First start question reguarding exhaust manifolds

i don't like to do it that way because the exhaust can block out noises that may indicate a problem with the motor. Having said that, the last motor I fired up (an original 318 that came with my project car and after changing all the gaskets first) was with exhaust manifolds only. Of course, in my case no cam to break in, either.

I did have the car towed to the muffler shop later because the drive would have been an hour and I wanted to make sure I could monitor sounds/noises on the unproven 318. Good news is I put almost 10,000 miles on it since then during 3 yearly road trips without a break down.