Sorta non-Buick related, but figured I'd ask. The OHC L6 engine I run has an external oil pump like Buick's, except that it's a simple plate at the end of the gears and does not have the oil filter attached to the bottom side of the pump. IF I were to look at making something like the Buick scavenging oil pump block, how does the pressure regulator fit into the design? Or optionally, is it possible to simply plug off the pickup side and run a large external line from the side of the oil pan to the suction side of the pump plate? Then leave the outlet side (and regulator, filter, etc) alone? The outlet really dumps directly into the main oil galley and is a fairly large passage due to the sliding adjustment of the accessory drive the pump is on. For reference, the oil pump gears in the accessory drive are the same ones as a high volume Oldsmobile pump, so there is plenty of pump capacity and the end plate is steel for easy welding of a suction fitting. If I could get extra volume to the pump I'd be more comfortable with running a "balance" line to the rear oil galley plug like is done on some Buick engines. I worry some about the rearmost bearings. The Buick setup: The Pontiac OHC L6 accessory drive. The bottom right cavity is the pump inlet, the bottom left cavity that goes up and to the top right is the outlet. Looking at the block side, the inlet is the lower small hole and the outlet is the larger upper hole, which you can see the main oil passage casting in the block. The pickup tube is long and fairly small in diameter. I don't recall the diameter off hand but it's like 1/2".
