difficult turns disasterous

[hvychve]

Thought I could fix rear main seal and oil pan leak in a day.
What a mistake I made, can I just vent for a while, I got so darn frustrated the other day. I ordered a new pan, (my old one had a rust spot, fixed with temporary jb weld) I decided to tackle the project .

I got me an engine hoist , thinking I NEEDED to raise engine, got engine up, mount bolts out, fan off, low and behold , not enough clearance.

out comes the transmission and flywheel, now I got plenty of room. bought a pan from Jegs, they indicated direct stock replacement, I think ok, cool. ordered one piece felpro gasket, $40 , pan $110. rear main at local vendor. and off to work I went. Down comes old pan, now the comparrison time. old pan is about inch and a half deeper, gettn pretty T'd off by now, I install anyway, I get it fully bolted up and decided to check my pickup tube to pan clearance witha hanger bent ....... I got no clearance between the pan and pickup, I have to really shove the wire in..... whata bummer... I decided to see what LMC had for stock replacement pan, according to their part #'s on the big block pan, it covers many years, including the 454, I got the stock 402 w/about 8000 miles on it, leaked from the get go, when eng. installed. but just now gett'n around to fixin the leaks, ( nothing I hate more exhaust and oil leaks) .
Well, I will see how the LMC pan fits and size, I just had issues with taking a bigger stock pan off and putting a smaller one on, along with no clearance between pickup tube......
thanks for lett'n me yell for a while.... I just moved from midwest, and why is it , I could find a descent parts store , but now, I find nothing but know it all's , I am living in so cali. and cant find one worth a sh@*.?
Next weekend will be sucked up with finishing my job. hopefully I will have a clearer head and more tolerance for incompitence......