VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 Aiming tubes in the oil pan

Firstly, I want to thank all those who have replied and provided valuable input into previous questions I've posted about rebuilding the engine on a 1936. I haven't been keeping up with the forum regularly, but will try to do better in the futre and find time to help out where I can on this forum.

Now to the question: I'm going to drop the oil pan to check the connecting rod clearances on the 1936 over the Christmas holidays. While it's off, I would like to find a way to check the tubes in the oil pan for correct aiming at the connecting rod dippers.

There is the special tool for this purpose as illustrated and described in the Shop Manual for the 207. So, the questions are:

Would anyone have one of those tools/templates and be willing to rent temporarily? If so, would it be ok to try copying the tool--it seems basically be a flat piece of steel with perforations and a few bends.

Or, barring locating one of these tools, is there another way to check the aiming of the oil tubes?

Is this step considered crucial when rebuilting an engine? One factor is that the oil pan I'm using was not original to the block currently in the car. So would having an oil pan/block combination not mated at the factory be an issue with oil tube aiming? I've already used the grease method to check the depth of the dippers.

Thanks!

Years ago the mechanics never used the target gauge. They placed the water hose over the feed pipe and checked to see if all the streams were hitting on the side of the pan in the same location. Also a good test to see if the oil pipes are pluged-up.

Thanks for the information, Gene. I was wondering if that was the case. It seems like many of the procedures in the shop manual are based upon specialized tools and jigs which don't exist any more. So I'll do that, just squirt some water through and see if hitting evenly on the pan. The tubes should all be clear--it was cleaned throughly before installation.

Is there a specific height on the side where the stream should be hitting? Say a certain amount from the top of the pan?

I have a set of gauges to check all. depth, aiming, and clearence per the manual. I got them when i rebuilt my engine.

Chevy36, Have you ever given thought to reproducing the gauges?

No I have not. They are simple tools except for the aiming one
no problem for a machine shop and some sheet metal bending machines. They really were handy when I did my engine. At least I am sure that everything is lined up.