I'm happy to hear of another source for rear main seals. I have also learned that there is a source for the neoprene seals, which IIRC is Best also.
In fall 2017 I did an in-situ crank reseal on my '55 235 truck engine. It was leaking badly. I had a rope seal in the original Fel Pro box and did a trial fit on the main cap. I decided that there was no way I could roll it down with a hammer handle or anything else to make it fit the crank. I remember when I built the engine many years ago that after I had the rope seal installed I couldn't turn the crank. Don't remember what I did instead at that time but somewhere along the line I pulled the rope seal to replace it and couldn't get the new rope seal installed so I used the neoprene lip seal. Eventually it began to leak and soaked the clutch, which brings us to fall '17. I could not get a new neoprene seal. One of the suppliers told me that the tooling had worn out and there wasn't enough demand to warrant retooling. So, digging around in my parts boxes I found two NOS Fel Pro seals in boxes: one was a two-piece and one was a one-piece that you sort of roll into place. I used the two piece.
Of course, having the rear main cap off, I plasti-gauged the bearing and it was loose enough to flood the seal with more oil that it probably could handle so I bought a set of main and rod bearings and set the rear main as tight as I dared to minimize the oil flow. The engine had around 200,000 miles on it but the crank was still round enough to hold the bearings with a little shimming. This engine has pinned mains so I had to drop the crank with all the attendant hassles.
After all this, it still leaks, not as bad as before but it's not bone dry either. Engine is quiet and runs like a champ with 200k on the rings and pistons. I have a new side cover gasket so I'll replace that and see if the leak dries up but I'm not holding my breath.
BTW do not start this job outdoors in late October.
