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Old 03-25-2007, 12:59 AM
go-fish go-fish is offline
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Default McCandless LA Instruction

Found this floating around in cyberspace. I have been trying to find every nugget of information about LA oiling mods because I am pretty sure I won't find a Mopar shop in my neck of the woods. I want to be able to give some credible information to a Chevy or Ford builder so they would be learned in the area of the LA oiling woes.
The quote below is from Herb McCandless. If anyone has precise instructions on any other oiling mods please post them.

Since this info is over 10 years old, some part numbers and other details may not still be correct.

"A ENGINE OILING

In an A engine with a solid or roller lifter cam we highly recommend installing the Chrysler P4120603 lifter oil block off tube kit. Regardless of whether you use a hydraulic, solid or roller cam we recommend the following modifications.

Purchase an 8-10” long 9/32 drill bit. Remove the main caps and on mains number 1-2-3-4 there is an oil passage which goes from the top of the main saddle to the lifter galley on the passenger side of the block. Slowly drill these four passages to 9/32. Cast iron is very hard to drill without the bit trying to hang so do not try to rush this job. If you happen to break the bit you will have real problems.

Take your oil pump and drill the neck of the pump, the section between the rotor and the main cap, 1/2 inch. Take a sandpaper roll (the kind used in porting and polishing heads) and go in the pump above the rotors and debur and slick the area above the rotors. You will need to slick the hole in the pump neck that you have drilled. Drill to 1/2” the rear main cap where the oil goes through and polish with the sandpaper roll.

You will need a 10” long 1/2” drill bit for the next step. With the rear main cap removed, look in the hole where the oil goes into the block. There is a 9/16 freeze plug which diverts the oil through the oil filter. Remove this plug by inserting a 1/4” rod through the hole where the oil pressure gauge goes in the top side of the block. Drill the hole 1/2” up to the lifter galley where the plug was removed. Remove the oil filter and any adapter or plates from the block. Remove the pipe plug from the block that is under the filter. Drill to 1/2” both holes that go from the filter to the passage that feeds the lifter galley. Now remove the pipe plug in the rear of the block, behind the oil filter and drill this passage to the center of the oil filter bolt 1/2”. DO NOT DRILL THE PASSAGES FROM THE MAINS TO THE CAMSHAFT. DO NOT RESTRICT THE OIL TO THE ROCKER ARMS.

Once all passages are drilled, completely clean the block very thoroughly. We use a Milodon #34010 Brush Kit to clean all the oil passages, and it works very well. Once the block is completely clean, replace the 9/16 plug that diverts the oil to the filter and the plug under the oil filter. If you make the above modifications you have greatly increased the volume of oil that feeds the crankshaft and the bearings of your A engine.

We highly recommend the Milodon 10 quart oil pan with the swivel pickup. This system comes with a pump cover and a 1-1/4” rotor. Using the 1-1/4” rotor greatly increases the oil volume that goes into the motor. The swivel pickup makes sure there is always oil at the pickup. We also recommend that you use a fully grooved (wide grooved) main bearing set.

We DO NOT recommend using a stock type oil pan that has been cut and deepened as these pans can run out of oil under acceleration or deceleration. The reason for this is that these pans are not baffled properly. While the cost of a good oil system is expensive, it is not near the price of a new
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Old 03-25-2007, 11:43 AM
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Jacksdad Jacksdad is offline
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Cool article - wish I'd read it before I buttoned up my motor. Thanks for finding that
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Old 03-25-2007, 05:28 PM
johnwaynefan johnwaynefan is offline
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I talked to herb a few times before he sold his buisness. (He's just about an hour or so from me) He really knew his stuff. He was a real butthead to talk to though. A real abrasive personality. But like I said he was the man to talk to about mopars.
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Old 03-26-2007, 12:28 PM
sanborn sanborn is offline
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Have you looked in the oval track section for "Typical Oiling Mods"?
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Old 03-27-2007, 12:53 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by go-fish View Post
The quote below is from Herb McCandless. If anyone has precise instructions on any other oiling mods please post them.
I met Herb at MATS last year. He's a great guy, taught me alot in the very short time I spoke with him there. He gave me his phone number and sent me copies his articles on this topic and others. I'll have to try to find them.

He still does alittle work for others, he modified my clutch pedal but it was not for profit.

I'll probably see him at MATS this year again. Last year he was at the INDY booth.

He reminds me of Don@FBO and the Racer Brown guy(Scott? Dave?). Intelligent car guys who like to share their information.
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Old 03-27-2007, 11:22 AM
451Mopar 451Mopar is offline
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That is pretty much what I did to my 360, except for modifing the oil pump.
My 360 is not going to rev over 5,500 RPM, and there is not alot of material on the oil pump to modify it for a 1/2" pickup.
I drilled the #5 main cap to 1/2" for the oil passage, but be careful doing this so you dont drill through the side of the cap.
I used plenty of WD-40 in the block and drill bit when drilling the oiling holes so the but would not stick. I may have even went with a 5/16" drill bit on the main to lifter galley since I couldn't find a long 9/32" bit. I don't think there is anything to gain by drilling the block from the mains to the cam, since the cam bearing holes are fairly small, it may make it easier to align the cam beairing oiling hole?
Since I am using a hydraulic cam I did not sleeve the oil galley. Mopar Performance sells a kit to do this if your running a mechanical or roller cam.
I am also using ARP head studs, and I drilled the hole in the head to 9/16" where the rocker arm oil flows from the block to the rocker arm shaft so the oil can flow around the stud. The stock head bolts are thinner between the head and threads so this isn't a problem if using stock head bolts.
Last note, the Fel-Pro head gaskets only have the large coolant hole on one end of the gasket. The hole should be at the rear of the block, not the front, so I believe the passenger side has the striped side up, and the drivers side has the striped side down.
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Old 04-02-2007, 09:13 AM
HankL HankL is offline
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another McCandless write up that is online:

http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/...907/index.html

note all the helpful little details in the write-up
of Edelbrock Aluminum heads on a LA small block.
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