Steve, it is pretty difficult to make any kind of estimate on your engine without more information on condition and things like prior storage environment.

The person you may want to contact is David Flack aka the Flackmaster in Dallas who was instrumental in my (ultimately) successful search for an engine for my '39 1705 a bit over a year ago.

Are you replacing the engine in a 1705?

Good luck.

Well, he is a youngster.
I think I'll give him credit for getting it going but I hope he repairs his radiator so he won't have to keep running his engine without coolant.
I did comment that he would benefit from having a early fifties Motors Manual to pick up some basics.
Interesting videos.

Crin, when properly rebuilt your pump should last many miles/years.

The shaft needs to be dead smooth and the packing carefully taken up. If the packing is over-tightened the gland can overheat quickly scoring the shaft. In most applications an occasional drip is to be expected.

The traditional shaft material is tool steel.
Possibly technology has advanced to where some flavor of stainless steel is better.

Checking the water pump for leaks should be part of your underhood inspection.

The surface speed of that shaft is considerable and as normal RPM of the engines increased over the years and cooling systems became pressurized, it became more difficult to maintain the pump without leaks. I suspect the introduction of permanent anti-freeze may have also played a part in the introduction of lip and later ceramic seals.

Good luck.

Exactly on machining the head.
With new head gaskets in the sixty thousandth of an inch thick range, theres a lot of room for some slight distortion.
I do think in period service machining a straight eight head was probably sold many times as an extra-profit item, thus there seems to be quite a lot of heads over machined.

In regards to the idling oil pressure, I'm sure the noted five psi is fine, but if it were my engine I would change the oil (if not done recently) and temporarily plumb in a known accurate gauge, maybe 0 to 60 psi range to verify the accuracy of the OEM gauge. If it is OEM circa 1934, it won't do any harm to check it.

Thanks for posting the link, Rusty.

I look at the vid as a sendup on the many 'reality restoration' videos on YouTube. The dog is fun to watch as well.

Thanks again.

Good luck with your quest.
I would suggest trawling this site , the PAC site and the AACA site.
I also would suggest contact the Flackmaster, he seems to be a respected source of information. He was a tremendous help to me locating another engine for my 39 S-8.
Be aware there is more than one 38 S-8 for sale "with cylinder head removed for inspection of block".
Dave Coco in Virginia is in the process (maybe finished by now) of repairing his 38 S-8 Conv. He posts on the AACA site as 'trimacar'. He could be a source of information.
Again, all the best.
Jim/KB1MCV