1256 oil pump

[Chevetter]

Since there is an extremely minimal chance of me ever being able to find an original DTV/Magard high pressure oil pump for my 1256, I was just wondering if anyone had ever tried modifying the existing one to pump at higher pressure (could be done by increasing the relief valve springing?) or modifying an oil pump from another car to fit?

[lambaj]

You can increase the pressure of a stock oil pump by changing the relief spring, or alternately you can pack the existing spring to increase the relief pressure....... BUT, I am not sure there is a lot of point in just increasing the relief pressure - the key to increasing oil system performance is flow. Sometimes increased pressure may give a bitmore flow, but its better to have a higher capacity pump. That way, when you blue print your performance engine, you can increase the bearing clearances a small amount to reduce friction losses, but as you flow more oil, then you get no increase risk of wear.
To be frank, I think that unless you are planning to spend a lot of time over 6000rpm, then the stock engine pump (in as new condition) will be fine. An oil cooler would be a more advantagous fitting as this keeps the oil cooler (durrr!) and so thicker..... so more projection, and at the same time, more pressure too.... and it helps the non-water cooled parts (ie crank, can, bearings, pistons) a fair bit cooler too.

Food for thought.....
Tony (HA21)

[Chevetter]

Yeah I've been thinking about oil coolers too and you can get all the bits needed new - so a result there. Have you played about with coolers Tony? I was thinking of using a mini type one as they are extremely abundant and cheap and then plumbing it in with a 'sandwich plate' (take-off in front of the filter) which has an internal thermostat... and while I'm about it I might as well fit oil temperature and pressure guages too.

[lambaj]

Yeah, Used a Mocal 13 row cooler and sandwich take off plate on my tuned 1280 engine. Mocal (at the time) could not offer the sandwich plate with a built in thermostat, so I used a remote one. This all worked very well. I used the largest diamter pipes I could sensibly get, with fibre reinforced hoses. Oil cooler mounted in front of radiator.
I'm not familiar with the mini oil cooler, but if it is designed to cool pressurised oil, then I'm sure it will work, but mounting might be fun. I ended up making special welded brackets for mine to avoid drilling the slam panel.
Cooler will do a lot of work to preserve any highly stressed engine.....
T

[Chevetter]

A mini oil cooler, it turns out, is in fact a 13-row oil cooler made by Mocal. Job done