This looks ugly

Meet the uglier partner:

Start pulling it.

Rebuild time. Sorry.

No need for plasti gage
Don't know the history on the motor but a lot of metal or other foreign material went through it at some point.
I had a friend years ago that blasted his oil pan in a blast cabinet. He was convinced he got all the residual dust / abrasive out. Within 10 minutes of starting the motor his oil pressure dropped to about 20 pounds. The pump and bearings resembled yours Bummer

At least no you know why the oil pressure was low. What does the crank look like?

If this is your current setup...

340 (234/238@.050, .590"/.603") Solid FT, Yella Terra 1.65 rockers, 9.7:1, 63cc Sidewinders (Bowl Ported),RPM intake, QF SS-750 Annular DP, MSD Street Fire Ign., & TTI's. 727/Dynamic 9.5" 3800, TF-2, & 3:91's

I wonder if it was on the tight side of life?

Mr P may be right. I rebuilt the top end a few times and now it appears that it is time to get the bottom end straighten out.

The crank has some scratches by sight but the fingers did not feel much. It is time to rethink the numbers matching stock stroke thing.

Thank you all for your help! I learned a few things and that is what it is all about for me.

D

Did this motor ever eat a cam lobe since it was rebuilt?

I have had the car for 21 of the 24 years since the block was rebuilt. I never lost a lobe. I did drop a valve but no parts dropped into the engine.

That's a lot of years. No doubt something got in there.

Parts a XXXX to get these days, just a thought but you could always get your crank cut with a bit more clearance and save finding the extra .001 bearings and if your skirts are still ok send them out to get coated or re coated hone and go.

Not impossible but its a chore currently to get from A to Z without a parts issue.

On the other side of the coin if your wanting to stroke its not going to get cheaper as parts prices and machine shop prices continue on the rise.

A lot of good folks on here helping others with parts if you put a want ad up.... got me out of a pinch a few times.

I hope you post pics of your tear down, interesting combo and as well with the rockers you use.

While thinking this through and you approach to resolving it, Do not forget about the cam bearings, valve guides, Piston skirts, cylinder walls, rockers and shafts etc.
I'm thinking this motor had something floating around inside likely before you bought it. What it was is anyone's guess.
A cam lobe would be high on my list of suspicions. I can't remember when the ZDDP thing surfaced but alot of people were eating camshafts about that time, 1999-2000 ?
I would pull the motor and do a complete teardown/inspection/rebuild. Or buy a crate from a reputable source, and sell what you have to recoup some $$

I am planning on tearing it down in the near future. I need to make sure that nothing on the upper end caused this issue.

I have a couple of local automotive machine shops who could take care of the bottom end for me, but I am not going to decide on a direction until I get the upper end apart.

Thanks!

saw this in another thread and thought it might be helpful here.
can't tell for sure on the bearings color, it does look black. possibly foreign material or oil starvation.
https://www.mahle-aftermarket.com/m...114-engine-bearing-failures-brochure.pdf

K:
Thanks for that brochure!
After reading thru it, number 17 (oil starvation) looks a lot like what this bearing shows. The bearing also is not round anymore. It is distorted and does not fit the cap.

17 Oil starvation
APPEARANCE
When a bearing has failed due to oil starvation, its surface is usually very
shiny. In addition, there may be excessive wear of the bearing surface due to
the wiping action of the journal. In the most severe cases the bearing surface
will be smeared or scratched and torn. The bearing will begin to turn dark blue
to black in color.
DAMAGING ACTION
The absence of a sufficient oil film between the bearing and the journal
permits metal-to-metal contact. The resulting wiping action causes premature
bearing fatigue.
POSSIBLE CAUSES
1. Insufficient oil clearance – usually the result of utilizing a replacement
bearing that has too great a wall thickness. In some cases, the journal
may be oversize.
2. Broken or plugged oil passages, prohibiting proper oil flow.
3. A blocked oil suction screen or oil filter.
4. A malfunctioning oil pump or pressure relief valve.
5. Misassembling main bearings metering off an oil hole.
6. Lubrication system not primed before start up.

i would still yank the intake and make sure that plug at the back of the drivers side lifter galley isn't missing. never the less the bottom end is bad. looks like trash ran thru the engine or it was put together dirty. too much rpm with half groove mains and low oil pressure/supply ain't good. if the cylinder bores aren't wrecked i'd just clean the bottom end good, ring and bearing, and drive it some more.

""A cam lobe would be high on my list of suspicions.""

I finally got around to pulling the engine apart to find that the new SFT cam that I installed back in the Spring survived. This makes me feel a little better about putting another SFT in the engine when it goes back together. This is good news but this does not help with where the debris came from that took out the oil pump.

But, I was reminded about an issue back in 2017 after I pulled off the water pump housing. When I thought it would be a good idea to add a spring inside of the water pump hose to keep it from collapsing, I found this in 2017 when I pulled my water pump off due to some noise. You can see the debris that came off of the housing and I assume that the filter caught most of it back then.

I have a feeling that the oil pump has been taking a beating for a few years. Then with the latest cam change and all of the debris in the pickup, that it couldn’t keep up anymore.

Anyway, I plan to have the engine out of the car in about two weeks. I will then take it to the machine shop to have the block cleaned/checked and then we will make a decision at that time on how to move forward. In the mean time I have been cleaning/painting parts as they come off the engine and buying the new parts that will be needed for reassembly.

Thank you everyone!

I took these pictures late last night but as I was looking at them this morning, I found a shiny lobe in this picture. I will check that out closer tonight.

The lobes look fine except for #2 intake (4th lobe back) which looks a bit suspicious but it could be the pic as well. When you pull the lifters put a thin straight edge across the bottom while holding it up to a light. There should be a slight crown (radius) with the high point in the middle. If not
Also if you plan on re using the cam and lifters, the lifters must be kept in order so they go back to the same lobe. A small box or 2x4 with recessed holes works well. make sure it is CLEARLY MARKED

I forgot that plug once on a 360. During the cam break in, the lifters were rattling and the oil pressure dropped from about 50# to about 10# IIRC. Pulled the distributor and oil pump gear to get the pre-lube shaft in and when I started, there was no mistaking the flood of oil coming out the rear of the left side galley! Haven't forgotten one of those since (have found new mistakes to make).