After doing a thorough survey of my recently acquired '77 spider, I immediately noticed that the oil pan had multiple dents in it. Since the engine had not been turned over for 10 years, I decided to pull the pan and check out the bottom end of the engine and also see what I could do to remove the dents in the pan. I found that the only way to get the oil pan off is to unbolt the two forward motor mounts and jack up the engine so that the pan can clear the crossmember. Once I did that, it came out easily. The first thing I discovered was that the oil pump pickup tube was cracked. The oil pump strainer sits rather close to the bottom of the pan and the pounding the pan had taken had broken the pickup tube. Not sure how long the car was driven with a cracked pickup tube but I'm sure it lowered the oil pressure. There is no apparent damage on the bottom end of the engine. I'm replacing the oil pump assembly and then will inspect the camshaft and valve assembly for any damage or wear. A word of caution: If you have an oil pan that appears to be dented more than 3/8", you may want to inspect for damage to the strainer and pickup.

many owners add an extra qt of oil to prevent engine failure once the pan gets dented. Oil pressure isn't affected by a broken pickup, UNTIL the pump sucks air either in a turn or when the level drops. That will quickly lead to lower end failure