The Speedi-Sleeve only requires trimming for length and removal of the lip (if needed), Skooter. It comes with a metal cup you would use to drive it on to the crankshaft and then once it is on far enough you would trim the end length to match the surface of the crankshaft. It is a very thin stainless steel sleeve. I can see some pitting, etc on your crank, so I'd say that might not be ideal for the neoprene seal...although yours is better than many I've seen. And at this point I should add I want that crank surface to be as smooth as possible regardless of the type of seal used...but with the rope seal the Speedi-Sleeve might reduce the clearance too much...might crowd that type of seal. With the Speedi-Sleeve there is a lip that will be contacted by the metal cup (to facilitate driving it on). It sticks up about 1/4". That lip can be removed (there is a place scored on to the sleeve which shows where it would normally be separated) or in the case of the 235 that flange could be left in place and allowed to ride in the inside machined slot (rounded top) you see in either of the images above. If you left that lip in place it would act as an oil slinger. In the 235 the oil coming back to the rear main seal isn't under pressure, but the spot where it leaves the rear main bearing is so close to the flange of the crank that oil naturally runs freely to the area. Slinging oil up and into that second machined slot has always seemed to me what GM should have done in the first place, but you know...they never asked me about this. You need some oil to keep any seal from burning but given the slope of the 235, there will be some oil there no matter what. But in theory you could run that lip to within about .009" or .010" of the inside of that second machined slot...that being probably the most end play your crankshaft would have. That should cause a lot of the oil to slow down and be forced through the opening at the bottom of the rear main cap.
Very interesting about the instructions for the roll pin. I didn't know that, but then I haven't bought a rope seal of any type in over 40 years. I did post some images of a rear cap I saved where somebody had placed 6 or 7 little pins to keep the rope from shifting. Any movement of the rope isn't going to be good.
I have decided the most important thing is to have as little clearance between the rear main bearing and the rear crank journal as is possible...and .001" should be ideal. That will at least limit the amount of bouncing up and down the crank can do and the amount of oil that can squirt out.
