The Skylark has been in pieces for months now trying to get fundage for parts and now i have given up on some parts and went other avenues to get the engine back together. I started out relocating the power steering pump, alternator, eliminating the A/C and upgrading the fan. I swapped out the pulleys, got the power steering pump mounted properly, built my own alternator bracket and got it mounted, replaced the waterpump for correct depth for pulleys and got a clutch fan mounted. Started filling it with coolant to find the water passage was a different size versus the timing cover. So, after being advised by several others i tried ordering a new water pump from a supplier referred here but no answer or call back. I got the correct radiator ordered finally but will be 3-4 weeks yet. I said screw it and decided to swap out the timing cover off a spare engine i had. Then i found they have a rope seal for the crank. Great, need the car put back together for a cancer benefit ride on Saturday so now what? I did some research here to find a rubber seal is made but no way can i get one in time so off to a parts house i go. After some time fiddling with a caliper they found a seal smaller than the balancer shaft and then the timing cover. The original measured 2.71 outside and 1.90 on the balancer shaft, the new seal was 2.74 outside and 1.91 for the balancer shaft. So, i punched out the old seal, did some grinding on the outside of the new seal and did some more grinding on the inside of the timing cover. After about 10 minutes of finesse with the deburring/grinding bits i was able to drive the new seal in with no issues. Seal cost was $1.98. So i swapped the timing cover and put everything back together, with the old gaskets mind you and changed the oil. Fired it up and man what a difference in the cooling with the A/C condenser gone and a 5 blade clutch fan versus the old solid 4 blade. So far no overheating even with no thermostat yet, no more throwing the belts under WOT and i found it to be idling higher so i had to turn that down. Tomorrow the new Flowmaster exhaust should be here and i will work all on that tomorrow evening.
