what wires are essential to start a car for the first time. Battery cables, 2starter wires, 3 alt wires, what else is needed?

distributor needs power as well. Other than that I would still have my guages hooked up to monitor your essentials. But to just run the vehicle..... as you stated plus the distributor/coil need power.

Don't forget to GROUND the motor!

The negative battery cable should be directly attached to the block.

thanks to all! Thats what I thought but wasn't sure if I was missing anything. I did change to a HEI and know that you must run 12v to it during crank and run, where is the best place to run this power from?

You can use the original signal wire to switch a solenoid and pull power directly off of your starter (or power block) through the solenoid.