You may, if you are doing any serious driving (i.e. hard cornering /
braking) consider
modifying your oil sump a bit. The engines in the midgets and A and B
series were really
not designed for the effects of "G" forces and their lube system is
indicative of
something like a Massey-Ferguson tractor (not that there's anything
wrong, just
not a choice system for driving at speed.) Huffaker engineering wrote
a very concise,
to-the-point book about modifying a "B" series for SCCA. I have it.
You may be
able to borrow some pages from it and apply it to your Midget. I
suspect that if
you install a baffle plate between the sump and the pick-up screen you
will solve some
problems, and you can get some more lube performance by enlarging the
sump's capacity.
If your engine has lots of miles on it you may be experiencing worn
main bearings. These
engines lose a lot of PSI if the oil is "leaking" through worn mains.
To check, you should
save yourself time and trouble by using a "plastiguage" which is a
small piece of plastic
which you insert between the bearing and the crank (after removing the
cap) and then re-
tourquing. Compare the "squished" plastic to the form and there you
have the tolerance or
wear measured. Beats using a "mic" hands-down.
Your mechanical guage is very sensistive to oil PSI. It is your best
bet on monitoring
the condition of your engine. Whatever you do, DONT modify the oil
pressure relief
valve as a cheap fix to increase oil PSI. This will only damage the
engine and shorten
its life. (Remember, contrary to popular belief, too much oil pressure
is just as bad
as too little!)
And, if you don't have an oil-cooler I would check into getting one.
Much easier on the
entire engine! Also, never over-fill the engine. The crank CAN
"churn" or aerate the
oil and reduce or even inhibit lubrication since the pump can't pick it
up properly.
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