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Early Hemi (51) Oil pump drive
Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 11:20 am
by jagster
Just when I thought I knew most everything about the early hemis, I'm out there about to pre-oil this old lump before trying to start her up after a lot of years of sitting idle (40 years), and I go to pull the intermediate shaft that drives the distributor. No problem. So, I am about to go into the oil pump with my handy hex head 'spinner' and whoa!, different drive dog. And I thought all these small-block originals kept pretty much all the internals the same. Well, there is the big 'slot' on the top of the pump shaft. I am planning on a new pump at some point and need to know if the newer style pump will bolt on the block or if some sort of adaptor is available? I got a piece of half-inch rod, and will make the 'female' slot to get the job done, but that was a surprise. Just thought I'd share this with the group. Ron
Re: Early Hemi (51) Oil pump drive
Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 12:49 am
by DavidBraley
You will find that the oil pump drive shaft is just a tad under 1/2". It's 0.486" to be a little closer. It needs to be that size to fit inside the bronze guide bushing.
Re: Early Hemi (51) Oil pump drive
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 3:42 pm
by George
jagster wrote:Just when I thought I knew most everything about the early hemis, I'm out there about to pre-oil this old lump before trying to start her up after a lot of years of sitting idle (40 years), and I go to pull the intermediate shaft that drives the distributor. No problem. So, I am about to go into the oil pump with my handy hex head 'spinner' and whoa!, different drive dog. And I thought all these small-block originals kept pretty much all the internals the same. Well, there is the big 'slot' on the top of the pump shaft. I am planning on a new pump at some point and need to know if the newer style pump will bolt on the block or if some sort of adaptor is available? I got a piece of half-inch rod, and will make the 'female' slot to get the job done, but that was a surprise. Just thought I'd share this with the group. Ron
there's nothing wrong with the OEM pump, get a rebuilt kit if it needs it. There are adaptor kits for LA pumps, but there are problems with some of them. The LA HV pump only gives a skight increase in flow.