# Low oil pressure at running temp



## CptTheAlex (Jul 17, 2015)

Hey fellas!

1966 Pontiac Tempest (Post Car)
Engine Specs fully rebuilt in 2016:
1970 - 400 bore .30 
Forged KB pistons and Eagle rods
Summit racing K2801 Flat tappet cam
Kaufmann Racing D port 85 cc aluminum heads 
Comp cam 1.65 ratio roller rocker set
Edlebrock RPM Performer Alum Intake
Q-Jet Carb matched to engine spec's
Dougs Ceramic coated headers
Stock crank, but was turned when the engine was rebuilt 4 years ago by Andy Beals racing in Thomasville, NC


As the title states, seeing really low #'s on the oil pressure side. Currently at 5660 miles on the engine. Upon cranking engine fires up around 55-60 PSI around 750 RPM, as shown by the electronic OPS through my Dakota Digital gauges. I took Pontiac Jims recommendation, bought and installed a mechanical gauge to confirm everything, so all the numbers i'm sharing are what i noted between a digital and mechanical gauge, which is mounted at the port next to the dizzy, but was also what i saw at the oil filter housing before the Alum upgrades at 4900 miles.

When in gear at operating temp, engine idles around 650 RPM and the oil pressure will drop down to around 10-11 PSI. If i put it in park at operating temp @ 920 RPM it goes up to about 17-18 PSI, where it used to be at 20+ when it was all "new". As Pontiac Jim had shared with me, the oil pressure at 2600 RPM should but in the 50-60 PSI range during operating temp. Mine does not do that at all, instead its between 30-40 PSI and never gets higher than 45 PSI laying into it all the way to 4000 RPM. It has done this since about 45-4600 miles when it had cast iron heads and intake, which were completely redone with the engine in 2016. The oil pressure drop off cam very suddenly as i noticed it when i was driving the car to a new place of residence. I could have had a diamond i clenched so hard.... At 4900 miles i decided to invest in all of the aluminum heads and intake upgrades, thinking it was a sensor for the cluster gone bad. The cylinder walls and cam looked good. I can't think of anything else to add. I don't believe the oil pump has given out, a friend of mine told me that possibly cam bearing?

Any thoughts or insights? I gather an engine pull is mandatory at the very least?


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

CptTheAlex said:


> Hey fellas!
> 
> 1966 Pontiac Tempest (Post Car)
> Engine Specs fully rebuilt in 2016:
> ...



Great looking car and perfect photo of it.  OK, here's my take. The oil pressure taken at the distributor galley, in my personal experience was a few pounds less that taken at the filter.

Here is an out of the box thought, since the engine was rebuilt, are you sure your dipstick reading is correct? Might you be under filling the oil? I might add an extra quart just to see if any change. You can easily drain it out if you don't.

However, looking at all your numbers you provided, I almost think you have a 40 PSI oil pump and not a 60 PSI pump? Pontiac offered the pump in 2 versions, 40 PSI for the non-high performance engines and the 60 PSI for the high performance and GTO engines.

The oil pressure can read higher when an engine is newly rebuilt and clearances are tight, and then drop a little. Not sure going from 55-60 and now 45 would fall in that category, but it would not be unreasonable if you had the 40 PSI oil pump.

So my first thoughts are you have the lower 40 PSI oil pump. Do you have a build/parts sheet where you can check and see what pump you have?

You could certainly have other issues. I don't think cam bearings would be a problem. If they were not right, I believe you would have seen that from the get go. Could it be main or rod bearings? Possibly. Just for fun, I might get an oil analysis kit and drain a little of the present oil (dirty) and send it out. If it has bearing material/metal, you will know you have an issue. You can typically go to any place that services big trucks or a dealership of big trucks as they use this to inspect the happenings inside a diesel engine.

It is possible some junk got into the check ball in the oil pump and may be holding it slightly open - this could explain a sudden change in oil pressure as well. Had this happen to me, but my experience was that the oil pressure would build really slow on its way up to 50 pounds, and idle pressure was low, but about 15 pounds at 900 RPM's. Over time the oil pressure slowly began to drop and I would add STP to thicken it up to keep oil pressure. Eventually wore the bearings out until one day I had 0 oil pressure. So something as small as a piece of silicone sealant getting loose can cause such a problem.

