Check with some of the local nursing homes- - - -any mechanic who knows how to install a rope seal and do it without creating a worse leak will probably be as old as me- - - -or maybe a lot older. I'm only 78, and I doubt if anyone younger than me has much experience with rope seals. They were going out of style 60 years ago when I started getting paid to tinker with these old engines. Even with my arthritic fingers and a pretty advanced case of neuropathy, I could probably install a rope seal before lunch, in a properly equipped shop. I'd charge you around $500.00 to do that, at today's journeyman mechanic labor rates, and I'd be earning every penny.
Jerry
