now my dist wont go into the shaft it wont mate at all so no oil pressure is there any long dist shafts. if not can i jack up the engine on the balancer and unbolt the mtr mounts and be able to tilt it enuff. without having to take off the trans and p.s. and other accessories.

 

Excuse me?

Nova?

El Camino?

3rd gen?

Where's the connection?

(FWIW, some early SBC's had a different oil pump shaft than the later ones we're all used to. I don't know enough about the early Nova peculiarities to say much beyond that.)

 

i didnt say anything about my elky. i was saying that the mtr thats in my z now has a shoebox shaft in it and now the dist wont engage the oil shaft so i was wondering how high i would have to jack up the engine so that i can get the pan out or do i have to pull the engine out completely to take the pan off.

 

if the trans is out of the vehicle it would be very easy. just unbolt the trans mount and jackup the talishaft(you might have to unblot the tq arm) up til it hits the tunnel. i got my pan off my 88gta with the factory oil cooler in place without having to unbolt the motor mounts. you can do it dawg.

 

I know the '55-'57 oil pumps, at least, took a different type of shaft than the later mid-60's-up type pumps. I'm not sure when the transition took place, however. You do need the proper match of pump and shaft, most of which will be the case unless you specify an older pump or shaft when ordering/buying.

There are discussions often about pulling the pan with the engine in the car. A search should yield the necessary info.

(Your profile info says you now have a 'Camino. Nothing in your post or profile says anything about a Z. Hence my question.)

(Oh, I've heard of Tri-5's being referred to as "shoeboxes", but not Novas. Guess I don't get out enough.)

 

Are you sure its sitting in the groove on the oil pump, and the collar is intact? The collar could be broken, and the driveshaft slipped out of the groove. That happened to me when I was putting my 350 in. The collar broke when I pulled out the old distributor kinda funny, and the other distributor wouldn't mate up with it because the driveshaft slipped out of the groove because the collar broke off.

 

it should be mating up as i can prime it. and the trans is in the car and id prefer not to take it out as it would be a pain in the *** to realign the clutch. i was talking about 64-67 novas. as shoeboxes.

 

Get a pickup tool and see if you can lift up the driveshaft.

 

what type of pickup can i use to get it out. doesnt the sleeve normally hold it in place

 

New one to me.

It does make me wonder why you can prime the engine but not install the dizzy, cams are all the same tooth pattern, priming tools all have the same size slot as the distributor. Sure it inst user error??? Have to ask because I just dont buy it.

 

Yes, exactly. If you can lift it out, the sleeve is gone. There is a pickup too you can get for about $3 at almost any parts store. It looks like a spring about 2-3' long, with a handle on one end. You push down the button on the handle and 3 little fingers come out the other end. You'll know what I mean if you find one.

 

no the sleeve is there its pressed in. im just gonna have to pull the pan and take it out the hard way