apparently it's a 2 piece...when you say remove the bearing caps, do you mean only the rear? I suspect the front part of the crank is fixed by the timing chain, etc. Are you thinking removing the other bearing caps the crank can tilted creating enough room access the upper part of the seal?
also...I'm very close to you in Anderson. I collect old gas pumps and stuff. Maybe you know of a old rusty one in your area I may be able to persaude the owner to sell me. Thanks, Bob