Top Loader with needle spigot/pilot bearing ?

[andyl]

I was in the process of doing final check over of everything before dropping the new donk into the cobra but im just not sure about the spigot bearing. The engine is a new Ford Racing 347 and has a needle spigot bearing whereas the one on the old ('78) windsor was the ball bearing type.

My clutch alignment too has a boss for the toploader bearing that fits nice and snug in the old bearing but when I try it in the needle bearing it feels just a tiny bit sloppier if pushing the clutch aligner rod side to side (or up and down). I cant really tell if its just that the needle bearing allows a bit more movement due to it's design or that its expecting a ever so slightly thicker input shaft.

The toploader spigot shaft is pretty tidy but I'd have thought a needle bearing like this would need a machined spigot shaft to run on ? Has anyone run a toploader with one of these needle bearings or does anyone know if this is a no-no and I need a bearing/bush made up ?

Thanks in advance

-Andy