Just curious - my sump drain plug is at the front of my plate as positioned on the car. For whatever reason (who knows), I looked at my '67 manual and it showed the drain plug closest to the rear. Does this matter?
(FWIW, my oil pressure has been fine and the car has been getting up to max 200F in stop and start traffic)
I doubt the drainplug position has a bearing but I am interested to know whether this matters so much with the earlier engines.

The Veloce press workshop manual I have shows the oil pickup pipe in the center of the sump plate, which would mean the drain plug position doesn't matter (I guess). It seems this would be very different to the later engines based on other posts.

Fred

 

Fred, you are right the drain plug position does not matter as far as temps are concerned. As for correct placement goes the drainplug should be towards the left side of the car. Like you said the oil pickup is in the centre of the sump plate.
Have you heard of the TYP901 Register of Australia which is based in Melbourne with members from Adelaide to Brisbane. They can be contacted via www.typ901.org, this club has only been registered since last June. If you would like more info send me a Private Message and I help you contact them!
Regards Mike