… by shortening the length of the snout by about 1/4"…
Just to clarify, when you’re saying snout, you mean the snout on the dampener and not the crank.
Shorten the damper snout about 1/4". That allows the pulley groove to line up with the water pump and the generator when the damper bottoms out on the timing gear. Move the seal surface on the OD of the snout back the same distance to make sure the timing cover seal doesn't get damaged as you install the balancer. The crankshaft is forged steel- - - -tough, but not hard. Use a 1/2" variable speed drill motor, and a lot of cutting lube to drill the crank snout. I used to make a drill and tap jig to help with the threading operation, but it got to be too much of a hassle trying to wet-nurse people through the procedure, even with a 2-page instruction sheet I included with the kit. I was losing money on every one I made, so I just quit trying. I've drilled and tapped dozens of crankshafts freehand without a problem, sixes and V8s, or it's an easy job to do with a floor mount drill press if the engine is disassembled. It's impossible to teach people how to use common sense.
Jerry
