As far as the carburetor, make sure to fill the float bowls with gasoline before trying to fire the engine. You want the engine to fire immediately so as to get oil flowing quickly.
It kills me to watch some of the car shows when they try firing an engine without filling the carburetor first. They crank and crank and crank waiting on the fuel pump to start getting fuel into the carburetor. It makes me cringe thinking about the wear happening on the lifters before the engine fires.