SBC 383 Oil Pressure Results

[73c34me]

Thought for a while as to post this or not; not looking for answers but to share.

12:1 383 SBC. Back story history: 2 years ago the MSD distributor gear was destroyed- eaten away. I flushed the motor with kerosene, replaced the gear with the appropriate one, via Chris Straub. During this same time period, i was battling oil consumption and smoking exhaust. I posted here on these topics and received a lot of assistance; much thanks. Last winter, I removed the heads and had the valve guides replaced, and buttoned it up about mid summer. I didn't know if the ring seal was good or not, so I decided to roll the dice. Due to the high compression, there was concerns of damaged ring lands and ring seal. I assembled the motor and it ran smoke free; YEAH!! Note: It has a Hydraulic roller cam, and with the "light" use it was going to get, i filled the oil system with 10-30 wt. oil. When it was running, checking for oil leaks, setting timing etc. the electric fans did not kick on. I disassembled the electric motor, freed a stuck brush, bench tested and it ran. Reinstalled in the car, ran the motor and the fans still did not work. At this point I had a car show i was participating in the next morning, so I wired up a relay and toggle switch to operate the fan. All good.
So the next morning I leave at 05:30 am drive 2 miles and notice I have 0 lbs. oil pressure. Typically it has 70 lbs at cold idle. No engine knock, so i limp back to the garage, then realize I may have crimped the nylon oil pressure line in my haste to pull wire for the toggle switch; at least i hoped!
With the shortages and life I couldn't replace the oil line until September. After replacement the engine had 60 lbs. pressure cold, and 10- 15 hot. Revving the motor did not increase the oil pressure. Argh! Couple weeks later I changed the oil and filter. Cut the filter open and saw some glittery small particles l, same in drained oil. Not being metallic, i suspected the cam bearings were bad. A bit disappointed to say the least. Anyway, as a last effort, I drained the oil and replace with 20-50 wt. oil; same as it was specified by the machine shop that did the block machining. At this time, the motor utilized an aggressive solid lifter cam.
In closing, with 20-50 wt. oil, the cold pressure was again 70 lbs. and hot idle is 40 lb.s I then recalled that I used assembly lube on the rocker/ push rod contact points. A quick google search referenced that assembly lube can look glittery in the drained oil. I haven't driven the car much, but a couple of 30 minute drives and the oil pressure is stable and the engine exhibits no symptoms of being wounded. A long story for sure, hence the reluctance to post it, but others may be interested in this report.