"Blueprint" Front covers available?

[OKTurbo]

Looks like I'll be doing the timing chain replacement as soon as things warm up around here.

My plan is to go with a stock replacement timing chain set, roller cam button, new water pump, pan gasket, radiator hose, etc. etc. Try to do it all at one fell swoop....probably tackle my leaking rear main at the same time.

My question is: Do any of our favorite vendors "blue print" front covers. While I have it all apart, I'd like to put in the best as far as oiling modifications go. Not necessarily a high volume since my car only has 60K miles on it. I do have an oil pressure gauge....just haven't got it installed yet, but I'm not dealing with a high mileage motor...my views may change when I actually see what the oil pressure is !?!?

It would be nice to have a good rebuilt front cover to put on when I'm done with the timing chain etc.

Or do most of you guys just rebuilt the oil pump while it's off with a booster plate and check clearances?

Thanks,
John

 

[frankg]

As long as your oil pump gear pocket is not scared up you can rebuild the stock unit as stated. Check where the cam button rides on the cover also to make sure thats not to bad also. Frank

 

[Lee Thompson]

front cover

Inspect your front cover---As Frank stated, check the gear bore for wear, also check for excessive clearance between the drive gear and the bore it runs in. If these are OK, then anyone with a grinder can radius all oil passges, new Melling gears, if you have access to a bead blaster, blast the gears, makes them mess a little tighter (goes without saying they must be CLEANED afterwards) TTA sells a set of gaskets of different thickness so you can set the gear to cover clearance to .001--.002 max. A Kenny Belle booster plate will top it off. I have been using this setup for years with great oil pressure. There are some things you can do inside the eng. (flip cam bearings, radius passages and set bearing clearance) Doing the front cover is a big help.

 

[Steve Wood]

I believe TAPerformance has blueprinted, loaded covers. I know they do for the V*8s. Not cheap, tho...but very well done.

 

[Russ Merritt]

Drill the main feed up to the 90 degree bend to 1/2" also.

 

[OKTurbo]

Thanks for the input guys....

Does everyone pretty much use the Jack Merkel guidelines? Is there a good write-up somewhere that shows some pictures for the mechanically challenged? I'd really hate to screw something up.

Steve, I've seen the TAPerformance covers on their webpage and like you said....pricey....If I remember correctly, they want $540 for a "blueprinted" front cover w/ oil pump. Yeah...you get what you pay for, but it seems a bit much for my budget.

Do you know of any good websites that show the ported passages / holes drilled larger?

Thanks,
John

 

[Steve Wood]

Don't know if anyone has posted pics or not. Buick Power Manual has some pretty good diagrams as I recall.

I agree on the price...is labor intensive, tho.