hugh

For the curved thrust shims try landrover lt230 transfer box centre diff shims did us proud on our 1500 diff, only available in one size but !!!! Anything is better than paper thin or missing

Try and get a genuine oil seal the new ones are not of high quality, also watch out for a groove in the seal face on the crank, if there is one ( probably will be) fit the seal in a slightly different place 1/2mm is plenty so it doesn't rip the edge off the seal

Just bear in mind the bigger the gap the more blowby you will have, ring gaps should be measured half way down the bore on an engine that hasent a fresh rebore as the gap is always bigger at the top

Just leave the whole assembly in a tub of oil overnight

Assuming this engine has a camshaft that runs directly in the head,you cannot fit the bearings from the earlier engine as they are designed to fit a good standard size journal hole not one that is oversize, probably oval and knackered, it will just drop in rotate and let oil flow past the back of the journal, I have seen this many times on the 4 cyl engines and a few 6's as well, as the engines become ever older its becoming ever more common and I have to agree the block is scrap unless its line bored oversize and new standard size inserts made up to fit all the journals and shrunk in to stop movement, if this is done ( talking 4 figures ) you could fit the earlier smaller journal camshaft and a bearing set As said earlier beware to any one purchasing an engine to reverb that has the camshaft running directly in the block, bear in mind the 1500 spit is really bad news for this Hugh ex spit and tr7 reg sec

If you want the 'mutts nuts' try one of the posh gauges from SPA they are digital come with the sensor but are not cheap, but they are very accurate Hugh

If using the standard triumph (pun intended) gauge there are two basic types stabalised and non stabalised the sensors are different the change point is around 1968 The stabalised type also needs the 10v stabaliser, common source is mk4/1500 spit or one of the solid state ones that are readily available now If you are not worried about looks/originality one of the units on flea bay that fits in the top hose will work fine Hugh

I'd leave the cooler where it is, if its mounted vertically alongside the radiator, it tends to drain overnight thus increasing the time on start when there is none/minimal oil pressure Hugh g (Yes I'm still around)