Taking a run at checking out the oil pump endplay. This is the amount of movement the tang should be able to travel back and forth after the pump is mounted to the case.
After putting the third piece in the vice, and mounting the oil pump to the face with gasket, I was getting .007 inch. It should be closer to .002 – .003 inch. I guess anything over .004 inch will cause oil pressure to suffer. Wow. These germans were precise in 1960!
So back to the machinist we went, to remove a bit of material from the pump so that it tightened up the tolerances.
A handy tip from the 356 registry forum. When assembling the pump, be sure to add a light grease to the gear teeth. If you don’t, dry gears won’t create a suction to draw oil thru it!
Also a version detail to be aware of. The later model “large” oil pump (it has the drive at an angle) is held on by 3 studs plus one M6 bolt. There is some debate as to the correct length of the bolt, and it is somewhat challenging to find.
