Valve timing and adjustment, initial carburetor settings, and ignition timing can all be done without cranking the engine. It's not necessary to turn the ignition switch on to check compression. A simple toggle switch upstream of the ballast resistor can be used to interrupt voltage to the coil, and a short pry bar between the firewall and the start pedal linkage puts all the starting controls in one place under the hood. Backing the fuel pump attaching bolts out a couple of turns and moving the pump housing up and down by hand will verify that it's working properly, and also fill the carburetor float bowl without cranking the engine. Maybe making a living doing all this stuff for 60+ years makes me "Captain Obvious"- - - -or maybe it's just plain old common sense!
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!