I don't know what happens to oil pressure if the oil pick-up tube/screen drops off. I have read this can happen, which is rare, and oil pressure will be affected. You could get an inexpensive bore scope and after you drain your oil for an oil change, insert the camera in the oil pan drain hole and look to see if it is attached. Also check for the space between the oil pick-up screen and pan bottom to make sure the screen is not sitting on the pan and blocked.

Correct Pontiac lifters? Sometimes you will get Chevy lifters which don't have the oil band on the outside of the lifter in the correct place and cause low oil pressure as they leak out. But again, you would have had issues with this from day 1.

Oil & filter selection can have an affect on pressure. I like the Napa Gold/Wix filters. For oil, conventional over synthetic and 10W-30 or 15W-40 depending on bearing clearances and outside temps. You should have been given your bearing clearances by the machine shop if they assembled the engine or if you checked them?

Have you ever pulled the valve covers to observe the rockers/oil flow with the engine running? If correctly adjusted, you should see the pushrods spinning and a good flow of oil out the rocker arms. This could let you know that the lifters are the correct ones and not bleeding off any oil pressure - just an extra thing to do, but may not indicate a thing after it is all said and done.

The bottom line here is that you will not sleep until you pull the pan and inspect the bottom end if any of the above doesn't seem to apply. You don't have that many miles on it and it would suck to have a major malfunction. You can try any of the above if you think they apply, but I can't think of any other reasons why oil pressure would be low or drop on you. There is the "famous" oil galley plug at the rear of the block, but if this is left out, one side of your rocker arms generally don't get oil.

That's my best guess/suggestion on your engine, and I may be completely wrong and you find something I missed or did not consider. I don't want to see you pull the engine for nothing, but don't want to see the engine damaged. Hopefully others will chime in with their suggestions.


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## CptTheAlex (Jul 17, 2015)

PontiacJim said:


> Great looking car and perfect photo of it.  OK, here's my take. The oil pressure taken at the distributor galley, in my personal experience was a few pounds less that taken at the filter.
> 
> Here is an out of the box thought, since the engine was rebuilt, are you sure your dipstick reading is correct? Might you be under filling the oil? I might add an extra quart just to see if any change. You can easily drain it out if you don't.
> 
> ...


Thanks 😄 i thought it was a good photo as well! Thanks for the well thought out response, one heck of an analysis!

I have never trusted my dipstick ever.. and i kick myself for not replacing it when i had the engine rebuilt... especially now as the Dougs headers and Kaufmann cylinder heads forced me to bend it to gain clearance for installing them, so now its loose... But yes, i wondered if i was underfilling the oil many a time I know from posts that i have read on here the stock 400 takes around 6 quarts, but have seen someone say 7 quarts, but also seen the glory of the internet say 5... So upon an oil change i do about 5.5-6 quarts. But yes, i have heard that the PSI tends to vary when taken from the dizzy galley location to the oil filter, but i know it was seeing that oil pressure dip from before i relocated the OPS.

The oil pump currently installed is the Melling-Mel M54DS standard volume, got it from Summit, hopefully it not the full on Chinese junk. I ordered 99% of the parts for the engine, but let the engine builder install most of it given they were going through all of it to verify the block was good.

Yessir, i actually work for Volvo Trucks, so the oil analysis was another thought i had. I changed the oil at 4900 miles when i swapped the cyl heads and intake. Additionally i have wondered if i some how got some crap into the pan that was picked up. The oil pan is a Moroso MOR-20492, which is supposed to be stock dimensions. Borescope might be a good way to go nonetheless.

The lifters were ordered from and shipped by Kaufmann Racing, god i hope Pontiac racing engine builders would not ship me Chevy stuff.

The only oil filters that have ever been on this car are Napa Gold, changed at every oil change. I also have to run the smaller size to clear the headers on the car. But i always fill the filter element, let it sit and put some more oil in it before installing the filter. The only oil it has seen after the Joe Gibbs break-in oil, is the Driven Racing oil HR-5 Conventional 10W40 as that is the stuff that was recommended to preserve the flat tappet cam. For the bearing clearances i do believe the shop provided me with the measurements, i have to find them because moving makes you always lose things and get back to you on that.

I have not pulled the valve covers with the engine running as i heard it becomes quite a mess, but, so is breaking an engine, so maybe its worth a shot. In my research on the "famous" oil galley plug that's usually left out by non-Pontiac engine builders, usually the oil pressure is never right from the get go. When the engine was being installed we shined a light in through the galley and distributor hole and pretty sure i saw it installed. 

