Im in the process of rebuilding my first car, its a 1971 Cutlass Supreme. The original engine is gone, about 20 years ago the #6 rod came thru the block at a local track around here. The car sat for a long time until I had the time and money to do anything to it. I recently had a 403 built for it. break in went fine, no overheating issues and about 60 psi at 2k rpm. Used Brad Penn straight 30 break in oil, with a K&N filter. After break in was done, changed oil and filter. The filter is a Wixs filter and Brad Penn 10w-30 oil. Now my oil pressure is approx. 70 psi at 1k rpm even at operating temp of 180-190*? The guages and sending units are brand new Stewert Warner electric guages. I understand clearances and oil weight are the determining factor of oil pressure. But I would think if the tolerences were tight I would have higher coolant temps??? Or am I wrong thinking this? The engine was built by a well known and respected Olds builder. Should I change to a thinner oil?? Im just kinda hesitant on doing that?Attached is the build sheet. Any help would be greatly appreciated. The engine runs great, huge difference from the anemic 403 that came out of the trans am. Just seeing that high oil pressure worries me.


Wont let me upload it? I'll just type it out.

M&J Proformance Built 403
+.024 KB Pistons -.030 Deck
.040 Cometic Head Gaskets
Ultradyne Cam 231/239 .571/541 LC109
Cloyes Timing Chain
#2 Heads, street/strip port, 2.072/1.625 Milidon Valves 64cc Combustion Chamber
ARP Main studs and straps
ARP Head studs
Clevite Bearings
Edelbrock Performer Intake
Full block machine, bake, blast bore, hone, deck & line bore
Full rotating assembly balanced
330 Crank grind 10/10

What I've added:
750 Holley Vac Sec
Proform HEI Dist
Flow Cooler Water Pump
MSD 8.8 wires
Robbie Mac Fuel pump
Hughies 2500 converter
TH350 Trans (rebuild to handle this engine)
3:42 LS rear gear
Summit mini starter
Hedman long tube ceramic hedders

 

Yep,,,,,,it has increased ever since the oil change. I'm not sure about the oil pump shim though? I never thought about the filter though, I wanted to stay with a quality filter and the parts store didnt have the K&N filter, so I went with the Wixs. I will try that. Thanks alot for the fast reply. I cant believe I didnt think of the filter,,,,duh??

Thank You
Brian

 

I'll be willing to bet that pressure will come down as you drive the car a bit, and cirulate the oil.

 

At 2000 its pegged on 80psi, its probably more than that but the guage only goes to 80. The car isnt fully together to drive it on the road, just starting the body work now. The driveway is really long and I've driven it up and down twice with the same result,,,,pegged on 80. It hasnt run long like this, cause i'm just worried about the pressure. I'm gonna pick up the K&N filter tomorrow and see what happens. I wish I could take it on the street, but as you can see by the pics the local police here would be all over me,,lol. Thanks though for the oil filter suggestion,,,being that the one on it now is a Wixs,,,I never thought about that.Gonna give that a try tomorrow

Thanks
Brian

 

Whats wrong with driving it like that around the neighborhood. The only reason they would pull you over probably is to get a look at it.

 

Not around here,,,lol. Theres not much that happens in this town, so the local township police have not much to do other than give people with any older car a hard time. Maybe I should finish assembly the front end and leave the body work for the winter months?? Thank you all for all your input. Ive sunk a fortune into this and I guess I'm overly cautious with it. I'm just happy that I still have my first car, 16 was a long time ago,,,lol



Brian

 

Joesw31, you were right. Changed the Wixs filter out for the K&N filter, oil pressure is back to were it was during the break in. Goes up to 70ish over 2.5K, but at 800 rpm its right around low to mid 50's. I figured I'd try the filter before dropping the pan and the filter change did the trick. Thanks alot for the help!! I really appreciate it. I decide to hold off on the body work till the winter months. Gonna finish installing the rest of the front end panels and bumper and drive it around for a couple months. Its been in the barn since 1990, so its time to take it out and get it some fresh air.


Thanks Again
Brian

BTW,,,, your engine sounds amazing. I cant seem to post my videos directly to here??