First of all let me start saying this is a rebuild engine that was put in 12 years ago before i knew my wife (her car)

There is no sludge to be found under the valve cover anywhere , it looks like the engine is brand new (how odd for a engine that was but in like 13 years ago and been used for short trips only)

After replacing oil and filter recently the oil stayed extremely clear for several weeks (strikes me as odd, never had a engine not making the oil dirty before the next day)

Fuel lines, fuel filter ,strainer and fuel pump were replaced a bit over a year ago

From what i heard the clutch plate at some point turned to dust and was replaced before my time

My father in law is a alcoholic and was most likely drunk when he put stuff together (might help in trouble shooting knowing this)

I have 4 issues i am trying to solve

1: fuel pump
works fine because i replaced it just over a year ago but re-used the assembly
When the fuel gauge gets to about a quarter tank it starts making noise and when i make a turn the engine starts stalling , so the pump must be sucking air
Almost seems like the pump is floating in the tank instead of sucking it from the bottom (hey its metal not made out of foam , how can it float )
Anyone have any ideas ??
Its hard to access the fuel pump as the fuel tank is in such a nasty spot or i would take it out to check it....again

2: rocker arm noise
took the valve cover off last week because the car has been low on power for over a year but been running and starting fine
found one intake adjuster stuck by hanging on its loose cap and 2 rocker arms were missing and were laying next to the valves (basically been running on 2 1/2 cylinders , lol amazing)
I replaced a damaged rocker arm , took the adjusters apart and cleaned them (not real dirty though) and put it all back together
The engine power is back but the rocker arms make a terrible noise which makes heads turn when i drive down the road

3: slipping clutch
The clutch has been slipping when pulling up quick for over 10 years now and did not get worse
As long as i don't push the gas to far its ok
In 5th gear against the wind, up the hill it starts slipping too
I'm wondering if my father in law put something back together wrong when he replaced the clutch plate or when he put a rebuild engine in while he was drunk
I don't really see a way to open it up easy to take a look or i would have done it already
The pressure bearing is not continuesly under pressure coz it rattles when i let the pedal go in neutral (needs replacing) so there is slack and not pushing the clutch all the time

4: oil pressure
the oil gauge shows a nice oil pressure half way the gauge until the engine starts warming up and the needle slowly drops below the 1st line (it drops quicker then the temp meter goes up)
I put some thicker oil in it but that didn't help at all
Was thinking some worn bearings or something and wanted to see if that helped... but not

Maybe the whole rocker arm thing has something to do with the dropping oil pressure and the oil staying clear so long , but when i crank the engine with the valve cover off oil sprays all over the engine compartment (well maybe it is not supposed to shoot out of the head like that and that's why the oil pressure is low ?)

I hope there is someone who can make sense of this , it is getting close to Halloween and it starts creeping me out (little joke)

I have been working on my own cars and bikes all my adult life , i come from a family of car mechanics
I'm a car electrician / electrical troubleshooter
It pisses me off i can't figure this one out , but i'm not a professional car mechanic

I could figure things out if i would be able to pull it apart but this is my only car and daily driver

I am looking for some hints / knowledge to open something up and look for trouble


Any help is extremely appreciated