Leaking rear seal; big deal or not?

[Dave Rifkin]

I am looking at a 1969 Corvette for purchase. I have spoken to the owner (the cars located in Georgia) and he seems to be very open about the cars condition. Original 350hp small block car, recently rebuilt but he says it appears to have a minor leak coming from the rear seal. Is this a huge undertaking to repair?
I have yet to see the car in person, in fact, the seller may be having second thoughts about selling.
What are your thoughts about the seal issue? Everything else is cosmetic; the paint is starting to show it's age (15 year old paint) and the chrome is starting to lose some of it's luster. These items are not that big of a deal to me as I intend to drive and enjoy the car and hope to bring these areas back as finances permit.

[Seattle Sam]

Gotta pull the engine and take out the crank to replace the rear seal. Which pretty much means going down to the bare block...

-Sam

[68L79M21]

You do not have to pull the engine to replace the rear main seal. I did it on my '68 L79 Corvette. With the frame of a C3 it is not hard at all to get the oil pan off with the engine in the car - no crossmember under the pan. The hard part for me was getting the old upper seal out - it did not want to budge. I took a piece of round brass stock, ground about a 1.5 inch length down to the size where it would fit in the seal area, then was able to get the seal out. New seal GM p/n 10121044 and sealant on the main cap per the directions. Have put probably 20K miles on the car since.

Roger

[Belair62]

There used to be a tool sold for this repair...kind of like one of theose Chinese finger things you used to play with...

[Seattle Sam]

Learn something new every day...

[Charley Lillard]

Belair..You are showing your age. I have one of those tools but they were used for the old rope type seals.

[RAGENRAT638]

here's something
i just had my 69 350 rebuilt,i had to remove the drivers side head to seal the small plug on the block.
and the rear main leaks too.
i think i got screwed,check out this oil puddle

[Belair62]

When did they stop using rope seals ???

[Motion Camaro]

<font color="blue">Even easier fix I was told about some time
ago by my old boss.

If the seal is leaking .... ... I don't know if your
ready for this kind of hi-tech info .... ....
ok, ok ... here it is: pop open the oil cap, ...
... crack an egg in it &amp; drive the car. The leak
should stop in a couple of days &amp; no harm will come to the engine.
I told you guys you weren't ready for it ...

Maybe a few &amp; it will seem like a good idea.
I never tried this, but I did mention this a couple of times to some 'older' guys &amp; they said it works. </font>

[JoeG]

I've used Oatmeal to seal steam boilers and black pepper for a quick fix for a radiator leak----makes you wonder what the hell we are eating.... ----The egg in the engine is a leap of faith.......