Oil Pan Upgrade?
 

Have a 65 GTO for drag racing (no street activity). Pulling engine out to replace leaking rear main seal.

Engine is 68 400 with stock oil pan, car has only seen a few runs so far with best of 12.16 at 108. Hope to get car into 11s and maybe 10s someday.

While engine is out, should I upgrade oil pan. If so recommendations/advice?

Any other ideas of things to do/improve while engine is out of car that wont break the bank?

if the stock pan isnt baffled, at a minimum i would find a stock mid to late 70's pan that is baffled.

a true upgrade pan would be an aftermarket like canton or other brands, i use a milodon 7qt pan on my 467 engine that is very nice but a little pricey.

I'd go with a Canton, Moroso, or Milodon pan. Make sure you get the correct corresponding oil pump pick up. The stock pan is marginal for any high-performance use. Just not enough capacity IMO.

I am in the middle of pulling my 541 to change the oil pan....When I last freshened this up a few years ago, I had to settle for a Moroso cause the Canton replacement for my bent up Canton was months away. The Moroso caused lots of grief. Not enough baffling and the oil will all slosh forward at the big end when I lift....Oil pressure to the basement as the pick up and pump were exposed. The Canton in my view has way better baffles.

I ran a stock oil pan into the 10s for years.
Good luck getting a Canton Maxi pan. Called them up and they have not made one in over 10 years, do not even have the drawings for it and had the nerve to ask me if I had pictures of one they could copy one. AND it was a crazy wait time., 1200 $ Joke.
Bought a Steffs.

maybe if you have someone competent enough nearby, they could extend the bottom of the stock pan???? make it like a deep sump or wider sump area?
just a thought in the event of not being able to find another pan
then use a windage tray or crank scrapper? but i've heard not necessary if using a vaccum pump????? anyone have any knowledge/experience regarding that?

i used a canton in the past (stock replacement one) and i can tell you, compared to an original GM pan it certainly was sturdy
the stock replacement one on my current engine, sorta flimsy if you get my point. i think it was a dorman replacement one
if i ever pull the engine i want to go with a canton or at least something else sturdier with a little more capacity. but since it's sealed and leaks, i am not bothering lol

Thank you all for the thoughts and comments. Sounds like its time to try and find a Canton pan. Seen some on Butler website. Hopefully not too hard to get nowadays.

For what you are doing this pan is hard to beat. And its available.
Nightmare Performance,s pan is 749 $ but comes with everything you need and is kinda trick. It has 3 trap doors and baffles to keep oil around the pickup and to keep oil from climbing the back wall on launch.
It comes with a directional windage screen built into the pan. You can use your stock dipstick and even comes with a factory internal dipstick tube.
And oil pump with their machined 1/4: bottom plate and oversized pickup is included.
Its hard to beat and the owner is a real deal Pontiac die hard. Great to deal with.

http://nitemareperformance.com/roadracepan.html

Thanks Dragncar! Not sure that one is in the budget given a few other car expenses this spring but will definitely give it some thought. It sounds like it definitely would do the job down the road for sure

I have a Moroso 20490 9-3/4” deep oil pan I was going to use on my Firebird Build but went with a Stefs. This is used and has no trap doors but does have the oil containment plate in the sump. I have a good High Pressure pump and pickup that goes with it. Pickup is brazed to the pump. $250 plus shipping for it it if you are interested. Message me and we can work our shipping from Central Missouri.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have seen posts like this for years, BUT NO ONE seems to recommend a 1/2" wide angled steel "deflector" on the back wall to turn the oil slamming into that wall on hard launches.

Easy to do with the pan off, Oil Pump will clear the "deflector" in installed about 1/2 way
up the back wall of the pan.

Also some very good Oil Pan info/Pictures in this "Pontiac Jim" link:

https://www.gtoforum.com/threads/pon...e-tech.137776/

Tom V.

That steel oil pan from Nightmare looks pretty pricey until you read through the description. It is more less an oil system. It includes a nice oil pump, pickup and dipstick tube. That added stuff is probably worth $150-200.00 . So not terrible for the pan.

I run a Nightmare oil pan.

Mt Steffs pan has a strip on the back wall for keeping oil down on launches.

The Nightmare pan does have some metal back there that could help keep some oil down at launch. If they sold a pan like this but with the passenger side kickout like the Canton pan that you can not get anymore they would sell a lot of them. Trap doors, built in windage screen, full baffle and a big kickout to give the oil coming off a scrapper somewhere to go they would sell. If they could design a scrapper to go with it all and still use a factory style dipstick all the better.

The Canton 15-452 pan is more than adequate for your setup. The bolt in baffle in the pan also has the back wall deflector that Tom talks about.

Thanks again for everyones thoughts, will likely be going with a Canton pan 15-400 or 15-452

My current pump is practically brand new and only has 13 runs on it. Any reason why I cant use that with a longer pickup in a Canton pan?

Not Really if it is a 60 psi pump. It should be.

Tom V.

Probably is, wont know until I get pan off and take it out.

Any recommendations on the pump?

Melling has always been my oil pump of choice.
Others out there are probably as good.

Since your engine is drag race only and you are currently running 12s
you should be fine with the 400 engine and the 60 psi oil pump for a while.

3.75 stroke does not have the same forces on it as a 455+ or larger stroker.
Same deal with straight shot oiling crankshafts. Nice to have but you are not there
currently.

Continue to get track time when you can. The guy behind the wheel is worth several
tenths.

Tom V.

Thanks Tom for the advice and encouragement.

DV