Oil Leaks and Update - 63 SDV

[Tom Bahner]

Hi all,

Been a while since I posted anything but read the updates daily with my morning coffee.  I'm going to approach the oil leaks on this old rig again. Had a guy replace the valve cover gaskets a year or so ago and they're leaking like a sieve again. Also want to reseal the oil pan/rear main. I know this will be an expensive task but the leaks aren't getting better.

I guess my question is what do I need to know before I head to the shop?. I've had a lot of work done by this guy and have been happy with his work except for the valve cover gaskets. Does some of the front suspension have to be dropped to drop the pan? What else do I need to know. Any brand gaskets better than others? I've read Jason's comments about not torqueing the bolts too tight. Any other insight much appreciated.

On a side note, we're planning on doing another section of Rt. 66 here in June with a destination of Amarillo at the CLC region meet, so I'm trying to do some preventive maint. Living in NE Ks, the Rt. is 200+ miles away. We'll be starting in Elk City, Ok. and heading west. The 1st section of the Rt. we did last spring was from Joplin Mo. to Elk City Ok. and was a real hoot.

Other items I've done is change the rear end grease and had some tuning done. An old school mechanic needed to work on the mechanical advance. He recommended installing Petronix while he was cleaning it up. Against my better judgment, I agreed. Points are easy, electronic ign just goes away so I'm a little leery about it.  He also reworked the carb adjustments so she'll idle at stop lights with the AC on. One thing he did do was set the timing at about 10degrees instead of factory setting. . The verdict is still out on that as it sounded like it had some clatter/pinging at low end lugging. Other than that it runs and idles great. Any opinions on the timing>

Ok, done boring you. Any suggestions or advice on the above items appreciated.

Thanks

Tom B 

[3ft7bqmb7dryo]

Get with Best Gasket. You can find them on line. They have the correct oil pan and rear main seal gasket.  Fel Pro lists the wrong rear main seal. They have the 62 and below seal listed for the 63/64. Its the wrong size.

To take the pan off, you rotate the engine so the crankshaft front counter weight is pointed up. unbolt the exh from the manifolds. Then remove the idler arm from the frame of the car. The drag link will drop far enough to take the pan off.  The pan slides out, clearing the crank.

Reset the timing back to 5 deg. I went with pertronics on my sedan, and have points in my hearse. Its a personal call.