[CTX-SLPR]

Ok, I'm finally home so I can get in on this one. I am one of the 4 that has done this and the only one that I know of to use the Series II front cover. They are not the same up to the cooling stuff. infact the oil transfer hole from the cover to the block is relocated. You also have to run an Edelbrock timing chain and shave the oil pump backing plate 0.020in to clear the timing chain, a Rollmaster doesn't fit. I know I've tried it. Also 1 of the bolt bosses is relocated on the L67 cover and while I didn't see anything to stop me from drilling and tapping it out I refrained since I didn't have an ultrasonic tester to see how much metal was there. Another thing is that the block isn't wide enough on the front to cover the oil bypass return passage from the bypass to the oil feed hole so you'd have a huge leak if you didn't have it welded and machined closed. The final concern is that if you use a Edelbrock chain, a cut down L67 gear as the oil pump drive, and keep the stock balancer in place you will run into problems with having to cut down the back of the balancer potentially excessively. My solution was to run a later L67 crank sensor and "quickstart" rings on the back of the balancer and that pushes the balancer out farther so you have more balancer snout and run an RJC "short" pulley designed for an MSD crank trigger.

To fit it on the block I chopped an L67 cover in half right above the cast rib in the cover then chopped a Stage II drysump upper cover in half with about 1/2in overlap. I think hand fitted the drysump section over the L67 section by making my own aluminum spacer plate and getting it 98% there in metal and the last bit with Quik-Steel reinforced epoxy and JB-Weld as a skim coat filler. I solved the oil supply hole problem by machining out the oil pressure hole on the block for a 3/8in NPT fitting and threading an adapter in it and run the oil in that way. I've not run the engine yet so I can't say how well it works but I have to say that if I was to try this again... I'd start with a Rover "Intermediate" cover with a gerotor and distributor shaft and see if that was easier to make work since a Rover V8 is nothing more than a Buick 215 that was the basis for the 300/340 SBB that the V6 is based off of with some 350 based improvements.

See the following pictures for what I've done and some of the stuff I encountered.