you get from a dyno. The dyno makes it easy to make changes to the engine with real world results. Breaking in a engine using a load and not free wheeling the engine is also a plus.

Budman II, I have to agree, with others.
Insuring the engine is properly broken in, and not damaged, due to haste. If something is incorrect; it will be easier to detect and correct, versus installing it in the boat and running it in a uncontrolled situation. You need a baseline to start with, adjusting A/F ratios in the boat after installation will surely, be minor.
I would be 100% clear with whoever is doing this for you, that they break it in, and let things cool back down, double check everything and not just throw it up there, run the hell out of it and say: here you go. They have no invested interest in it, so you need to be clear of what you expect and what your end goals are.

Mark, the builder who has the dyno (second guy I went to who straightened out my mains) said that they usually break the engine in on the dyno, let it cool down, then retorque head bolts if necessary, etc., before any additional pulls are done. He also said they commonly run racing fuel on the dyno, mainly because he does not trust the quality of the regular pump gas available in the area with all the ethanol that they now put in it. That alone might throw my timing and fuel curves out the window.

What additional goals might I want to state that I am after, aside from determining the optimal timing and jetting for the engine? Obviously I want to reveal any problems up front before it is installed.

Is $500 about the going rate for this?

Correct if I am wrong, Getting from the "dyno pulls", the motor power level data is helpful in prop selection too?

You definitely don't want to dyno it on race fuel and then run it on pump gas in the boat. That pretty much defeats the purpose. If you are running crappy ethanol based fuel in the boat, then run it on the dyno. That's what we do. If the customer can only get 89 octane with ethanol, then that's what it gets on the dyno.

Several (Steve, Brian, Mark) have mentioned the top reasons to dyno the engine. Nothing leaves my shop without hitting the dyno. The actual power number isn't the biggest reason for doing it. It breaks the engine in under a load in a controlled environment with WAY more data available then if you were bouncing down the lake. There are enough things to worry about the first time out with a new setup. You don't want to worry about the tune being totally in left field, oil leaks, etc.

As for the dry headers, it not that big of a deal. Unfortunately, I can't run wet headers on the dyno either. We tune it a little lean on the dyno. How much depends on the boat's exhaust. If you are going to run silent choice or restrictive mufflers, expect the tune to richen 1 full point or more in the boat. With your Lightnings straight out the transom, expect about 1/2 point of AFR change. Once it's in the boat and running, it may be a little on the rich side. That's a quick and easy fix. At least you will know everything else is good. It will be money well spent.
Good luck.
Eddie

its not hard to do at all. i did that here for my 502's. for water supply i just use a 55 gallon trash barrel that i put a fitting in the bottom of and filled it and just let a hose run into it while the motor was running. took no time at all to put together. as for the tuning... i would have to ask/suggest that unless your new combination is someting really really different, there are good baseline settings well established for both timing and likely jetting for you based on what you have.

As Eddie, said; running on race fuel defeats the purpose. The specific gravity, energy level, and fuel burn will be way off. I could see if you had 12:1 or higher c.r. or running some high boost.
If this guy is set on running that fuel, I would keep looking for someone else. Actually; running as lower c.r. would allow you to speed-up the burn and make more power. I am trying to understand how an experienced builder, operating his own dyno would always run race fuel, unless it's 96-97 octane unleaded. Even being so, if tuned to race fuel, leaving set-up and going into boat with pump gas, would most likely burn the engine up.
What would he do; break it in rich and make all the pulls rich and wash the cylinders down and dilute the oil with fuel? I would be more comfortable, running the engine on the dyno on the lean side than in the boat, due to the fact the load can be controlled to engine speed.

I'll have to ask him again to make sure I did not misunderstand him. He does mostly drag engines, so I would assume that is the majority of what goes on the dyno. He did a blown 502 for a friend of mine's boat, but that engine was not run on the dyno. It had a B&M 250 on it IIRRC, and Nickerson did the cam and carb for that one. Ran without issues for several years.

Right now, if it turns out that I won't be able to dyno it on pump gas, I will probably pass on the dyno and just look into maybe setting up a startup cart for it.