I love fuel model engines (slimers), all kinds.
My main experience with glow engines was as a kid thru about high school - smaller engines, never having all the money to do things right or big.
I flew a sailplane in the early 90's which didn't have an engine.
Coming back into the hobby a couple of years ago, I didn't want to waste time with secondary ways of doing things if I could afford not to.
Although not necessary, I bought a David Sexton engine test stand - a real luxury. It is has umpteen configurations to get what you need for each different engine/tank combo you might run into.

I first mounted the DS stand with long screws to a stump in the yard, yeah a stump, which placed the engine where I had to lean over. That got old in a matter of minutes as I could feel the strain in my lower back. I went right in to craigslist and happily + amazingly there was a Black and Decker Workmate for sale at about 1/2 the price of new - $50 to me. It was located only a couple of miles from where I live, to boot. I called, drove over, picked it up and drove it home. Mounting the DS test stand was a breeze, I just screwed a block of wood to the bottom of the stand which the Wmate clamps onto. Was running in less than 30 minutes. Couldn't be happier with this bench running setup. You can use the Workmate for other things so it is very economical.

Here's a spellbinding vid of one of my engine tests:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PC8DT9CwaA

Looking forward to updates on your progress, keep the news coming.