When 17 - 18 years old some friends of mine and I went through a phase when oil pressure was bragging rights for our cars.
When I rebuilt the 327 in my 64 Impala SS, I installed a high volume oil pump. In the day, the pumps came with both OEM and high pressure relief springs. I stretched the high pressure spring an inch or two and installed it. With 40W oil (Don't ask) the engine held 80+ PSI at just about any RPM above idle and pegged the SW gage.
A close friend had a 409/425 in a 57 BelAir. In order to out do me, he simply removed the relief spring in the high volume oil pump in his 409 and replaced it with a nail, cut to fit. Though he drove it around for several weeks without incident (Who knows what the oil pressure was), I well remember things starting to go bad when cold weather set in. (He too used 40W oil. Don't ask.)
One evening while cruising around, I heard a "pink" (It was hard to hear anything in his 409/427 57. The radio was useless.) and the SW oil pressure gage filled up with oil. I pointed this out to my driver friend and asked to get out. (I was in the front seat.) Rather than stopping the car, he down shifted and nailed it. As expected, the glass in the gage broke and oil sprayed out inside the car. He thought this was great fun.
Later, after replacing the gage, he installed a high capacity (longer) oil filter for a 409 truck engine. He had the proper truck filter canister but did not have the proper, longer canister bolt so he welded two automotive bolts together to make a canister bolt of the proper length. Apparently, his welding was not so good.
One winter morning when the temperature was near 0 (Still 40W oil. Don't ask.), he started the engine to allow it to warm up before leaving for school. He had removed the automatic choke from the rear AFB and installed a hand choke (Don't ask.) and a hand throttle for warm up, etc. (Again, don't ask.) After starting the engine, he adjusted the choke, set the throttle for somewhere around 1,200 RPM, turned on the heater and headed for the house for breakfast. Before reaching the house, he heard a muffled "explosion" and the engine speeded up noticably. His welded canister bolt had failed at the weld and the pressure had blown the filter canister off of the engine, impaling it into the ground beneath the car.
He shut things down before more serious damage.
To this day, he remains the honorary oil pressure champion.
Upload one or more videos to your post. Photo filesizes should be less than 300K and Videos, less than 2MB. Formats allowed are gif, jpg, png, ogg, mp4, mov, and avi. Be sure to use filenames without spaces or special characters, and filetypes of 3 digits lower case.
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - A Question for Dads This recent topic from the Tractor Talk discussion board is being highlighted because it is an awesome display of the caliber of individuals that have made this site their own. The young person asking questions received positive feedback and advice from total strangers who "told it like it is" with the care many reserve for their own kids. The advice is timeless... so although it isn't necessarily antique tractor related, it will be prominently displayed in our archives to honor those who have the courage to ask and those who have the courage to respond in an honest, positive manner.
... [Read Article]
Latest Ad:
1964 I-H 140 tractor with cultivators and sidedresser. Starts and runs good. Asking 2650. CALL RON AT 502-319-1952
[More Ads]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
