I prime the oil pump just before starting and spin the motor over with the plugs out on the starter then set the crank timing marks at 12 to 18 BTDC and install the distributor so it is firing #1 aligning the magnetic pickup with the distributor cap off and use a known good carb and prime it with some fresh gas, I set the total advance as soon as possible to 34 BTDC on BB, 426 Hemi and 32 on SB with the motor running above the full advance RPM
I do try and vary the RPM from 1500 RPM up to 2500 RPM revving it several times about every 2 to 3 minutes to sling more oil on the cam and load the rings a tiny bit to help seat them