[helmerrock]

Thanks for the inputs. The plates I have are steel OEM in good condition. I found another set that has a better dimension to the dimple. So I massaged that set to get proper vane clearance and added just a small amount of Marine Weld Epoxy at the dimple to allow the plates to sit flush in the timing housing. I attached a couple pics of the inside of timing cover where the dimple makes contact, the original plates in the timing cover to show how far from flush at the top, and the water pump. The Gates pump from Rockauto is priced right and beats searching for a good rebuild with cast impeller.