"work for underpants hey!"
- the underpants gnomes of southpark

ok guys, good news! mom has said that the El will stay with us, so, now i get to go wrenching...
my first concern is changing the harmonic dampener and the oil pan gasket check here (http://www.elcaminocentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=576) after that i can go slightly hog-wild (mom doesn't want it to be "gussied up" i guess that means nothing too off the wall, too bad i "could have had a V8") anyways, my immediate questions are:

1) dampener, how much should i be looking at paying, and how much time will it take, what will i have to remove besides the pulleys, radiator maybe?
2) oil pan gasket, can i leave the engine bolted up and just drop the pan? if not, what do i have to remove? what do i need to make sure i do to avoid any and all screw-ups, do the rubber seals up at the crank have a habitual leak? if so, how can i avoid it?
3) i plan on checking my torque readings for the bottom-end while i have it on the lift, what are the specs for it?

any suggestions? tips, tricks?
i'd like to ultimately hop up the HP on the V6 in there (4.3L) anyone got any good places to go for that stuff? heads, cam, etc. the main two things i want are a better exhaust note, and to control the body-roll, anyone got any sources for suspension, and some good websites that i can go to for clips of a 4.3L with a good exhaust system?
thanks for the help
evan

PS - i have decided that i need something to do more than i want to save up for the mustang, so, for the time being i'm going to work on the El, i'm NOT going to sell susie to the glue factory, and i'm NOT going to invest everything in the El, i'm gonna work on both, i like the idea of having the El as a daily-driver with enough umph to get me where i'd like in a hurry

ok, now i need a resource...
stopped by NAPA on my lunch break, inquired about the prices for the dampener and the gasket set, $46.07 and $26.24 respectively
the problem is that they only list a dampener for 88-93 Chevy 4.3L V6's, it should fit i beleive, but will it work properly?
NAPA part number - 6D05218 (i don't know if that is a D or not, could be a 0, the guy's handwriting is weird)
any ideas?
thanks
evan

Is this what you're asking for? This Damper is from AutoZone

PIONEER DA-2621 1 YR $89.99

WARRANTY_INFORMATION SEE NOTE
ALL OF AUTOZONE'S HARMONIC BALANCERS ARE NEW, NOT
REBUILT.

O"Reilly's Atoparts has this

PIO Reman Harmonic Balancer
1 Per Car. DA2621 Each $75.99

not really what i'm asking for...
i know that i can go to autozoo and deal with the counter dummies there and get what i need (stopped by there after i got off work, found the exact same part that you listed) but i'd rather deal with NAPA just because usually (in my experience) they are more intelligent, and have better prices
what i'm asking is if i can use the dampener i listed above ('88-93) for an '86 4.3L, is there any major difference that would prevent me from going and saving 40 odd dollars? someone on another forum mentioned that they might have gone to a serpentine belt after '88, and that might throw off the fit, and the working of it...
i'm in no real hurry being that i'm broke and won't get paid till the 15th, but, when payday rolls around, i'd like to save as much of my money as i can

also found out some more money sucking news, i was looking through my chilton's and i realized that it could be the seal at the timing chain cover that is leaking, and not the seal down at the pan gasket
what advice do you guys have for me with this? should i buy both and replace both to be on the safe side? stick with the pan gasket only? what?

thanks guys
evan

PS - did a quick search on the 'net, found one that needed a core from advance, $59.99
wish i had an O'Reilly parts store 'round here, keep hearing good things 'bout them