Thanks. I appreciate critical. I prefer to prevent issues than fix more down the road. The only other oil modification is the higher capacity oil pan. I believe I saw some folks also adding additional oil drains in the top of the block, so that I guess oil can drain down quicker back to the pan. I'm wondering if your rebuild did anything more extensive.
Thanks for the understanding. Offending someone is the last thing I'd want to do.
My motor is a 71 351C 4V M code, 4 speed manual.
No, my engine was basically a stock rebuild. I was not looking for any high-powered gas guzzler, just the motor had 85K miles on it and was getting tired. At the time of the first build, (I won't bother you with all the details) the builder installed flat top Keith Black pistons and with head and deck truing, gave approx 11:1 compression ratio. I think he happened to have that Melling H/V pump on hand as well as the pistons, so opportunistic for him to use them. The cam is a Melling MTF2 so again, basically stock with hydraulic lifters. They broke the cam in on their engine stand and I followed oil change instructions to the letter.
Fast forward a couple of summers and it started running rough as well as burning oil, but that proved to be a separate issue. I was told after the motor was stripped down, they found the first two cam lobes and the lifters were totally worn out and the debris went through the mains taking them out to. I'm no mechanic, so I had to take their word for it. Apparently, the oil was squirting passed the first lobes, so they did not get enough oil. I don't think they did anything to set the pump pressure either and that could have been part of the problem. Anyway, I had a stock Melling pump put in as well as a set of 13cc dish top pistons to lower the comp ratio to around 10:1 which is much better suited to the crappy 91 octane fuel.
After I taught myself to rebuild a stock Autolite distributor, fitted with a Pertronix Ignitor II electronic module and matching coil, it runs with an initial timing of 14 degrees with 20 degrees crank for a total mechanical timing of 34 degrees @ 2800 rpm, plus about 4-6 deg. vacuum advance on top. I use a Holley Street Avenger 670 cfm carb, with modifications to the primary throttle plates to achieve a near perfect fuel/air ratio at idle. The result is it pulls like a train and gives me all I want out of it.
Personally, for the distributor, I ought to have switched to a DuraSpark set-up tuned for my engine's build.
Hope that's not too much for you.
