So, I've got the newly rebuilt engine sitting in the car. The trans is bolted down, starter is bolted up, the carb is in place, the headers are on and I am ready to drop in the distributor. I go to my bench and what do I see...... The oil pump shaft box sitting on the bench, unopened.....

So now the question is, can I sucessfully drop this in from the top and have it engage and snap into place from the top, or am I doomed to pull the carb and try to lift the engine enought to get the oil pan off and pull the oil pump?????

P.S. I am running a hardened steel shaft with the steel jacket instead of the plastic jacket.....

 

i've read on here of people grinding down the shaft to fit. don't think i would, dropping the pan isn't that big a deal.

 

pull the pan. I think we've all done that one before

 

I decided to get the steel shaft after having put the pan on. I don't think I've ever forgotten it, though.

Drop your pan.



It could be worse. You could find out that after you've been driving the car, the oil pump pickup has fallen off again, even though you tack welded it this time.

Happened to somebody I know...

 

Yeah...that's what I figured....
Pulling the pan in the morning