You could conceivably be losing some due to a valve bypass or weak spring. I would open up the filter element and inspect it for trash, and also check the relief valve & spring, make sure there isn't a little bit of trash in there, maybe even shim it a bit, as a test, and see if that makes a change. Also these springs do wear.
There are several pumps for the Spit, later cars use the angled pickup pump, it has larger gears than do the earlier pumps, and you can make a pump using 6-cylinder gears and a spacer for the body, but the stock pump should be fine.
Re distributor, I think you did exactly what I often do... over-oil the distributor under the breaker plate...
--Previous Message--
: The pressure jumps from zero to about 40
: PSI as soon as the engine fires and
: comes up to about 58 PSI over the next
: two to three seconds. After that it
: drops slowly as the engine heats up.
:
: I couldn't stand not doing anything
: about this so I re-installed the oil
: cooler before dinner. I have no idea
: if that will make any difference. I
: will test drive the car when/if
: possible over the next few days to see
: if it helped.
:
: I reused both the oil pump and the
: pressure relief valve & spring.
: The pump still measured good and was
: well within spec. The relief valve
: just looked good enough to use... and
: shouldn't be the cause of lower idle
: oil pressure. However, I may replace
: it anyway... just because.
:
: Since the crank was not ground during
: the rebuild, since this is the same oil
: pump and relief valve, and since this
: the bearings are new... the oil
: pressure should be the same or better
: than it was before the rebuild. The
: problem is... I don't know what that
: pressure was. I wish I could trust my
: son to know but... I know he won't. As
: long as there is an acceptable oil
: pressure at idle with the engine warm I
: may just have to accept this. There is
: no such thing as a high-capacity
: Spitfire oil pump is there?
:
: The distributor has the o-ring on the
: stem. I am wondering if the oil leak
: from the dizzy is from a different
: source, a source of my making. I
: applied some oil to the bob weights,
: the points wick, an the pivot pin of
: the points. When I looked under the
: cap tonight there was oil pooled at the
: bottom of the breaker plate. I am
: thinking I over-oiled the moving dizzy
: parts and the distributor is now
: positioned where the heated oil pools
: near the vent hole and is dripping out.
: If it stops in a few days I will write
: that leak off as of my making.
:
: Doug L.
:
:
:
: --Previous Message--
: I wouldn't rush to judgement without
: getting a few miles on it and changing
: the oil & filter and running it
: again.
: With .003 on the mains, and perhaps a
: little excess around the cam, the idle
: pressure will be a little low anyhow.
: Does it come up quickly and run 50-60 @
: cruise?
: If it winds up having low idle &
: cruise, after changing the run-in oil,
: there may be a problem.
: The oil leak around the distributor, if
: it's leaking from inside the
: distributor, it would have to be
: migrating up around the shaft, also
: there is an o-ring fitted to the groove
: around the O/D of the housing where it
: fits in the pedestal, maybe that's a
: possible leak source?
: Glen
:
:
: