I have a 1955 Thunderbird with the 292 engine.  The valves area is clean as a whistle but the oiling on the left bank is OK while the oiling in the right bank is minimal.  it is not zero, but there is very little oil coming out of the end tube that oils the timing chain.  Am I wasting my time trying to fix this in the car. or do I have to remove the engine and have the cam bearings replaced with the deeper groove in the cam bearing.  The engine runs fine and does not use oil, so I am reluctant to have the engine completely rebuilt if there may be a fix.  THANKS!

the right bank never gave as much oil as the left.if theres any oil coming out dont worry about it.

If there is oil coming out of the overflow tube, then the rocker shaft is full of oil.  That is all that the rockers require.  I would not be concerned about this.  The timing chain doesn't require a flood of oil either.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

As both Darrel and John mention, as long as the right bank is getting oil, then it’s best to just monitor the situation and let it ride.  Darrel is correct in that the right bank typically gets less oil than the left bank.

But some more details on your combination are always helpful.  How many miles on the engine since its last rebuild?  Do you know the brand of cam bearings and/or details about the camshaft?  Grooved center journal camshaft or cross drilled?  Oiling when using cross-drilled camshafts is noticeably less than what’s seen with grooved camshafts.  What weight oil?  Is that oiling being observed with the engine thoroughly warmed up or is it still on the cool side?  The temperature of the oil is always a player when it comes to oil flow.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Hi Ted.  This is a vehicle that I purchased from an estate sale.  I have known the owner for over 50 years and she kept receipts for everything she did to all her cars.  I looked through all the invoices and it appears she purchased the car in July of 1971.  There was no engine rebuild in the invoices but there were lots of invoices for general maintenance.  I did not find any engine rebuild but she did service it an take excellent care of the vehicle.  It looks like she has put on about 75,000 miles in the 50 years she owned the car.  I have no idea on what was done prior to 1971 or the brand of parts used.  When I say there is little oil, I see that the tube appears to be wet with oil but I see almost no oil flow. There is oil on the head below the valves in the valley at the edge of the head where the valve cover seals.  I just thought there should be more oil coming out of the tube. 

Being a ’55 model, that engine originally had a cross-drilled camshaft and if it still does, then oil flow out of the overflow tubes will be minimal at best.  That’s not a problem as any oil being present at the top end is typically enough.  The cross-drilled camshaft engines seem to be more prone to the oil galleys plugging so performing regular oil changes based on time rather than mileage is always recommended.  An oil pressure check of the engine would be beneficial as low oil pressure can be indicative of worn engine bearings which will drop the oil flow to the top.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Thank you TED!  I will install a mechanical gauge on the engine for oil pressure to verify the pressure.