Initial startup

[69Shakar]

Today was the big day for firing up the my 428... when we primed the engine had about 40 lbs oil pressure ... upon startup it showed about the same oil pressure only ran for about a minute as we checked for leaks....there were a couple.. restarted the the engine not as much oil pressure and then the pressure starts dropping....put a remote gauge on just to make sure my gauge was accurate and it was showing 7-10 lbs at idle then the lifters started making noise....shut it down ....this is a hydraulic roller cam,roller rockers the oil pump is standard pressure and volume.... any thoughts as to what I should ask the builder? Thank you everyone for advice before I had this built and again when Murphy reared his ugly head...

[Drew Pojedinec]

Maybe a oil galley plug?

Prelubing with intake off, rockers exposed and distributor out should tell the tale if it is one of those.

[67428GT500]

That's scary. Did you install a new pump? One of the most common mistakes we see is the oil gallery plug that is in the distributor shaft hole in the block not being installed. You should also have a lot more than 40 lbs. I use Precision Oil Pumps  H/V pump. Cold oil pressure is about 78lbs. Hot at idle is about 24lbs. 
I would pull the distributor, prime it and watch down the hole for oil.  That's a quick one to run down.
This video may help you locate it.  About 3:32 into the video shows you the most common. Behind the cam gear is another one.

                                                                               -Keith

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4pokkublvc&t=17s

[69Shakar]

It’s a brand new melling pump. When we primed didn’t see oil coming out of distributor shaft area . We primed it for about 5 minutes or more to make sure oil got through the system. I suppose it’s possible a plug came out....

[67428GT500]

That one in the distributor is the only one that wasn't threaded from the factory. I got rid of the press in. However,  If you didn't note anything there when you primed it the distributor would likely keep the plug in place.  Were all the plugs cup plugs, or are the rest of your plugs threaded?

[69Shakar]

I didn’t do the assembly so I don’t know for sure what was used.. from what I could see thru the distributor opening I saw at least one push in plug, on top next to distributor hole.

[69Shakar]

It turns out push in plugs were used instead of threading the oil gallery and using screw in plugs. either the rear one blew out or the builder forgot it? The other issue was a catastrophic lifter failure... Murphy strikes again... thank you all for the replies much appreciated and maybe next week will get to hear run on 8 cylinders instead of 7.... even though it sounded impressive it can only get better.

[67428GT500]

Glad the issue was resolved, at the same time it gets old with Chinese junk that fails before ever being driven.