Mike,
First Welcome to the list.
It is correct in that there is no real 'oil seal' on the crank. The crank has
a scroll cut into the crank that is supposed to bring/sling the oil back into
the crankcase. This works but there is always a little oil loss. A quart
every 200 miles is not 'normal' by any means. As others have already pointed
out the crankcase does need to breath so that there is no positive pressure
building up to help force oil out. Malfunctioning PVC valve, clogged timing
chain cover vent, or no valve cover vent will all contribute to this problem.
You say the engine was recently rebuilt. Has it been broken in? You could have
rings which have not seated and are letting more blowby than the venting
system can handle and causing positive pressure in the crankcase. Also if the
rear scroll assembly was taken completely apart during the 'rebuild' and not
reassembled in the proper sequence, it will leak, badly. Options! Well you
could check the venting and make sure it's all working, i.e., no positive
crankshaft pressure. Do a compression check to see if compression is where it
should be or to check that there is no excessive blowby. Check to see if it is
or is not the rear oil pan seal. If all the above are okay, then it's pull
the engine time to redo the rear crank scroll seal. I am not to far from you
so if you need some help, just ask.
Biff Jones
Pasadena, MD
'59 Bugeye, 'Kermit'
'62 Sprite, 'Ole Gray'
'71 Midget, 'Freebie'
http://sprites2.homestead.com/
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