Hi all, I have a Pontiac 350 in my DD. The shortblock was a low mileage rebuild, it had no paperwork of course but it looked like it had a few miles on it after it was put together. I put a timing chain in it but the cam and lifters looked good so I left them as is. I put a set of stock '69 350 heads on it and stuck it in the car. I've been driving it for a couple years and it has never made lifter noise. However, it has always taken a few minutes to get oil to the rocker arms on a cold start. It snapped a rocker stud last spring and when I repaired it I noticed that about half of the rocker cups and pivot balls were gouged pretty bad. I replaced all the pivot balls with the newer style slotted ones and have driven it with no issues since, but I would imagine that part of the problem was lack of oil on startup. I've read from several people that Pontiacs tend to take longer to get oil to the rockers than other makes and that it might not even be a problem, but it took a good 3-4 minutes of idling to get oil flowing down all the rockers when I started it this morning. Again there's never any lifter noise at all. Oil pressure is 50-55 on startup with the gauge off the back of the block at the distributor. Once the oil is flowing, there's a good normal volume of it. Any Poncho gurus out there want to chime in on how long it normally takes to get oil? The guy I bought the shortblock from said it had a set of 455 heads on it when he got it, but I don't know what kind of rockers it had. How could I tell if the shortblock has oil restrictors in it for roller rockers? If the previous rebuilder mistakenly put Chevy lifters in it, would it have run this long without major problems? Thanks guys
This site talks about the oiling and if restrictors are needed. https://butlerperformance.com/rt-4939-tech.html I'd read it carefully and see what they suggest. You may have restrictors that have become plugged.
I don't believe they are any slower than other engines, dad and I have built a lot of them with no oiling issues. There is a hidden oil galley plug in the back right side, but without it I doubt you would any pressure and it sure wouldn't last as long as it has, same with the two front plugs. https://www.tinindianperformance.com/pontiac-oil-circulation-flow/ The drivers side is the first to get oil from the pump, with p***ages down to the crank and cam bearings. The p***enger side is feed from the front crank bearing. Make sure the rocker arms oil holes are not damaged and the push rods are open. Loose rocker arm nuts can also cause low oil at the rockers. About 3/4 of way down in this link, flat-tappet-cam-installation-guide.144486 shows the difference in Chevrolet to Pontiac lifters. Joe
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