That wire behind the seal is an old trick to seal the leak.  Someone even made a kit you could buy.  That wire was driven in behind the original leaky seal to tighten it in the groove.  I've done it several times.  Actually it was more succesful than trying to pull a new top half in with a chinese finger trap like puller.  Usually the wire was driven in the top half and a new rope installed in the bottom half.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

Daniel Jessup (2/25/2011)

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I tore down an EDB block tonight and this kind of seal was in the rear main...it has a decent size wire running the length of the rope type seal. Never have seen one of these, always just the rope, or the lip seal like more modern day. What's the advantage, if any.

On a different topic, what is everybody's trick to getting out those pesky oil lien plugs embedded (more like "welded") in the block?

Dan, just throw it in the bin, there is a lot of articles on those gallery plugs, if real tight, heat them up and try or next, drill  through it and try. look back through posts recently on this subject.

  AussieBill            YYYY    Forever Y Block     YYYY

 Down Under, Australia

I tore down an EDB block tonight and this kind of seal was in the rear main...it has a decent size wire running the length of the rope type seal. Never have seen one of these, always just the rope, or the lip seal like more modern day. What's the advantage, if any.

On a different topic, what is everybody's trick to getting out those pesky oil line plugs embedded (more like "welded") in the block?

Daniel Jessup

Lancaster, California

aka "The Hot Rod Reverend"
check out the 1955 Ford Fairlane build at www.hotrodreverend.com