Now I’ve been back and forth on some things as the projects have moved along.
However, based on what the engine case looked like inside, and knowing full well how clogged some of the oil passages were, not to mention other oil sludge in the sump, I’m thinking of doing a bolt-on mod that will not require the case to be drilled and tapped again.
CB Performance sells both an overkill custom colored billet Maxi 26 Full Flow In & Out as well as a more traditional looking 1798 Maxi Pump 3 which I’m more apt to go with on this engine.
I’m thinking that since I have to get the Cheater Cam from CB Performance, I’ll get one of these as well and once I have a mock up of the engine with the restored exhaust on it, I’ll be able to play around with this pump and determine if I’ll have the necessary two 1/2 oil hose clearances to make it past the EGR filter pipers, over and through the exhaust manifolds and heat and then onto under the car to the up under the rear driver fend where I’ll mount the filter.
Now the one thing that I’ve learned with some discussions on these is the oh so confusing differences between gearings on oil pumps.
Basically, the stock 26mm gearing should work for this application, as the 30mm and larger gearings will likely suck the oil standard stock sump dry. The bigger gearings, though often listed with the generic term “heavy duty”, actually are designed to be used with a deep sump system that holds many quarts more oil than a stock engine.
Now I’m not sure yet about the fender mounting, since all of the aftermarket mounts are designed for 73 and earlier bumper brackets and this will be going on the 79 shock brackets. To implement this, I may need to find someone who can mod the 73 an earlier bracket.
Do I even bother risking spending the money on this?
I could theoretically buy it all, mock it up, and have all my measurements and such but then just implement a stock oil pump until I’m ready to deal with all the mods or fabrication needed.
I’m thinking that I’ll need to make a custom bracket to hold the filter like the one done in the above video, but to fit the 74-79 pattern. I may even need slightly longer bolts.
I don’t have access to any metal cutting or drilling so this could be a problem. I’ll talk to the kid. He may know somehow who could make the part from a template I would draw.