47-55.1 Big block front seal on my 292

[mick53]

BHJ is making me an SFI damper with serpentine pulley on it. I have Tom Lowe's 2 piece timing cover on it. BHJ tells me that because I have the blower pulley and oil pump pulley hanging out in front that I need to have my cover made to except a big block oil seal. Is the crank the same diameter as my 292. I have a billet crank from Crower that takes the standard seal. Do they make such an item or will a standard big block seal fit my crank? Thank you for your time.

[mr48chev]

Checking the Rock auto page the Id/od of a big block (454 in my 77 1 ton) is
Width (in) 0.395
Shaft (in) 2.328
Bore (in) 3
Outer Diameter (in) 3.005

On the 292 there seems to be quite a bit of difference in size from the 454 unit.

Material Nitrile
Outside Diameter 2.416 in
Pieces 1
Seal Type Timing Cover
Shaft Diameter 1.763 in
Thickness 0.374 IN

I'm thinking that they want to go with and OD that they already are dialed in to use and only have to worry about having the bore fit your crank rather than create a complete new setup.

The thing is, is there enough material in the cover to safely have it bored to the larger seal od? It appears that there is .589 difference in seal diameter.

[mr48chev]

I checked and the 66 396 engines I have take the same seal as the 454 does. I wanted to make sure that they didn't change over the years.

I can see why he wants to do that though as taking .565 off the od of that piece is going to cut down on it's strength a lot.

[mick53]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

I checked and the 66 396 engines I have take the same seal as the 454 does. I wanted to make sure that they didn't change over the years.

I can see why he wants to do that though as taking .565 off the od of that piece is going to cut down on it's strength a lot.

Bummer, solve one problem and it creates another. I guess that's hotroding. There is no way there is enough material on the cover to make the hole that much bigger. The new damper will be set up for a big block seal so it will have to be done. Maybe I could have a sleeve made and machined into the cover and TIG it in? Of course they make such a cover for the SBC. Race parts are always a problem for the 292. Onward. Thank you very much for your thoughts and info.

[mick53]

What if I bought this cast aluminum cover and used it for the center piece. It's only $53. Do a little voo-do and put them together?
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-g6301w

[mr48chev]

You might check with this outfit to see if they can do you a one off billet cover. Not cheap but if they do them in house it would be reasonably simple to cut one for the larger seal od..
https://mrhotrod6.myshopify.com/prod...ant=1142524689

Another option is if the one you have is the 2 piece unit that 12 bolt Tom is selling you might be able to use that as a pattern to have someone mill another front plate.

https://www.12bolt.com/store/p117/2_...0-250-292.html

[mick53]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

You might check with this outfit to see if they can do you a one off billet cover. Not cheap but if they do them in house it would be reasonably simple to cut one for the larger seal od..
https://mrhotrod6.myshopify.com/prod...ant=1142524689

Another option is if the one you have is the 2 piece unit that 12 bolt Tom is selling you might be able to use that as a pattern to have someone mill another front plate.

https://www.12bolt.com/store/p117/2_...0-250-292.html

Thanks, I'e known both of those guys for years. Mr hotrod is Walt Pierce, He has been drag racing since about 1957. Still racing and he's 81. He helped me with my SFI damper with the serpentine pulley. I know Tom at 12 bolt. I have his cover now. He is also doing the machining on my 12 port cross flow head. Thanks again I will give them a call

[mr48chev]

Good enough, I I have bought from both. Can't decide which one's lump ports I want though.

[mick53]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

Good enough, I I have bought from both. Can't decide which one's lump ports I want though.

I'm sure they are both good. They know each other. Tom has an open house in Dysert Iowa every April or so. It's a lot of fun and a lot of inliners there.