1967, 390 hp. Oil pressure gauge question

[John A.]

What is correct Oil gauge for a 67, 390 hp gauge? 60 or 80 psi. I thought all big blocks had the 80, But I found a 60 in a original survivor car. Anybody Know for sure??

[Tom K.]

[Gary J.]

Re: 1967, 390 hp. Oil pressure gauge question

‘67 that I just got finished restoring for a customer had a 60# gauge 427/400. I know of two other ‘67 with 427/400 cars with 60# gauges. I have a ‘66 427/390 with an 80# gauge.

[Patrick B.]

Re: 1967, 390 hp. Oil pressure gauge question

All 1966 427s had 80 psi gages but in 67 the 390 and 400hp versions got the 60 psi gage.

[Gary J.]

Re: 1967, 390 hp. Oil pressure gauge question

Patrick, according to the 1966 Judging manual, reprinted in 2010, it says the the 1966 427/390 should have the 60# pound gauge. On very rare occasion the 80# gauge may be observed which is not typical. Now my ‘66 427/390 has the 80# gauge, so I guess my falls into not typical and on a rare occasion. My car is June 19 built car which I have owned for 34 years.

[Patrick B.]

Re: 1967, 390 hp. Oil pressure gauge question

I have seen other 1966 390s with 80 psi gages, but I must have been mistaken to generalize. However, I have never heard of a 67 hydraulic lifter 427 with a 80 psi gage.

[Brian T.]

Re: 1967, 390 hp. Oil pressure gauge question

The 66 390 HP cars did use an 80 lb. gauge. It would be rare to see one with a 60 lb. gauge. I believe the manual that is being referenced may have had this one backwards.

[Tim G.]

Re: 1967, 390 hp. Oil pressure gauge question

Solid lifter small blocks and big blocks got 80 lb gauges and non solid lifter cars got 60 lb gauges in Corvettes ('63 to '67).

[Brian T.]

Re: 1967, 390 hp. Oil pressure gauge question

That is actually not the case. 63 used 60 lb gauges in all engines early part of the year. 64 only had 80 lb gauges. And that 66 390 hp anomaly with 80 lb gauge and a hydraulic lifter engine. Take it to the bank.

[Ray K.]

Re: 1967, 390 hp. Oil pressure gauge question

This is how it shakes out in a August 1967 P & A catalog

1963 Corvette # 5654100 80lbs
1964 Corvette # 5654175 80lbs
1965 -1967 Corvette ( except Spec High Perf - with Hyd Lifters ) # 5654906 60lbs
1965 -1967 Corvette ( Spec High Perf - with Mech Lifters ) # 5654626 80lbs

Ray

[Gary J.]

Re: 1967, 390 hp. Oil pressure gauge question

It will be interesting to see what the wording is going to be like when the new 1966 Judging Manual comes out. I think it may be available sometime in 2020.

[Brian T.]

Re: 1967, 390 hp. Oil pressure gauge question

I would not consider the parts book listings when determining originality on this subject. Where is the listing for the 1963 60 lb. gauge?
Parts books are for service replacement purposes. For that matter, the parts book lists one grille for 65-67, one gas door for 63-67, etc.
The oil gauge usage has been discussed at length over the years for those that care to look through the archives. I believe that every controversy has also been discussed through the years on our beloved cars. They are really old now!

[Duke W.]

Re: 1967, 390 hp. Oil pressure gauge question

Use of the 80 psi gage due to the change to 55-60 psi hot oil pressure on '63 mechanical lifter 327s did not occur until very late in the '63 production run like May or June, and it continued through the end of '65.


Duke

[Jack M.]

Re: 1967, 390 hp. Oil pressure gauge question

Just adding these oil pressure specs from the 1966 & 1967 GM Info Kits (different sources/sections)... though I've also seen some previous mistakes:

-1966-




-1967-

[Joe L.]

Re: 1967, 390 hp. Oil pressure gauge question

Just adding these oil pressure specs from the 1966 & 1967 GM Info Kits (different sources/sections)... though I've also seen some previous mistakes:

-1966-




-1967-

Jack-------


These look like specs that came directly out of the American Motor Vehicle Manufacturer's Association. As I have mentioned many times before, while one would expect these to be accurate, they are often not accurate.

For any given year, hydraulic lifter big blocks used the same oil pump as mechanical lifter big blocks EXCEPT for one thing------the pressure relief spring. This results in L-36, L-68, LS-4 and LS-5 having a 2000 rpm oil pressure of about 50 PSI and L-78, L-72, L-71, and LS-6 having a 2000 rpm oil pressure of about 75 psi. In this case, the specs shown are "sort of" accurate but they seem to imply that the 50-75 psi oil pressure range is applicable to all of the big block engines shown and that's definitely NOT accurate.