You're on the money there.. i get all flustered when i cannot just go out and jump in this car and go for a ride. A few people have told me to just drop an LS3 in it, but then my car is not a Pontiac. I know there is reliability in this engine and i have tried not to cheap out during the rebuild to ensure such. Plus i have a 71-455 sitting on a barn floor... i would rather build a monster out of that before going LS3.

So to sum up, i think a borescope is another quick checksum. But the end result is just pull the engine and verify the pump/screen, replace the dipstick (cause i am a dipstick) and check for abnormal wear and tear on the bottom end?


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

CptTheAlex said:


> Thanks 😄 i thought it was a good photo as well! Thanks for the well thought out response, one heck of an analysis!
> 
> I have never trusted my dipstick ever.. and i kick myself for not replacing it when i had the engine rebuilt... especially now as the Dougs headers and Kaufmann cylinder heads forced me to bend it to gain clearance for installing them, so now its loose... But yes, i wondered if i was underfilling the oil many a time I know from posts that i have read on here the stock 400 takes around 6 quarts, but have seen someone say 7 quarts, but also seen the glory of the internet say 5... So upon an oil change i do about 5.5-6 quarts. But yes, i have heard that the PSI tends to vary when taken from the dizzy galley location to the oil filter, but i know it was seeing that oil pressure dip from before i relocated the OPS.
> 
> ...


OK, sounds like you have much of it covered, oil, filter, Pontiac lifters, etc.. I drive a Freightliner tractor at work, so knew the big trucks use the oil analysis which could be helpful

Looked at the Moroso pan, yep it is stock which is a 5 Quart fill in the pan (plus whatever filter is used which is typically 1 Qt but can vary, making the Pontiac a 6 Qt system). Same depth as my factory '73 pan when I measured it. So 5 Qts in the pan plus whatever your filter takes, which is the shortie you are using. The "7 Quart pan/fill" is not anymore than the stock 5 Quart pan. Pontiac moved the dipstick fill line and stamped the stick to read 6 Qts (plus 1 Qt filter = 7 Qts) in an attempt to keep engines from burning up when owners let the oil level get lower and then did those hard acceleration starts. So the fix was to change the fill level and oil dipstick fill mark and over fill the 5 Quart pan. So this is why I suggested trying a Qt over just to see if a higher level might change things.

Did you install an oil baffle and use the intermediate dipstick tube? Some will forget to install this tube, or it was removed during a previous rebuild and not installed and not being aware of this, like as happened to me, you assemble the engine without it and can't figure why your dipstick was hitting the crankshaft and is now 4" shorter. LOL If no oil baffle, there is still an intermediate dipstick tube, it just mounts differently. If you know you installed the intermediate dipstick tube, I would think you can fill the pan with 5 Qts oil and see where it is on your stick to confirm.

Now I have read that there was a time when some of the Mellings oil pumps were not up to their usual standards. If you have to pull the engine, I would recommend one of Butler's Pro 60 PSI blueprinted pumps. 60 PSI, but more volume (GPH) than stock. I went with one for my 455 build and with all the money I have invested in the engine, I had to use this pump with all its improvements. I also went with the Nightmare Performance oil pump drive shaft. As a minimum, you want a hardened oil pump drive to replace the factory piece which are inexpensive, but the Nitemare drive is a slick piece and a few bucks more. Member *BearGFR* I think said he had to do just a little touch up grinding on his oil pump for just a little more clearance with the shaft if I am not mistaken. I have not assembled my engine yet, so cannot confirm this.



Standard sleeved & hardened oil pump driveshaft



The borescope would be a good investment and something to have in your tool box. I have one and have used it myself. I just thought of another thing you might check with it as well, it is possible that the oil pump bolt (s)could have loosened up and some oil pressure is bleeding out between the oil pump/block mating surface. Just another thing I had to throw out at you to keep you nervous! LOL

Glad you prefer to stick with a Pontiac engine. I myself would like to at some point in my late life build a 488CI stroker with Kaufmann heads that flow 290CFM's. I already beefed up my chassis and have all the driveline components to handle a good 600HP engine, but something in the 500-550HP would be my goal. The only downside is that as HP goes up, gas mileage seems to go down - funny how that works. LOL


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## CptTheAlex (Jul 17, 2015)

PontiacJim said:


