[Houman SS '70]

Hello Everyone.
I searched all Oil Pressure Threads in Engine forum, but I could not really find a straight forward answere. It's probabely I'm too amateur and need to be explained thoroughly.

I am finishin my SBC 350, with new Edelbrock Performer Heads, Intake, Cam, ...

I used Melling M-55 stock oil pump. My car is 1970 1/2 Camaro and there's not Oil Pressure measuring unit on it.
First I wanted to know what type of Oil Pressure Gauge I should be using and in what range it should operate.

On the other hand, I want to know what should be my Oil Pressure at various RPM's. When should I worry and when I should not

Thanks in advance for all suggestions.

Houman SS '70

[18-FEVR]

Originally Posted by Houman SS '70

Hello Everyone.
I searched all Oil Pressure Threads in Engine forum, but I could not really find a straight forward answere. It's probabely I'm too amateur and need to be explained thoroughly.

I am finishin my SBC 350, with new Edelbrock Performer Heads, Intake, Cam, ...

I used Melling M-55 stock oil pump. My car is 1970 1/2 Camaro and there's not Oil Pressure measuring unit on it.
First I wanted to know what type of Oil Pressure Gauge I should be using and in what range it should operate.

On the other hand, I want to know what should be my Oil Pressure at various RPM's. When should I worry and when I should not

Thanks in advance for all suggestions.

Houman SS '70

You need at least 10 lbs. of oil pressure for
every 1000 rpm's. Ideal is around 15-20 lbs
per 1000 rpm's.

[poncho62]

You will find that most SB Chevys run at about 45psi and it drops off to about 15-20 psi at idle. They are not known for high pressure, and don't need it.

[Houman SS '70]

So what type of Oil Pressure gauge should I get?
What should be the maximum marking on it?

I had a Chevy Blazer K5 and the gauge read 0 and 40 and then 60 was the maximum marking on it. So if my SBC is going to rev upto 5500, as per your sayings I'll need a gauge that has at least upto 80 psi on it. Do I find such a thing?

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Best Regards,
Houman

[f355bird]

If you had a guage that went to anything above 50 you should be fine. Your motor will probably run a max of 45psi. So if you had a 60,75,or 80 you should be just fine.

[OldBucsFan]

Buy a mechanical gauge. They are much more accurate than an electrical one, IMO. 15-20 lbs at idle is fine when hot, and it will probably cruise at around 50. Remember, It only needs enough pressure to keep up with demand. Most people don't realize that TOO MUCH oil pressure can hurt an engine. Many times I have heard of someone who installed a high pressure pump in a stock oil pan (5 qt.) and the pump actually sucks all the oil up to the top of the motor. Then they freak out when the gauge drops to zero!

[18-FEVR]

Originally Posted by Houman SS '70

So what type of Oil Pressure gauge should I get?
What should be the maximum marking on it?

I had a Chevy Blazer K5 and the gauge read 0 and 40 and then 60 was the maximum marking on it. So if my SBC is going to rev upto 5500, as per your sayings I'll need a gauge that has at least upto 80 psi on it. Do I find such a thing?

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Best Regards,
Houman

All of the hot rod parts stores have
mechanical guages.

JEG'S

www.jegs.com


Summit Racing

www.SummitRacing.com

[Houman SS '70]

Thanks guys. Now I know what the pressure should be!
I think it shold be 15-20 at idle and 45-max at curise according to the rpm it is cruising at

The mechanical Oil pumps are the ones with a hose coming inside your dash? Right? It gives me a bad feeling to have oil coming behind my instrument cluster??? It's very risky? Isn't it?
The hose can be damaged just any time and you'll loose oil? If I'm wrong please advise.

Thanks to all.

Houman

[f355bird]

Yes with a mechanical oil pressure guage it will have a vinyl plastic tube that runs from the oil sending unit up to the guage. Dont worry about it leaking or breaking. Ive ran numerous ones in different cars and never had a problem. You can buy an electric on if you want. Make sure to use some teflon tape on all the threads. Just make sure to double check things after it builds up pressure and then again after you drive it a couple of times to make sure.Its less than 10 dollars difference and the all you have to do is swap senders and wire it up. Its all up to you but either one will be fine.

["70" Cougar]

Im using all auto meter in my car and it seems to be working without a hitch. Theres lots of different kinds of gages but ... why skimp on that kind of stuff when you have a nice machine and care about it.

just my two cents
bill

[RCastle]

If you are concerned about the oil situation and running it into your car,get the copper tube that goes to instead of the nylon tube.Alsao put the rubber grommet into the passthru hole you will need to drill to run it inside the car. Mechanical oil pressure gauges are much better than the electric type. Make sure there are no kinks in whichever type of line you choose to run.Fuel presure gauges are what you need to be concerned about. There are two differnt style fuel gauges,one moubnnts outside of the vehicle. The style for routing inside of the car has a block that mounts outside.Your line runs to it,it allows the pressure to then send an accurate reading to either a electric signal or a different type of non-flammable liquid,thus not allowing the firey stuff in the cabin area.

[Houman SS '70]

Thank you all for the advises.
I think I know what to do now.

[USA1]

Hello Houman, I am just curious, Is there very much hotrodding going on in Tehran? Are there many people like you building American cars? If so, I think that is cool. Good luck and rock on.

[Houman SS '70]

USA1,
Well there are not a lot of people hotrodding American cars around here. European cars are more popular among people.
We still have some good American cars here in Iran, you know some real good ones. It is now almost 30 years that we have no imports from the United States. And just guess how hard and sophisticated it is for us to obtain our Hi Performance parts here.

But we do it because we love it! Take care and thanks for your concern about our hotrodding situation here in Iran. Wish you a nice time and all the best.

Houman