Basic Preventative Oil Mods?

Hey I just picked up a 360 with 72k on a rebuild for my Grand Wagoneer. Would like it to be a simple drop in replacement. The engine was running fine before it was removed. What are the most basic oil mods for a stock setup. I was looking at the mid plate and possibly hd adapter. The new 360 is from a 78 Jeep. The old one is from a 89 Jeep. Can I use this 89 oil filter adapter? I thought I read somewhere that they were better in the later engines. I don't want to do anything unnecessary, but would like this engine to last. Thanks for any input.

Are you rebuilding or just adding oiling mods? These engines easily ran 100K from the factory with proper maintenance. If you're just doing the oiling mods, then add the mid plate, new oil pump gears (maybe the Bulltear HRC ones) and the filter adapter without the filter bypass, or add the Bulltear bypass plug. Check the oil pump cavity carefully for any deep scoring and replace if necessary. Check the clearance on the oil pump when re-assembling. If you're doing a complete rebuild, then I'd do everything above, plus add the cam bearings with the smaller diameter oil holes. This is all I've done on the last two 390s I built. One now has over 20K miles on it, including some drag racing (runs 13.5 @ 103 in a stock AMX), the other I've yet to start, but it will make 60 PSI oil pressure when priming the pump.

Bob
tufcj

Not rebuilding just concerned about future issues after seeing all the oil posts. Would like to do as little as possible. Does the 89 filter adapter not have the bypass?

I don't think the 89 filter adapter has a filter bypass. You can see it easily once the filter is off, it's held in place by the nipple that the oil filter threads onto. If you remove the filter adapter from the front cover, be sure to pack the gears with vaseline or assembly lube so that the pump re-primes itself.

Bob
tufcj

Sounds good. Think I'll go with the newer adapter and pack the gears like you said. Thanks a bunch!