> OK, sounds like you have much of it covered, oil, filter, Pontiac lifters, etc.. I drive a Freightliner tractor at work, so knew the big trucks use the oil analysis which could be helpful
> 
> Looked at the Moroso pan, yep it is stock which is a 5 Quart fill in the pan (plus whatever filter is used which is typically 1 Qt but can vary, making the Pontiac a 6 Qt system). Same depth as my factory '73 pan when I measured it. So 5 Qts in the pan plus whatever your filter takes, which is the shortie you are using. The "7 Quart pan/fill" is not anymore than the stock 5 Quart pan. Pontiac moved the dipstick fill line and stamped the stick to read 6 Qts (plus 1 Qt filter = 7 Qts) in an attempt to keep engines from burning up when owners let the oil level get lower and then did those hard acceleration starts. So the fix was to change the fill level and oil dipstick fill mark and over fill the 5 Quart pan. So this is why I suggested trying a Qt over just to see if a higher level might change things.
> 
> ...


Lord help me, a "Freightshaker" driver giving me automotive advice! Just kidding lol. 

Yes, ill head out to the garage and throw some more oil in it to see if it makes a difference. 

If i remember correctly the intermediate dipstick tube was on there. I can say though, that after bending the main dipstick tube to clear the heads and headers, my dipstick was contacting the crank. I had this awful ticking noise in which i thought i messed something up on the head install, trailered it all the way to a shop, and found out the dipstick was just barely touching the crank. Bent the stick and ticking went away... 

Im gonna pick up a borescope for sure. Tools are always useful. I think just as a precaution, im going to go ahead and pull the engine. With the dipstick tube issue, oil pressure issue, i really just want to feel better that i went the whole 9 yards. Replace the pump with your suggestion.

Likewise! I actually have a 71 455 with a 400 Trans sitting on a barn floor in TN. My idea, before all this popped up, was to grab that engine and slowly build a monster out of it, something that was ridiculously powerful, possibly blown and one day stick it in a pontiac station wagon.. just a real barn burner of a vehicle that's all go with no show. Its about smiles per gallon as they say, thanks Greta,


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

CptTheAlex said:


> Lord help me, a "Freightshaker" driver giving me automotive advice! Just kidding lol.
> 
> Yes, ill head out to the garage and throw some more oil in it to see if it makes a difference.
> 
> ...


Freightshaker in name only - 2007 short wheelbase single axle day cab, Class 7, with Mercedes engine and automatic. It's not a real truck, just a wanna be. I only pull empty trailers, so never any weight concerns.

Whatever you decide, and whenever you do what you plan, drop back and post what you found as it may help others in a similar predicament.


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## CptTheAlex (Jul 17, 2015)

PontiacJim said:


> Freightshaker in name only - 2007 short wheelbase single axle day cab, Class 7, with Mercedes engine and automatic. It's not a real truck, just a wanna be. I only pull empty trailers, so never any weight concerns.
> 
> Whatever you decide, and whenever you do what you plan, drop back and post what you found as it may help others in a similar predicament.


Haha, i would say its just as much of a truck as a class 8. 

Yessir, i have a borescope ordered and on the way. Thankfully the Tempest has its very own 24x30 shop, so an oil drain and inspection will most likely happen once i get things sorted out around my house. Will update this post as i find out more. 

Thanks again for all your help, its greatly appreciated sir!


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## CptTheAlex (Jul 17, 2015)

Finally got around to using the borescope. No real smoking gun, however it looks like there is a hole in the screen of the pickup. As well as i found some pitting a rust on the bottom of the windage tray. The car/engine was in a flood at one time and did have water in the oil pan before the rebuild, so perhaps it was there before? Would like to hear other thoughts on what I'm looking at. Additionally, when i drained the oil the drain plug had quite a bit of sludge built up around it. It seemed a lot more than any of the other times I drained/changed the oil. Planning on sending out an oil sample for analysis. Im thinking an engine pull and deeper inspection is still in order, please share thoughts. Thank you.


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## CptTheAlex (Jul 17, 2015)

WOMP WOMP - I was finally able to tear into the motor. Possibly the oil pump? Not quite sure. I did find a 3 little pieces of metal in the oil pan, looked like it was a cotter pin or something of that nature. Not sure what to do at this point, i figure the bearing on the cam are probably just as bad. Kauffman Racing Engine with a 200-4R or LS3 cruise and connect swap...


