This week and today I finished up my adapters for the 385 water pump. Here's a photo of the finished adapters (built without any setup errors this time LOL!), and also a shot with the water pump mounted on the engine:
I need to do a little hand grinding on these internally to smooth everything out, but they are essentially completed at this point.
Just as I was getting the adapters bolted on the engine, the Fedex Ground truck arrived (rather unexpectedly on a Saturday), and delivered my new Peterson oil pump! With the pistons, crank sleeve, and oil pump arriving here, the last couple of days have been just like Christmas. I pulled the pump out of the box and was immediately surprised at how large it was; I hadn't seen a picture of it before I'd ordered it, and I wasn't expecting a pump that was this long. Here's a picture of the pump, along with the inlet tube that has to be welded into the oil pan, and the red anodized large screen filter to keep any trash in the pan from getting into the pump:
I measured the length of the pump, and it measured 11" from the end of the shaft to the end of the body. I knew immediately that this was going to pitch my mounting plan for the pump right out the window. Sure enough, I jockeyed it into an approximate position in the Mach 1, and given the position of the headers and shock towers, it would not go back far enough to let the shaft line up with the Gilmer belt pulley machined into the crank spacer I had just bought from Aviad. No big deal on the spacer, because I can use it on my big SOHC when I set that engine up for a dry sump. But now I would need a separate pulley for the pump, to mount out in front of the harmonic balance.
Another fitment issue I had not previously considered was the position of the strut rod housings in the engine compartment. Those things always seem to get in the way of something, especially if you're working under the car. But in this case they would limit how far down I could mount the pump, unless I mounted it entirely under the car, which I really didn't want to do. It looked like the lowest spot in the engine compartment where I could mount it would leave the shaft of the pump at about the same height as the crank centerline. This was of course above the level of the oil in the pan. I read the directions for the pump and it didn't say anything about it needing to be mounted real low, but I'd like to check on that to be sure. Also, the pump could be mounted with the inlets facing down, up, or to the side, or in any direction for that matter, but I don't know if there is a preferred way to mount it so it will work the best. Another thing I thought about was whether I could disassemble the pump and rotate the scavenge sections 90 or 180 degrees with respect to the pump section. That might make the mounting situation a little less challenging, but I don't know if I can do that or not. I'm going to have to give Peterson Pumps a call on Monday and try to get these questions answered.
In any case, I'm about done with the work on this engine for now. I'll be waiting for parts and services for the next several weeks before I can proceed further. I need to have the new hollow stem valves ground to fit the heads and the guides honed or replaced if necessary to fit the valve stems, and I also have to send the pistons out to be coated after checking the piston to valve clearance with my new cam. Once the pistons are back I'll have my shop check for correct piston to cylinder wall clearance, and touch up the hone if necessary. I expect all this to take 4-6 weeks. Then I can do the final assembly, finish whatever brackets are required, and get the engine on the dyno. Oh yeah, and I have to build an oil pan. This thing had better make 900 HP when I'm finished with it...
Edit: On further examination of the pump, there is no way that the scavenge section can be rotated with respect to the pump section. The bolts holding the pump together are unevenly spaced.
