The other day i went to start my car (81') and no spark. Pulled the distributor off and found that the rotor was a little wet and figured that some mositure got in there after it sat for a while... When i wiped it off i noticed it wasnt water but oil! So i mark the plug wires and pulled the cap all the way off and found some oil below the rotor and ignition module... here is some background info first... It's a crate motor, roughly 6-7 thousand miles on it but about 4-5 years old. It has HEI on it and ran great after i got it started. Obviously its oil leaking up out of the distributor shaft, unless im missing something... but what im wanting to know is what would it involve in changing the seal or is there something else besides the seal that i need to look into. It appears to me that it would be pretty simple but i want to check with someone else that has done something of that nature before i found myself lost and confuse with everything torn apart. I clean all the oil out of the distributor and going to keep an eye on it till i can get it taken care of. Thanks guys!

 

Not too bad,there's a roll pin holding the gear on the shaft.Once you've driven that out,the shaft will come out the top. If memory serves,there's not an actual seal,just a felt washer just above the gear. If you have oil in the distributor that sorta indicates to me you have some sort of a crankcase breathing issue,is that system stock and in good shape? It'll include the PCV valve,it's plumbing and the plumbing between the air cleaner and valve cover.
About your other question I think you'll be turning near 3000 rpm at 60 with a 3.73 and a three speed. For your new trans,I have a Bowtie Overdrives built 200 4R in my 79 and really like it! With it and a 3.55 rear gear I'm turning about 2300 rpm at 75 on the freeway. Good Luck!
Ron

 

I agree. Sounds like you either have a serious blow-by issue or a crankcase ventilation problem.