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

You found the cause of your poor oil pressure - excessive bearing clearances, ie the bearings are worn out.

Time to do a complete assembly, and re-assemble from scratch. You will most likely want to hot tank the engine to ensure you get all the worn down bearing material out of the oil passages.

Hard to tell what the cause was, but the bearings look consistent. So maybe wrong bearings, oil pump failure, over revved/hard hole shot that sucked up air, water in the oil, dry start-up, poor break-in. In any case, you have good parts to work with and should be a reasonable re-build checking all the clearances again and installing new bearings, rings, oil pump/pick-up, etc.. A good machine shop can help you out unless you have the means to do it.


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## CptTheAlex (Jul 17, 2015)

PontiacJim said:


> You found the cause of your poor oil pressure - excessive bearing clearances, ie the bearings are worn out.
> 
> Time to do a complete assembly, and re-assemble from scratch. You will most likely want to hot tank the engine to ensure you get all the worn down bearing material out of the oil passages.
> 
> Hard to tell what the cause was, but the bearings look consistent. So maybe wrong bearings, oil pump failure, over revved/hard hole shot that sucked up air, water in the oil, dry start-up, poor break-in. In any case, you have good parts to work with and should be a reasonable re-build checking all the clearances again and installing new bearings, rings, oil pump/pick-up, etc.. A good machine shop can help you out unless you have the means to do it.


Yessir. The guy who built my Q-Jet, used the same engine shop. Was a numbers matching 440 magnum, and apparently he encountered the same thing. Narrowed it to improper bearing clearance. Hell it could just be cheapo Chinese bearing they threw in there and charged me a premium price. No point in dwelling on it now. Learn, lose, rebuild and live with it. 

Having found the little pieces of what looks like a busted cotter pin, which it’s incredibly odd to find something like that, it definitely needs to be hot tanked and flushed throughly. At this stage of the game, I’m considering contacting KRE and seeing if they are interested in the rebuild, just someone who knows pontiacs and has a good reputation. Everyone in central NC is booked nearly 9 months out or won’t answer the phone. Also thinking about maybe step up to a slightly more aggressive cam and add power steering and fuel injection.


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

CptTheAlex said:


> Yessir. The guy who built my Q-Jet, used the same engine shop. Was a numbers matching 440 magnum, and apparently he encountered the same thing. Narrowed it to improper bearing clearance. Hell it could just be cheapo Chinese bearing they threw in there and charged me a premium price. No point in dwelling on it now. Learn, lose, rebuild and live with it.
> 
> Having found the little pieces of what looks like a busted cotter pin, which it’s incredibly odd to find something like that, it definitely needs to be hot tanked and flushed throughly. At this stage of the game, I’m considering contacting KRE and seeing if they are interested in the rebuild, just someone who knows pontiacs and has a good reputation. Everyone in central NC is booked nearly 9 months out or won’t answer the phone. Also thinking about maybe step up to a slightly more aggressive cam and add power steering and fuel injection.


Sounds like a plan. I have read that some bearing brands do run on the tight side of whatever size ordered. The best way to check clearances is to actually insert the bearings and torque the maincaps to spec then use an inside mic to gauge the size. Then mic the main/rod journals on the crank and do a little subtraction to get the true/actual bearing clearances. Most of us will trust the machine shop when they tell you the crank was turned down .010" for example and then order the needed bearings to match. Then if you do your own assembly, use the plastigauge on it to check the bearing clearances to make sure they are about right. Plastigauge is not by any means as accurate as mic'ing everything, but it works and can certainly point out any big problems.

Going a step further, the best way to get the correct clearances are to insert the bearing, torque the mains, and the rods as well, measure, and then have the crank mains/rods ground down to get the desired clearances vs simply having a crank shop turn a crank .010" or "X" on the mains/rods and then simply order .010" oversized bearings. My guess is that the big name Pontiac shops, or any top class machine shop does it this way and is what costs more money during the build.

