I feel like I've conquered a mental hurdle that has been bothering me. The water pump was a pain in more than one way. I couldn't find anybody who sells a good set of water pump and timing cover bolts. They all need to be different lengths and some of them need threads that extend past their heads so that other things can be fastened to them with nuts. I had ordered some bolts from Dorman. But only about 3 of the bolts I ordered would work.
So, I made my own. I went to my favorite industrial hardware supplier and asked for grade 8 threaded rod. For those who don't know it, that doesn't exist. I learned that all-thread is graded differently. The closest equivalent to grade 8 is grade "B7". So, I got a 6ft stick of 5/16" B7 threaded rod and a bunch of grade 5 flange nuts. Much cheaper than McMaster-Carr and no shipping cost. It pays to find your local Indusyrial hardware supplier.
Today, put the timing civer and water pump in place with a couple temporary screws. Then used a dial caliper in "depth gauge" mode to get length measurements. Soon, I had all the studs cut. Put some goop on the gaskets, stuck it all together and torqued them appropriately. Voila!! What a reloef to have that done. I can start assembling the engine.
As I added the front end accessories, I found one stud that I need to remake about 1/2" longer to hold my idler pulley bracket and 2 that I need to trim excess threads from so they don't interfere with the serpentine belt. Now I can start to inventory the loittle detail parts that I hadn't ordered yet - t-stat & gasket, crank sensor, a couple mpre gaskets and seals...
Old water pump bolts on the left. Useless Dorman assortment on the right.
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My custom hardware in place.
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Good fit.
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Most of the front end stuff hung.
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I think the cast iron 289 manifolds were a good choice.
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I like how that manifold fits up close and tight.
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