Posted a thread about oil pumps, and got back a bunch of good replies. Bit the bullet, got under and got dirty,(vehicle is a '57 445 Duett w/ a '68 B-18).
Took out oil pump, disassembled it, and after measuring everything w/ feeler gauges, found it to be fully functinal. The main bearings like-wise. The rod bearings, however, showed a wear pattern on upper rear right corner, by the bearing split. Here's the issue; looked up the removal procedure in my (official green) workshop book, and saw the following. The B-18 B, which is rated at 100HP (early) to 115HP (late), calls for indium plated shells on the mains, while the B-18D (rated at 90HP to 100HP, respectively), calls for bearings which are plated with "Babbits material", which I'm assuming is what we call "white metal".
My local parts house, which is a truly great supplier, can sell me KOLBENSCHMITT bearings. The other manufacturer I've seen online is GLYCO. Can anyone tell me which is better, does it make a difference, or should I just be happy to get what I can get? The vehicle is a non-abuser-cruiser, so long life is what we're looking for here.