Hi, ive just about finished my mk2 escort cossie conversion and i cant get oil pressure up when cranking the engine over .. is this a problem or wont i get oil pressure up until the motor has started ?? if so how long does the engine have to run before its got oil pressure up ? (not very long at all i guess)

Ive had the car fire up but i cut the ignition half a sec after as i do not want to risk causing damage.

the engine was running six months ago in another car and all ive done is pulled the top cover off the oil pump and changed the pickup (as it was running an escort/pinto sump and pickup without the oil spray bar previously) i made sure to pour heaps of oil into the pump and pickup and was turning the pump to try to avoid any air locks.

So does it sound as if ive got an airlock in the pump ??
if so how to i prime the pump properly ?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Damion.