1969 390 oil pressure and bogging down.

[ahgrafx]

Hello everyone my truck i got a few months ago has been doing pretty good after the tuneup but just had a couple questions. Do these engines normally run on the lower end of the oil pressure? There is no excessive noise or clattering from the motor. Does this mean bearings going out?
After the tuneup only thing different is it somewhat hesitates or bogs a little when i first press the excelerator from a stop so i have to raise the rpms quite a bit. Brakes locking up? Haven't checked them yet. Points to wide? A neighbor used a matchbook to gap them

[Manny]

Two things there to me. Yes the 360-390 fe's when they are old are known for low pressure. Mark's 69' has a 390 in it that is 12 psi warm idling. no rattles just worn. As for the bog after setting the tune up and all did you happen to check your timing? normally changing points can affect it and .017 is the spec. Match book can be slightly too thick retarding timing. Brown paper bag folded twice or 3 perhaps

[ahgrafx]

Thanks manny he is a good ole boy. Tried to do the toning everyone suggested but it seemed to idle too high.

Two things there to me. Yes the 360-390 fe's when they are old are known for low pressure. Mark's 69' has a 390 in it that is 12 psi warm idling. no rattles just worn. As for the bog after setting the tune up and all did you happen to check your timing? normally changing points can affect it and .017 is the spec. Match book can be slightly too thick retarding timing. Brown paper bag folded twice or 3 perhaps

[Manny]

If you don't have a timing light get you one it will be well worth it. help you get it honed in then set your carb. was it boggy before or just after the tune up? Actually that can be two fold with worn points the not correct adjustment. To explain if the points have too much gap the are closed for a very short amount of time. A time that is then too short to properly charge the coil for a good hot spark. Set your gap on the points then set the timing. Be curious to know how it runs then.

[Nitekruizer]

How low is the oil pressure? Does the oil pressure drop intermittently and does the engine bog at the same time?

My 390 used to intermittently lose all of it's oil pressure and start running erratic, losing power, at the same time, then it would go back to normal. Long story short, when I rebuilt my engine I found a spacer behind the camshaft timing gear that was causing 1/4" of endplay. The oil holes in the camshaft bearings were being exposed, causing the pressure drop and the endplay was affecting the distributor timing.

I too would suggest checking the timing with a light and checking the oil pressure with a mechanical gauge.