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One bolt attaches the upper generator brace to the engine. It may be longer than the others. I think it is the bottom right, looking at the front of the engine. If that bolt hole goes into the water jacket, it will need sealer. The bolts also need copper washers to serve as gaskets. The bolt that holds the generator brace would probably need two copper washers.

Right! I totally forgot about the generator arm.. That’s it. I forgot about it since I wasn’t actually installing the pump yet.

Thanks!

Wait….I just looked. The water pump bolt is NOT used for the generator arm. Here is a picture from before removing the pump. The generator arm bolt goes into a hole well below the water pump next to the motor mount….back to the original question….should all four bolts be the same length?

I am now officially confused.

OK... my water pump is installed just like yours. I have a spare water pump casting. It has 6 bolt holes in it, 4 of which are for bolts that go through to the block. All six of the bolt bosses are 7/8" thick or very close to it, so it would seem that all of the four bolts that go into the block should be the same length, and each one should have a copper washer and no lock washer. The other two bolts hold the water pump back plate onto the water pump casting. I'd use sealant and copper washers on the four bolts that go into the block.

Thanks, TXGoat….I can confirm that the four bolts to the block should all be at about 7/8 inch. That’s what a I was coming up with as well. Who knows why, but one of my bolts is a 1/4 inch too long. Might have been a source for the mysterious coolant link.. Ya- think?

I appreciate the help. Looks like another trip to the hardware store for a shorter bolt. I”ll likely just replace them all.

I've had my water pump on and off several times, and yes, all four bolts are the same length.

Ken P - Thanks for the confirmation...I have no idea who installed the bolt that is too long or how they could possibly thought it was okay.

More good progress. Yesterday, I started looking into the bit of steering wheel play that I still had….notice I said “had”. Allen had gotten it much better as most of the issue was the steering gear box. I suspect I had a hand in destroying the gears as kid. With car never moving, the whole neighborhood would play gangster in the car and someone was always cranking away on the steering wheel. Years of that could not have been good for it. But, we had fun.

Anyway, I disconnected the pitman arm from the drag link and was able to determine that there was no play from the steering wheel down to the pitman arm. So, I reconnected the pitman arm to the drag link and then noticed that much of the play was now gone. The socket at the drag link just needed tightened a little, not much. I now have very little play in the steering wheel and everything feels very smooth. I will still replace the center crank bearing before too long as I need to replace my coil springs and the lower - inner bushing are pretty rough. I’ll replace the bearing when I do the springs and the bushings.

Today, I decided to tackle the timing chain replacement. I had a nice discovery. The existing chain is “new”. So, that means it is one of the things that must have been done back in 2004. But, it appears the gasket was re-used and the cork seal was not replaced. I’ll replace the gasket and the seal tomorrow. So for the excercise, I learned how to replace the chain, even though I didn’t end up replacing it. I’ll have the cork seal and gasket in good shape. And, I have some piece of mind of knowing that the guy who worked on the car for Dad back in 2004 didn’t take advantage of him and clearly did a bit of work. I still wish Dad had kept some records.

I just received my “new” water distribution tube from Flackmaster. It’s in just a bit better condition than the original. Hopefully, I’ll get the water pump installed and the front clip back on in the next day or so. Otherwise, it will be at least a week when I get back from a cycling trip.