GrayZee Posted April 1, 2001 Share Posted April 1, 2001 Ok here's the story, I know this guy who put a 350 in a 240 (he did a bit of a hack job if you ask me) anyway now he says he's gonna put the L6 back in cuz he is tired of wiping out oil pans. Well I was just wondering, is this a problem you guys have run into or what's the story? Did he mount the engine too close to the ground or is there a swallow pan that should be used? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted April 1, 2001 Share Posted April 1, 2001 This is a valid concern. The stock oilpan on the SBC is generally 7.5" oilpan rail to lowest point - on the older engines anyway, I don't know about LT1s. With the JTR spacers, setback plates and GM mount specified by JTR, the bottom of the pan ends up about 1" below the crossmember. I have a buddy that dinked his oil pan on a very tall man hole (road was ground down, to be resurfaced). The way the sump is just behind the tires makes it a prime candidate to get smacked as you roll over speed bumps as well. I'm using (the now, discontinued) old Corvette pan for the 2 piece left hand dipstick SBC's. I don't know whether it's available for the later Corvettes (post 85). This pan is about 7" deep, instead of 7.5" Another solution is the Canton and Moroso road race pans which are 6.5" deep. The problem is that they are 14" wide and you need to curve the exhaust away from them IMMEDIATELY if using block huggers. I can't fit them on my car with the existing exhaust. Of course, if you don't lower the suspension too much this shouldn't be a problem even with the 7.5" regular pan. Oh, and another thing. The 1/2" spacer blocks that JTR says to use between the frame rails and the crossmember lowers the crossmember and engine by 1/2" compared to if they are not used. (It's tricky to picture this, but the springs hold the car up off the ground, which holds the strut towers and frame rails up, and the crossmember is hung from those.) So leaving the spacers out gains you 1/2" of ground clearance at the pan. I thing the reason for them is to have better clearance for the distributor under the latch bracket. ------------------ Pete Paraska - 73 540Z - Marathon Z Project pparaska@home.com Pete's V8 Datsun 240Z Pages [This message has been edited by pparaska (edited April 01, 2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted April 1, 2001 Share Posted April 1, 2001 There IS a 'Vette oil pan for one piece seal motors that can be used that's low clearance. I considered this pan but stupidly went with a Moroso added capacity pan. Imagine a standard GM pan with about another inch tacked onto it - doh! It hangs lower than my transmission and a touch lower than my frame rails. Yes, dinging that is a serious concern of mine right now. However to go back to an L6 just seems stupid to me. Before I did that I'd have a custom pan made - lot's of places can do it. Pete, those road race pans sound very interesting - any ideas on cost? I'm thinking "not cheap" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted April 1, 2001 Share Posted April 1, 2001 The Canton one is over $300. Seems the Moroso one is less - Check Summit or Jegs. Don't forget to factor in the price of a special pickup as well. ------------------ Pete Paraska - 73 540Z - Marathon Z Project pparaska@home.com Pete's V8 Datsun 240Z Pages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 1, 2001 Share Posted April 1, 2001 Check this http://www.tcracecars.com/partslist/contentlist.htm Go to the canton racing products. I think this is the pan I have, it gains you some clearance and it has internal baffles and big "wings" on both sides so lateral g's will not oil starve the sump. Exhaust will have to be modified. I have 2 1/4" pipe and it is VERY close. Mark [This message has been edited by Mark (edited April 01, 2001).] [This message has been edited by Mark (edited April 01, 2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted April 1, 2001 Share Posted April 1, 2001 Hrmn, Canton CAN 11-102 sounds possible at only 6.5 inches. I figure I'll run this one and see what sorts of torubles I run into first. Pete - all I've ever seen in Jegs or Summit has been circle track pans which are baffled for turning right only I think. I'll look again and see. The 'Vette pan might really be a better deal. In talking with Lone he said his Goodwrench pan is above the level of his trans so maybe that would work as well - no sense getting too much higher than somehting liek the trans or crossmember is there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted April 3, 2001 Share Posted April 3, 2001 No, no sense going higher than the bottom of the crossmember. BTW, Jim Biondo tells me that with the Vette pan and pickup, he had 0 psi oil pressure on the road race course on long sweepers. Based on that info, I'd say if you haven't done your exhaust yet, look at one of the road race pans, if you can handle the price and don't mind the fitment problems (exhaust, etc.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted April 4, 2001 Share Posted April 4, 2001 Okay guys - here's what the winged Canton looks like on a Z and no it's not mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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