Yesterday I put the bottom of the 312 togeather. Got the pan and oil pump all bolted in place and then tried to install the pump drive from above. Was the pump drive shaft suppossed to go in from the bottom or can it be dropped down from above? Seems the retainer clip on the old shaft wouldn't let go down through the block. I have a new billet shaft for it, is that supposed to have a retainer clip on it also?

Oil drive shaft goes in from the bottom with the clip on the bottom of the shaft so it can not be pulled up with the distributor when the distributor is removed.  Clip not necessarily required but could keep from doing some extra work in the future.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

I don't trust that little pressed-on retainer clip at all. To me it's a flimsy setup. What I did instead was just cut a piece of the correct size Allen wrench to the right length (can't remember exactly now, might have been about 5/16" long or so, but measure your lengths accurately). Grind the top of this new little piece smooth to remove any burrs, and drop it into that hexagonal receptacle (whatever it's called) at the bottom. Then the drive shaft, minus clip, will sit in place atop it. Make sure the length of your oil pump drive shaft grabs enough "bite" in the receptacle. This setup eliminates the chance that that cheap clip will fail on you. 

Thanks Ted, was afraid that is what someone was going to tell me. That clip doesn't keep it from going down to far into the pump does it? O.K. So now I 'v got to change it, does the pan have to come off to get the pump off or can I just loosen things up and remove the pump? Also, concerning the short rubber sleeve that the pick up tube slides through at the pump. Does the nut just tighten into that until it is tight? Sounds like a stupid question but it just didn't feel right when I tightned it up and I wouldn't think I would want it suckin air at that point. Thanks for the patience guys

No problem to remove the pump with the pan in place. Loosen the nut on the side of the pan so you can move the tube up and down. The only purpose the clip serves is to keep the oil pump shaft from pulling out with the distributor. As Ted said a real pain in the a$$

to re insert from the top. The clip always goes in from the bottom! Chuck in NH

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

I sure agree!  2 or 3 years ago I was replacing the oil pump.  Sometime in the process the clip came off.  I dont know when it happened, just that suddenly it wasnt there.  Never found it.  Kept my fingers crossed that it didnt become a problem, and went ahead and installed pump.  Luckily the distributor didnt have to be removed until a teardown was done.

Mike, located in the Siskiyou mountains, Southern, OR 292 powered 1946 Ford 1/2 ton, '62 Mercury Meteor, '55 Country Squire (parting out), '64 Falcon, '54 Ford 600 tractor.

Well, the logic behind the spacer piece is because I have an aftermarket distributor (for 55-57 TBirds with the tach drive, it was new by Mallory a couple years ago). But, it provided very little vertical room for the oil pump drive shaft to grab, too much play, which made the fit of the shaft sloppy and eventually causing the pump to stop. I was told a bunch of these YHs got returned because the shaft socket at the bottom got worn from the shaft spinning while just barely grabbing/not grabbing, and they had to get them sent back for re-machining. Upon pulling mine apart (yes, the clip had let go), you could see where it had gotten rounded. I'm assuming the OE distributors were a better fit). No, I don't think there's any chance that the spacer piece will come out if the distributor and shaft are pulled. Hard to describe in words, but the socket where it sits down at the oil pump end is deeper than the hex spacer, or rather, the spacer is shallower than where it sits, with the drive shaft tight on top also sharing the same enclosure. This arrangement keeps the shaft in place nice and tight. Sorry for not explaining it better.