Alu engine will the later intermediate shaft fit?
 

Hello,
Have an early 2.0 alu engine block from 1965.
Will the right intermediate shaft fit? Well I've trail fitted it and it fits in but what will I be facing if I run it like that.... Are there any problems associated by doiing that?
I can offcourse always use the one on the left but have another alu block which hasn't got an intermediate shaft.........
Thks,
I
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1316207676.jpg

I thought the early sand cast aluminum blocks used an intermediate shaft with different diameter bearing jounals. I have a sand cast case, and had to have welding done by Competition Engineering to allow the later style intermed. shaft to fit.

I have looked at a spare case I have (aluminum) and wondered why not use a needle bearing setup in place of the normal bearings?
There are needle bearings available that disassemble to install.
The rolling resistance would be lower...but will the bearing load be ok?
One of the intermediate shafts I have has no groove in the middle of the bearing surface...so this is the one I am considering.
Bob

Por71

Measure the shaft diameters at the bearings. They aren't the same. The early ones are larger, so the bores in the case are larger also. And too large to just rebore them to take the bearing shells the later cases used. So you need either to have some welding and boring done, or find someone who makes some kind of slip-in adpater to avoid the welding. I think someone made that at some point, though I have not seen it advertised. Maybe it was a one off by a machinist.

You cannot interchange them. To use the later shaft in the early Al case, you have to bore it for the later style bearings. Usually easier to re-use the early shaft as long as 1) the bores are nice (there are no bearings!) and the shaft is in good shape. The machining to run the later shaft and bearings is prob, about $400-500..not cheap.