That main bearing cap they added in mid 1964 when the small six became seven main bearing, oh, what a pest. You idea sounds good.
Smarter than, say, pulling the offending main bearing caps out and running it as, say, a 4 main engine :mrgreen:
There's a bunch of little things to check first, but No problem if its done right.
One issue is that the replacement drive you use has to ensure there is no preload on the distributor, and it must fit nicely into the oil pump as per the stock 200.
The I6 shaft is about 5.14" long, and 5/16", so small 1/4" Hex Windsors don't fit, but the 351W and 351C are options. Please note that the details on the problems with 1/4" small Widsor ARP shafts apply to the bigger 5/16" items too.
strokeme from
http://forums.corral.net/forums/5-0-5-8 ... -351w.html
seamed to affirm that all ARP Hex drives for TFI/EECIV 5.0 Windsors and MSD's need distibutor drive triming
due to the way the ARP shaft is machined from round stock to hex at the ends
See also
http://forums.corral.net/forums/5-0-5-8 ... shaft.html
Replacements might not have this hex to round sections clearanced, and you may run into flase or real preload problems unless you thoughly check the installed hex drive is sitting where a stock I6 one would. Aftermarket oil pumps aren't always the same. The pilot hex sections both have to sit the same.
Upgrading to the 15 dollar 5/16" 154-7901 (5 point 8) Ford hex or even CNC Billet 4130 chrome-moly drives is recomended; any hard worked 351 W or C or NASCAR 357WC will take out a stock item. Its why my Ford V8 buddies call them them spaggeti or macaroni drives....
Sizes:
for 351W 8.19" length by 5/16"
for 302C/351C/351M/400 9.34" length by 5/16"
From previous posts, interferance is common when you use the later pump on the early 4 bearing engines, or you put good 300 rods in your 250. Adding ARP's make chcking for contact manadatory.
62 Ranchero 200 had that issue, and ground back stuff or used another hex bolt head capscrew. His pictures show it if you search his previous posts.
Our member Alloy Dave said the 250 item is about 10 mm (393 thou ) too short for our engines, so he said a Cleveland 351 item is a good option.
https://fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.php ... 98&start=0
, but we have used 250 US drives cut down for our Aussie 9.38" deck 3.3 and 4.1's. Again, if you have to cut something down, you have to ensure stock Oil pump and distributor seating. It cannot preload the distributor.
So a longer Windsor item, even if it has to be cut down, would be good if you check those two seating matters. Don't like the idea of cuttin a 5.0 4130 piece, tho. I assume you can use the 351W item with a 1-1/2" spacer, and not have to cut it too much. Mildon used to make a bomb proof 4130 piece.
If you can shift it down an use all stock parts, well and good, you can say...