Oil Pan Sealing Tips LA Small Block?

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Too Many Projects

Ah, I didn't notice this was in the Mopar forum....

I do have a soft spot for Mopars. I bought a '72 'Cuda new for my 20th birthday.

No worries Mitch. I've always liked Mopars as well. The truck I'm working on now has been a part of my life since I was about a year old. My dad bought it in the mid 80s and used it for his business for about 20 years and then passed it along to me several years ago since he retired. Just been slowly working on it, fixing all of the issues it's developed over the years. I figure it will be a pretty cool tow truck for my Mopar cars in the future.

[Andy]

Well, I've been hard at work on this Truck for the past few months. I'll add posts as I get time to show the progress. I was able to fix all of the oil leaks, replaced the timing set, cleaned the engine up and repainted it while I was doing the fixes and upgraded the old 2 barrel setup to a vintage LD4B edelbrock 4 barrel with a small 390 cfm holley carb. Cleaned up the trans, resurfaced the flywheel and put a new clutch in and this thing drives like a dream now. Also figured out why the shifts were so sloppy. The shifter cane tip where it engages the shift rail in the trans was heavily worn. Fortunately, I was able to source another one from a 1963 parts truck that looked almost new and has a different bend in it so the shifter is in a much more driver friendly location with shorter throws between the gears!

I was able to get it back together just in time for Father's Day so my dad could drive it. I was able to relive some old times as we have been many miles in this truck together and make some new memories! Hope you guys had a good Father's Day weekend as well!

[Andy]

Continuation from the post yesterday. After examining the internals of the trans, everything looked good, so I cleaned it up, replaced the input shaft and output shaft seals and reinstalled the top cover. When I put the shifter cane in and gave it a quick test prior to putting the trans back in the truck, the difference was unbelievable. It honestly felt like going from rowing a boat to a hurst competition plus.

[Andy]

Moving on to the engine, it was evident that it was filthy, 50+ years of grime, grease and makeshift repairs, it was leaking from every conceivable orifice, but it ran very well, so I decided to put a new Cloyes timing set in it, new rear main, front timing cover seal. and all of the gaskets. I went through the wiring replaced what was necessary. Need to rewrap the harness still but at least the issues are fixed.
While I was at it, I had an old LD4B Edelbrock intake and 390 cfm Holley 4 barrel collecting dust from an old project so I cleaned them up and put them on the truck. The truck is no speed demon, about 60 mph tops with the 4.88s, so I knew this would be more than adequate for putting around town or hauling when necessary. I had to make a piece of throttle linkage to connect the Holley and used some spacers and hardware from the local Ace to get everything aligned correctly.

[Andy]

Here are some additional engine bay photos of my progress. I noticed how filthy the distributor was, so I pulled it and cleaned the cap and wires and continued putting it together. I am currently trying a few different rust converters on the inner fenders and firewall and have cleaned those up a bit, but it still needs a lot more work. For an old work truck that has been well used, I think the TLC has really turned it around for the better and will keep it in service for years to come. My 3 year old son loves this truck and wants to go for a ride whenever I take it out. I plan to pass it along to him when he grows up. It's not a supercar but it is a family heirloom that I have so many wonderful memories with. My dad was able to find a few pictures of it from when he bought it in 1985. I've also shared those. Amazed it's still around after almost 40 years!