So now that the pan has been welded and appears to not have any interference issues. Moving on to the next problem. The timing chain cover bolt holes don't line up with the front two holes of the pan. I have one cover that lines up perfect, but it is the wrong cover. In the old days I would have enlarged the holes in the pan and used some hard washers, bolted it up and called it good. But now that I have the equipment and the knowledge, I think I will just relocate the holes in the cover.
What do you think? I don't have to move the hole over very far, .07815 to be precise. I'm a little concerned the drilling and or taping will dislodge the studs that will be Loctited into place.
You can see how bad it is, I can force the pan forward tight against the rest of the bolts, but still not enough to get the front bolts started. This photo is with the pan centered on the other bolts.
The cover on the right is an Explorer cover and the one I am using.
The Explorer front cover, the bolt holes are .07815 further forward then on the other cover.
The old cover.
I turned a couple of aluminum studs to Loctite into the Explorer cover. I'm going to use Loctite 271
Here is what it looks like before drilling and tapping.