I got the proper oil pickup tube seal, where it goes into the girdle. It's the correct part per the PET (very early '82 block). However while the seal is a great fit around the pickup tube itself, the counterbore / recess in the block is far larger in diameter... it has no chance of filling in that volume when it's compressed down. Is this normal? I also have the translucent seal from my original engine rebuild kit which I am not going to use, but I noticed it actually fills out that profile nicely. Can take pictures if that helps.

 

my guess would be it's the wrong part. I replaced the translucent seal with a black one and they were the same size IIRC (86 turbo block)

 

I would say that filling the recess is not mission critical. The seal does get squooze out when you tighten the bolts for the pickup. That said, you may have the incorrect seal. For no more than they cost, I would contact Jason at Paragon and see if what he sends you makes better sense.

 

Good call on the translucent seal. That thing is junk. Heck you'd be better off with a gummy bear…ill look on my block how my gasket fits when i get home… i have a block on the stand right now that im assembling ..