Lynn E. Hanover

Of course there should be no excess silicone for the oil pump to pick up. All excess can be removed before the pan is installed. Small pieces can be processed by the pump, and are removed by the oil filter. So, there is no danger to the engine. That leaves only not dropping crap into the filler neck when adding oil. If you have that under control, you are good to go.



I should point out for the young folks, (people under 60) that the idea of an oil filter is a young idea. Up to WWII you would have a screen over the pickup, and that was it. The oil was poor at protecting anything. Engines lasted about 50,000 miles, and then needed an overhaul, including boring the cylinders and fluffing up the pistons with a Knurl job and new bearings. With oil changes, good oil, and less showing off, the rotary can go well over 100,000 miles. Later engines had drip filters, where a small amount of oil was metered through the horse hair filter and then just dripped back into the pan. So, this was the common method of filtering, and when the modern system was adopted it was called a "full flow" system to point out its difference from the (then) conventional system. So now the "full flow" system is the "common" system. Where all of the oil must pass through the filter before it is seen by the bearings.



Before that, the idea of an oil pump was a new idea. A metal bar was bolted on with the rod bearing cap bolts, and just dipped into the oil in the pan and got splashed on the internals of the engine. Engine speeds were very low, and this system worked just fine. Still used on small engines as in lawn mower engines.



I built my first old Ford flathead, and was shocked to find that the steel rods ran on the back of the steel backed bearings which were free to rotate under the rods. So, the bearing material (Indium) ran against

the crank, but the back of the bearings were steel against steel. Same for the big V-12 airplane engines.

Further, the rod bolts were formed as part of the big end of the rod. Each one turned as part of the rod manufacturing process. So a bad thread got the rod thrown away. The caps and nuts were as today.



So, the good old days sucked real bad..............



Lynn E. Hanover

sevenracer

resurrecting this thread because I have a related question.

I just bought a pro-built engine from a retired racer. He had it built, but never used it. This is for improved touring spec, so no dry sump, or porting, or much of anything done inside the motor.

Anyway, the oil system is different than my previous engines:
1. Rear oil cooler port and rear regulator is as normal.
2. The front cover oil cooler port is plugged, and the front iron is tapped on the side with an AN fitting.
3. There is no front regulator and no OMP shaft/drive gear installed in the front cover., but the front pulley and bolt are installed and the cover has a bead of silicone, so it looks like it was meant to be ready to install (no further prep planned behind the front cover.
4. The oil pan was not installed for final use - 2 gaskets, but no baffle plate, so obviously meant to still be buttoned up before use

I have a couple of questions:

1. Anybody seen/used this setup?
2. It looks like there should be no oil flowing into the front cover - none to the oil cooler and none to lube/supply the OMP. Am I missing something?
2. For this setup to work, the front cover feed from the front iron must be plugged, right? I was thinking I would install a front regulator just in case - but I see no reason this would be needed.
3. Also, sort of unrelated, but what lubes the oil pump chain?
4. Only advantage I can see to this is eliminating a point of failure at the front cover o-ring? Again, am I missing something?
5. Anything else I need to worry about or check out prior to chucking it into the car and firing it up?

Thanks,
Neil