I have a 350 small block chevy that I recently started after long term storage. I removed the distributer and used a pre-oil tool with electric drill. I also squirted some oil into cylinders before starting. The engine did start but when I removed the valve cover on the passenger side with the engine running to adjust solid lifters, there was no new oil arriving so I shut the engine down. Oil pressure was normal. I have not looked under the other valve cover yet. I will do this tomorrow when its warmer.
This situation did happen to me once before, when I installed the engine for the first time. No oil flow on the passenger side valve train. I was sick thinking I would have to tear it apart. There was a happy ending though. When installing distributer, I deviated from the factory postion to decrease the angle of the tach cable (I moved the spark plug wires on the cap and then rotated the distributer to restore timing. This avoided an acute angle on the tach cable). I didn't think it would create a problem but it cut off oil to one side of the engine. When looking at the distributer shaft, there was an ring at the height of the valley passage ways but this ring was not 360 degress around the distibuter. Rotating the distributer caused the distriber to cut off the oil. When I undid my "clever" way of decreasing the tach cable angle, oil was restored. When at the Ecklers web site, I saw a right angle converter for the tach cable to avoid sharp bends.
The engine ran fine and 30,000 miles later put it into storage. Now, after removing the distributer to pre-oil it, I have the same problem! I was careful to put the distributer back to the same postition.
Can anyone suggest any other explanation for my lack of oil on one side of the engine?
