HELP!!!!! OIL PRESSURE PROBLEM!

[acelondon]

On the drive home today, i noticed something. No matter how fast my 318 is spinning, the oil pressure gauge never moves. Is that bad?
It doesn't change between 500 and 3800 RPM. That worries me. This car sometimes has a bad lifter click that goes away after about 3 min of driving. oil pump time?
I know oil pressure isn't something you ignore, so i figured i better get an answer quick.

1974ChargerSE
318-727-3.23SureGrip
factory engine, never rebuilt

I don't like where it sits either:

[speedfreak68]

how many miles do you have on the engine?...looks like ur fuel guage sets a little low too...

[FLG]

Simple things first,

Change the oil pressure switch. Had a similar problem with my 400, new switch and problem solved. It would sometimes read near nothing, but i did know after 2 + hours of driving, if there was a real oil pressure problem, i would have found out.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Hook up a mechanical PSI gauge to check the factory one's accuracy....

[acelondon]

Speedo read 64,036
not sure if that supposed to have a one infront of it or not, but the car is in great condition considering its been abused its entire life. I'm the 3rd owner.
I've driving this thing to and from Michigan(7hr drive at 80 on the turnpike thru ohio) with no real problems. so im guessing its the gauge. My gas guage started reading about 80% on a full tank a while back. Do i need a new voltage regulator in my dash cluster?

And in PSI, what do the marks mean on the factory gauge, and what is a good rage of numbers to hope for when i test?

[Challenger340]

Hook up a mechanical PSI gauge to check the factory one's accuracy....

Do the above FIRST and VERIFY the problem !

[acelondon]

But what numbers am i looking for?

[Challenger340]

Hook up a mechanical oil pressure gauge, in place of the sending unit, a read the "actual" oil pressure.

Opinions can vary, but if it Idles @ 25 psi HOT thats good !, around 45 psi @ rpm.

Don't sweat 15-20 @ Idle, but @ rpm should still come up around 40-45 psi.  IMO.

[acelondon]

Thanks!

BTW, that picture is at 35mph. So is moving in gear at like 1000 RPM. Forgot to mention that

[hutch]

Mine reads low every once in a while but I have to giggle the key for some reason and then it comes up.  I think its some kind of connection in my column but I have not had time to deal with it.