I strap an engine down to a heavy hardwood forklift pallet with a couple of ratcheting cargo straps, and at least block off the coolant ports and fill the engine with water. If a garden hose is available, adapt it to the water pump inlet, and don't run the pump with a belt- - - -you can control coolant flow with the hose faucet. Remove the thermostat, and let the coolant just run out of the top fitting. If you goose the throttle, there will be enough torque reaction generated to try to turn the engine over, so don't get rowdy on the gas.
Jerry

Edit: Up there in Homer, don't forget to drain the water back out after your test run- - - - -enough water can remain standing in the block to freeze and burst the casting next time it gets cold!
Jerry

Last edited by Hotrod Lincoln; 04/05/2010 4:15 PM.
"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!