Hello. Goodbye.

[Bull]

Hello to a '76 TA, goodbye to a '95 Formula. The former arrived yesterday, and the latter was trailered away to OH directly thereafter. The '95 was clean and a six speed, but my needs and interests changed a while ago, and I have always wanted a second gen. I started with a thirdgen ('92 Formula 350), so this is my third F-body.

The '76 is a driver quality car. Newer but cheap cheap repaint, engine rebuilt last year but has low oil pressure (no noise) when hot. No rot that I can see anywhere except for the rear inner valance. Goal is to get it in cruising condition for the summer.

[DavidS]

Beautiful TA! Any ideas on the cause of the low oil pressure? How low does it go?

[My84Z]

congrats on the car man. still got the gto?

[Bull]

Originally Posted by DavidS

Beautiful TA! Any ideas on the cause of the low oil pressure? How low does it go?

Thank you. In person, you'd have to downgrade your assessment of the TA's condition to "pretty decent" though.

The pressure goes way low, like maybe 5-10 psi. My guess, based on what the previous owner already did during the troubleshooting process, is that the bearing clearances are off. I've also read that there is a small plug near the distributor that is removed during the cleaning phase of the rebuilding process, and that, if not reinstalled, can cause a low pressure problem when hot. I am going to drain the oil and run some heavy weight stuff in the car and see if that keeps the pressure up when hot. A bandaid measure, I know, but with decent pressure and no noise, I should still be able to enjoy the car for a bit before taking the engine out.

It needs some other, minor stuff, too, like a functioning e-brake and for the reverse lights to be wired up.

[Bull]

Originally Posted by My84Z

congrats on the car man. still got the gto?

Yes, still have that car. I's been hibernating for years now. It needs to be driven.

[Formula413]

Hey, long time no see! Congrats on the new wheels, I love that body style.

[danZ28]

Car's got a lot of potential! Nice find

[Grovlet]

Originally Posted by Bull

Thank you. In person, you'd have to downgrade your assessment of the TA's condition to "pretty decent" though.

The pressure goes way low, like maybe 5-10 psi. My guess, based on what the previous owner already did during the troubleshooting process, is that the bearing clearances are off. I've also read that there is a small plug near the distributor that is removed during the cleaning phase of the rebuilding process, and that, if not reinstalled, can cause a low pressure problem when hot. I am going to drain the oil and run some heavy weight stuff in the car and see if that keeps the pressure up when hot. A bandaid measure, I know, but with decent pressure and no noise, I should still be able to enjoy the car for a bit before taking the engine out.

It needs some other, minor stuff, too, like a functioning e-brake and for the reverse lights to be wired up.

Yup It's easy to leave out one of the 'Freeze Plugs' and have low oil pressure. I know when rebuilding my buddies 350 in his truck that happened, and once we popped one in, pressure problem was solved.

Hopefully it's the missing plug vs. bearing clearances

[ls6monte]

Welcome and nice TA!

[*LS1* Queen]

wow nice find! congrats