Ok, now I've gotten the pump back in and the heater hose and generator bracket on and torqued. Ready to put the pulley and fan on before installing the radiator, but I've got a problem. Maybe it's suppose to be this way, but I'm not sure. The pump I bought from Classic Parts years ago, specifically for newer engines put into older 3100's, has a shorter shaft on it, which is fine with me, although it will bring the fan away from the radiator. Problem is that in order to get the fan to not hit the harmonic balancer on the crank shaft (it sticks out around the pulley and comes another 1/2" or so forward of it). I can solve this problem with the steel spacer they sent with the pump, but it ends up leaving the shaft about a sixteenth inch short of even being flush with the fan's center hole, much less making contact by passing through the fan to keep it centered. I understand the 4 bolts will hold it in place, but it seems to me that when something is riding a shaft, the shaft should be through the fan metal for centering. Here are a few pics. The old pump is spinning freely without any bearing issues. I'm wondering if I should just get another gasket and put the old one back on, or chance this short shafted new one. Why does the new one have a short shaft? With a spacer that doesn't allow the shaft to protrude through the fan, it seems like somebody messed up here. Or is this not the pump I need?
"When I rest, I rust" 1951 3100 5 window w/ '56 235
