I have a 460 in a '54 panel, engine rebuilt 7400 miles ago. I bought the truck with 5500 miles on it. Oil pressure was always low and as it warmed up it went to 20 running and 18 at idle. Start up was 40. I was told that a HV pump would fix the problem. So $650 latter ( engine had to come out) startup pressure is 60 after about 10 miles driving it goes down to 22 idles at 7. Reving it up at idle it goes back to 22. Read messages on this forum and tried some advice but no help. Engine temp 180-200. Checking dipstick at low pressure oil level is full, oil doesn't seem to be foaming. Mech checked the mains when engine was out and said bearing looked good. He's stumped, me too. He installed a new pickup and said it's low in the pan. Pressure doesn't bounce around it just slowly goes down as the motor warms up. I put an oil cooler on this but that didn't affect anything. Any help or ideas would be appreciated. Jim OB

 

The first thing that popped into my mind is a oilgallery end plug that has unscrewed it self and now it is squirting oil back to the pan instead of the bearings..Right next to the front cam bearing there is a couple of plugs there..Maybe one fell out??The only other thing would be a spun cam bearing ..

 

What do you mean by 650$ later ? What was done ?

 

What kind of oil you running in the truck?
I have a 429 in an '82 F-250 and i had just a little scare with my oil pressure, i noticed with running 5w-30 your engine needs to run cool around 160-170 and i have start up of 80 then running of 55 and idle around 15-20 but i was running the truck in the cold with a bra on my grill to help the engine keep warm in the colder months but it was getting too hot around 190-205 and my pressure was at running 35-40 and 5-10 at idle. with the BB you need to run thicker oil i was told

 

i have the exact same problem with my 460. it has 120000 miles though. did you replace the cam bearings? they are crucial in holding pressure. i would run a 15-40 desiel rated oil or at least a good 10-40. that should help. also climb a hill while on the throttle for 15-20 sec and let off the throttle quickly, watch your oil gauge when you let off, if it jumps up 3-5psi for a second then its problably mains....let us know what ya find. also be careful with a HV pump, it can pump all the oil out of your pan at high rpms unless you put a 7 or more qt pan on it...

 

Thanks for all the info, Jim OB