Oil Pan Sealing Tips LA Small Block?

[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!