OIL PRESSURE

Low oil pressure comes from a combination of three things on an old engine: bearing wear makes for big clearances and oil escapes easily, worn oil pumps have big clearances and so the oil leaks back in the pump, and the spring in the pressure control valve has weakened with age. First thing to do is to adjust the oil pressure control (sometimes called pressure relief valve), usually with a shim under the spring to raise the system pressure. If the pump won't do it then its time for a pump and likely rod and main bearings and maybe camshaft bearings. Also worth checking the rocker arm shaft to see that its ends are plugged. The original plugs are corks and this Continental engine has a propensity to loose them and then loose oil pressure to the rocker arms which leads to breaking off the anti rotation pin and that restores oil pressure to the rest of the engine by shutting off oil to the rocker arms which shortens their life and new ones are very hard to find.