What is the oil pressure before it gets up to normal?  As long as you have some pressure I am not sure it is something to worry about. On my very tired engine oil pressure dropped to 5 at an idle after warm up and made it back to 30 at running speed.  Never seemed to bother it; ran like that for many years before I took it off the road for a restoration.  I wonder if your situation is just the nature of the beast.  What weight oil are you using?  I always ran straight SAE 30.  if you are using multi-viscosity oil could that possibly account for the difference at start up? 

Definitely line with plywood to protect the battery.  I had a rock come up and crack the case on mine.  It wasn't pretty.

I am trying to determine if the trim on my early Briggs body coupe is correct and, if not, what the correct trim looks like.  I am at the point in my restoration where I need to remove the insert to prep for paint and replace one cracked support rib.  Hopefully I have attached a picture of what I have.

Looks are secondary.  The key factor is a tight system with no leaks.  Most of the issues with vacuum tank systems boil down to fittings that are not 100% air tight.  I use the heavy yellow teflon tape on all the joints.  I trim the excess off so it does not show.  If you use it just be sure it starts far enough back on the threads so that it can't interfere with flow or break off and block the line.

Ian, I never got mine to turn and stopped trying after getting the information here about how to make the adjustment.  It certainly looks like it would turn but I put plenty of force on it without any movement.  Thinking it through now it makes sense that it does not move because if it did the steering column could slide up and down even after the nut that sets the location of the worm gear is in place and the locking bolt on the steering box is tightened.  That is because the locking bolt keeps the steering box locked on the threads of the nut and not on the column itself.  I suppose the fact that your nut turns on the shaft doesn't matter as long as the steering box is fixed on the frame and the steering column is held in place by the bracket on the dashboard.  That way I don't think anything can move even if the nut is not fixed to the column.

Electric fuel pumps may differ depending on the manufacturer but the electric fuel pump I had on my 30-U had a integral shut off solenoid that stopped the flow of fuel when it was off.  I ran the car with it and had the wrong vacuum tank on the firewall which I bypassed.  I have had other cars with vacuum tanks, not Kingstons however, and rarely needed to prime them, even after sitting for months. I am not sure it's worth installing an electric pump if the vacuum tank works as it should.   I would certainly try it first without an electric fuel pump.  You can always add one later if needed.

I have the master parts list but that does not provide any servicing material.  I actually have the original owners manual for my car but did not think to look at it. I should have realized that in those days the owners manual covered practical maintenance issues unlike the owners manuals of today that are filled with ridiculous warnings for insurance purposes and instructions for programming the electronics!  Thanks again for all the help.

Thanks that is just the information I was looking for. That's why I was asking the question.  I assumed the nut had to move on the column but in fact the nut turns the column.
What resource do you have for that kind of information?  I hate flying blind on this project but have not been able to find any really helpful reference material.  That's why this forum is so valuable!

That is the one.  I was able to remove the steering gear housing by unscrewing it counter clockwise as opposed to using the nut that you show.  I assume the normal procedure would have been to use the nut but it won't budge.  I was going to apply some heat but do not want to damage anything.   That nut appears to be used to move the worm gear up and down on the steering shaft so I assume it must turn although I guess it's possible the nut is just there to hold the column while you screw the housing on.

Chet, I am not talking about the steering worm adjusting screw and lock nut.  I am referring to the large nut on the column itself that screws into the steering gear housing.  I believe it is referred to as the steering gear worm adjusting nut and is right above the steering gear housing clamp bolt which locks the housing on to the steering column.

After weeks of soaking with penetrating fluid I still cannot get the steering gear adjusting nut to budge.  I have the column out of the car so I finally unscrewed the worm gear housing from the nut but the nut still will not turn on the steering column.  Before I try heat and a big wrench is there any secret here?  Is the nut also threaded on the steering column and unscrews counterclockwise or does it just sit on the column?

I have a few original early cars and none of them have any protective covering other than a light wash of black paint.  They may have been treated with some type of preservative from the factory but there is no way to tell.  My 30-U floorboards are bare wood that is now well preserved with grease and oil.  I plan to replace them and will treat them with Cuprinol and paint them black.

I am right at the point of doing what you just did and can't tell you how great it is to have your pictures and narrative available as a reference.  Doing this stuff blind is scary when you realize that replacement parts don't exist if you screw something up.  What a great resource!

Looks great!  I doubt the convicts did better when those plates were made!

Thanks that is very helpful.  I can't understand why the original owners manual that came with the car says the dome light is only on sedans but that must be a mistake if you all have dome lights.
Now if I can get some pictures of the roof insert I can figure out if the trim material on my car is correct before I start to replace it.