spider oil pump and distributor R and Replace -- shearing distributor bolt?

["John Dohrmann" <jdohrmann@domain.elided>]

Thank you all for the helpful messages - many off the digest.  I though I
could thank you all here.

I did get the oil pump off with only the lower oil pan removed.  Had to open
the oil pump to get it to clear the pan walls but I think that is because it
appears the driven gear on the oil pump shaft has been shoved up to the top
of the shaft and so didn't want to clear the tunnel.

So, I'll order parts and reinstall everything, playing with the oil pump and
distributor to have the rotor pointing in the right place at TDC compression
#1.

The distributor bracket has a sheared-off clamp bolt.  Manual says to drill
it and then use a new shearing bolt.  Do you all hold to that practice or is
substituting a bolt (perhaps with loc-tite) considered "ok"?

I'm still not sure about the sequence of my failures.  The engine quit while
cruising the freeway at 3500 rpm.  Distributor cap has three large holes,
rotor nose is gone, distributor has extreme vertical and horizontal play,
and driven gear on oil pump appears to have 'climbed' the shaft far enough
to no longer engage the driving pinion.  I guess the distributor died and
the force of the rotor beating itself to death was too much for the pin
through the driven gear.

John D

'86 spider quad on stands but that lower oil pan is sure pretty.

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