The oil pressure relief spring is in the oil pump cover. Most pump kits come with several springs. You are better off getting the adjustable regulator from TA Performance. It comes with a stock spring that you can adjust with the engine running.
about the HV pump, just my two cents; they're totally pointless. you can shim up the bypass screw on the factory stock pump to get over 100psi or blow the oil filter clear apart. whichever comes first. whatisname Rod is running his 1000hp BBB strip only car on the stock oil pump. any oiling issues that you might have on the stock pump will be related to your bearing clearances and cleaning up your oil passages. the engine builder just throwing a HV pump on there makes me nervous. it implies that he's doing this because every time he rebuilds a Buick it spins bearings and this is the only kludge he can come up with to make the engine stay together. if you can, ask him his reasoning for the HV pump. if it's anything like that previous paragraph DO NOT START THIS ENGINE. it almost certainly has Chevy bearing tolerances.
I think you're going to have some fitment issues with that transmission. The th400 you got, is a long tailshaft version.
This was my first build and I didn't know. The builder told me he would prefer that I go back with the stock pump because of oiling issues but I didn't know any better and thinking HV would be better so I bought the HV oil pump. The engine hasn't been started yet that's why I'm gonna change it out myself before start-up. I'm thinking it's going to be hard to change but I'm gonna try it anyway.
The only fitment issues that I have is the oil filter is right against the frame and I'm going to have trouble taking it off. I will have to get a shorter filter. I have a Fram on it now I'm going to Napa to see if they have one shorter tan the Fram filter.
I have a Fram ouch. ou: NO FRAM OIL FILTERS, EVER. WIX, ACDELCO and NAPA are good. you'll get some other recommendations. what you won't get is anybody saying anything good about the FRAM filters. do not cheap out on this part, especially for your first firing. a lot of us like to run Shell Rotella 15w-40 diesel rated oil. that's probably the best "cheap" stuff you'll find ( $10-12 / gal right now ). you can get a lot of recommendations for higher end or break in oils. search on "oil" or "Fram" for previous threads. This was my first build and I didn't know. yeah, we're not trying to jump down your throat we're just trying to stop you before something really expensive happens. many engine shops will tell you that Buick engines have crappy oiling, and blame that if one of their rebuilds blows up. problem is, we have many 100,000+ mile, 30 year old, untouched from the factory engines ( barring oil and filter changes ) that are still doing fine. where is this oiling issue coming from? you want a performance motor? yeah, we ought to do something about the oiling issues. guess what? full on racing SBC motors get oiling mods done to them as well. the factory SBC oiling system "just ain't good enough". if you can't find a good BBB guy around, look for a Buick v6 turbo guy or a Land Rover specialist. both of them will recognize the oiling architecture in the BBB.
The builder told me to go with castrol 20w50. Some guys on here told me that oil was to heavy for break end so its going to get drained out when I change the oil pump any way. I'll try the shell Rotella 15w-40 oil for break-in and a bottle of cam lube for the cam break-in.
When you put on the booster plate and adjustable regulator, you want to screw in the regulator until about 1/4" of threads are sticking out. Start there. You'll have great pressure and can always back it down if you like. You need to spin the oil pump with a drill first before firing it the 1st time. Did you ever ask ther builder what the rod and main tolerances are?
Haven't got around to it yet but I'm going to call and find out tomorrow and when i get them I'm gonna post them.
Called the machine shop today and talked to the builder. He told me that the clearances were 1.5 to 2 thousands clearance on the rod and main journals. He said on my rebuild he didn't have any problems so he was pretty sure it's between 1.5 to 2 thousands and no more. What is a way to check for me to make sure? Do I need a filler gauge or what?
Which headers would be best for my set up with standard heads to avoid clearance problems and perform at its best? TA Performance 1 7/8" Competition Headers or TA Performance 1 7/8" shorty headers
