Truth to tell, the engine pretty much always was alive, even though the
car had not run in probably 6 years or so. The trouble was that
everything around it was out of whack (bad timing, bad points, bad
condensor, bad plugs, bad coil, incorrect or bad wiring, bad seals -
the list goes on). Anyway, after a fellow club-member took note
that the left-hand cylinder head stayed cold even after a lot of
cranking and a few sputtering attempts at running, it dawned on me that
some time ago I had pulled (what I later learned was) the oil seal off
the crankshaft (it lives behind the fan) and never re-installed
it. It was pretty much shot though - the rubber edge was
gone.
I ordered a new seal (from McGuire Bearing in Seattle, tel:
800-562-7206) a "TCM Dichtomatic 25x45x10TC", (an "8TC" will work also)
put it in place, and the engine fired right up!!
Here is the new seal (rubber coating on the perimeter for a tight seal):
