DragStuff

Took the car out for the "last drag race at orlando" this weekend. Not really sure what the future of the track is here in orlando, something is up, but they are very hush-hush. The rumors are many, but who knows. Anyways, thought i would support the event and run in the stock suspension/small tire outlaw class. Pretty short weekend for me, first round of qualifying, the car went straight up and KO'ed the oil pan. Still ran a 1.34 sixty on the rear tires and a 6.36@107 in the eighth. Not bad for a junkyard 5.3 with nothing more than a cam, and a .073 nitrous jet. Here is the pan:

Ouch... That's not going to buff out..

JB Weld maybe?

Yeah, that would patch it, but it does hang low, and this is the second time it got hit. It sits low enough that I worry about it while street driving so I am just going to pull the motor in the next week or so and go with a shallower pan like the stock f-body pan or maybe even the moroso one.

ytnova wrote:Yeah, that would patch it, but it does hang low, and this is the second time it got hit. It sits low enough that I worry about it while street driving so I am just going to pull the motor in the next week or so and go with a shallower pan like the stock f-body pan or maybe even the moroso one.

Heck I was just kidding about the JB Weld even though that is some pretty handy stuff. Buy one of the aftermarket pans. One of them will probably have provisions for better oil control.

I wouldn't do it permantly, but I should of patched the damn thing at the track, I could of made first round where I had the car covered by a 1/2 second and atleast got my entry fee back. It would of been short lived though, second round would of been against willard kinser in wolfe's old orange mustang. I think he had me covered by 65+ mph in the 1/8.

What else have you done to that 5.3? That's dang fast for a little motor and not much nitrous.

How far below the crossmember did that stock pan hang down? We're putting a 5.3 in my son's '78 Nova. I figure I'm going to have to change the pan out to have any ground clearance. I'm looking at the Moroso or the similar Pro Comp unless I can score a CTS-V LSA pan for it for cheaper.

Craig, that is the scary part, I have not done much at all. First though, I would highly reccomend you change the pan before doing the install, it hangs real low with the truck pan, like 3-4" below the crossmember. Reminds me of how a deep pan looks like on a 1rst gen nova. Unless you get a deal on a ctsv or f-body pan(1" shallower than ctsv), the moroso seems like the best deal except for the fact you have to remote mount the filter, on racer discount they are under 300 bucks for the pan and pickup. I will shoot you a list of what is in the 5.3, the only pricey part is the camshaft/spring kit.

My son's 78 is pretty low in the front already so I think the pan would actually be on the ground in his car. Stock SBC pan is only 3-4" off the ground now. The headers drag too but they'll be back to hanging on the wall in just a couple months anyway.

I may put a 5.3 in our '63 convertible so I'd love to see what you've done to yours. It won't be too wild but would like to make a nice 400-450 hp for street fun. My son's motor will stay stock except for headers if the stock manifolds won't clear the subframe. Once he gets some miles and years under his belt, he can hop it up. 285hp will be more than enough for a 16 year old. Dang, when did I get old? LOL

Mebbe look at using a stamped steel aftermarket pan instead of a cast aluminum pan ? Steel will take a good knock and won't crack. Also, you might still be able to get the oil volume you need with one of the wide-bottom steel pans.

You prolly already considered all this, but just thought I'd offer up my 2c... :)

Not really any stamped steel pans out there. Moroso, champ, canton and a few other offer fabricated steel pans, moroso seems to be the most cost effective by about 100 bucks.

Hey Craig I know a guy that might have one.. Lemme check..

Nevermind, it was for a Trailblazer front sump deal and $$$$

Thanks for checking.

Ed, any idea if the F-body pan's longer sump will clear the crossmember?

Craig, it should, with the truck pan, the front edge of the sump is @7" behind the crossmember, but I also have the motor set back as far as I could, the pass side head is about 1/2" off the firewall. I have specs for almost all of the pans out there. If you think of them as a standard SBC/BBC pan, the sump on the truck pan is 8.5" deep and 9.1" long. The ctsv pan is 6.7" deep by 10.25" long. The f-body pan is 5.6" deep by 11.7" long. I also have the specs for the moroso ones, stock wet sump corvette, G8, H3, Holley, Mast, and some others. You also need to be concerned with the front of the pans as heights can vary there also, some are also tapered down to the sump.