Another thing most of us do not consider is the outside temperature at which an engine is assembled. Metal expands/contracts, right? I am one who has assembled engines outside in the hot sun and cold winters. Never had an issue, BUT, if you do some research on this, it seems 70 degrees is the preferred room temp in assembling an engine. My machinist has a room specific for engine assembly - not only cleanliness, but it is temp controlled. I guess for us backyard mechanics, the clearances for the average engine has a range, so most likely you won't have issues. But for those race engines were exacting tolerances are required for an engine to survive the use/abuse, clearances must be exact. I know on some of these builds that the machine shop will say that they run tighter clearances and you can use a lighter weight synthetic oil because of it. I can't agree or disagree one way or the other because I am no engine building expert, but I won't do it and want factory tolerances on my old engines - and I prefer conventional oil as well, but that is me. I like the larger clearances as these older engines that have a lot of cast iron, hold heat, get hot, and my guess is they expand/contract a bunch and move around as well. The newer and modern engines are much better designed and made better - and with different metals and some having more block bracing within. So you can run tighter clearances if things are not moving/shifting around as much - but just my opinion.


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## CptTheAlex (Jul 17, 2015)

PontiacJim said:


> Sounds like a plan. I have read that some bearing brands do run on the tight side of whatever size ordered. The best way to check clearances is to actually insert the bearings and torque the maincaps to spec then use an inside mic to gauge the size. Then mic the main/rod journals on the crank and do a little subtraction to get the true/actual bearing clearances. Most of us will trust the machine shop when they tell you the crank was turned down .010" for example and then order the needed bearings to match. Then if you do your own assembly, use the plastigauge on it to check the bearing clearances to make sure they are about right. Plastigauge is not by any means as accurate as mic'ing everything, but it works and can certainly point out any big problems.
> 
> Going a step further, the best way to get the correct clearances are to insert the bearing, torque the mains, and the rods as well, measure, and then have the crank mains/rods ground down to get the desired clearances vs simply having a crank shop turn a crank .010" or "X" on the mains/rods and then simply order .010" oversized bearings. My guess is that the big name Pontiac shops, or any top class machine shop does it this way and is what costs more money during the build.
> 
> Another thing most of us do not consider is the outside temperature at which an engine is assembled. Metal expands/contracts, right? I am one who has assembled engines outside in the hot sun and cold winters. Never had an issue, BUT, if you do some research on this, it seems 70 degrees is the preferred room temp in assembling an engine. My machinist has a room specific for engine assembly - not only cleanliness, but it is temp controlled. I guess for us backyard mechanics, the clearances for the average engine has a range, so most likely you won't have issues. But for those race engines were exacting tolerances are required for an engine to survive the use/abuse, clearances must be exact. I know on some of these builds that the machine shop will say that they run tighter clearances and you can use a lighter weight synthetic oil because of it. I can't agree or disagree one way or the other because I am no engine building expert, but I won't do it and want factory tolerances on my old engines - and I prefer conventional oil as well, but that is me. I like the larger clearances as these older engines that have a lot of cast iron, hold heat, get hot, and my guess is they expand/contract a bunch and move around as well. The newer and modern engines are much better designed and made better - and with different metals and some having more block bracing within. So you can run tighter clearances if things are not moving/shifting around as much - but just my opinion.


I think you are spot on. Engine building these days is like most other things have become, a lost art. It reminds me of the quote from the first Iron Man, “built in a cave with a box of scraps!” Vs. pristinely designed and meticulously laid out in a hermetically sealed room by top design engineers that will tell you they “Can hang an elephant with dental floss”.

I’m really hoping that which ever engine builder ends up redoing what I have, will do a better job or pay more attention to detail this time around. I would rather enjoy getting more than 5k miles out of an engine.


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## CptTheAlex (Jul 17, 2015)

Figured I would finally get back with an update.

I ended up finding out the mains on failed. All the way down to the copper. Packed it up and sent it off to Jeff at KRE. Took about 9 months due to supply chain and backlog concerns, which was about 3 months earlier than he originally advised. Got it back home on June 1st have been delayed as I have needed a second person for help and back issue have prevented me from getting it all installed.

Alas:
It’s nearly there. Dynoed at 460/495. Went with a Holley Sniper EFI upgrade and roller rocker cam since flat tappet might be difficult to get prior to the rebuild. I also added power steering to the car. I will take a shot of the dyno sheet when I get a chance and post it. Just a few odds and ends to tie up.. such as bleeding brakes and power steering, also hard to do by yourself lol.

One question I do have, has anyone ever run into an issue where the upper radiator bracket does not fit flush with the upper support? Mine had about 2 inches or so gap. I used washers and long bolts to “make it work” before, but was interested in making it the way it was supposed to be. I can’t seem to find any other posts about others having the issue.

Anyways, hoping to fire it up soon. Any questions ask away.


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