Oil pan fabrication

[mender]

Here's the expanded Civic oil pan:

 

Added about 1 3/4 quarts of capacity plus is internally baffled with trapdoors. Before anyone gets too excited about the missing engine parts, that was the mock-up block that allowed me to look into the pan from above and get the pickup located where I wanted it.

 

I'm deciding whether to attach another plate to the pickup for better oil control but am concerned about drainback. Maybe just the left part and leave the circle over the pick up open. I'll be using the stock windage tray so probably am overdoing things again.

 

I used 16 gauge metal to make sure it would take some punishment. I didn't worry too much about looks but it will at least get painted before installation. The pan essentially rests on the splitter so it has some protection. 

 

Handy tip: MIG welding tends to leave pinholes so TIG when you can. To help find those pinholes quickly, fill the pan with water and use an air nozzle with a rubber tip to run along all your welds and watch for the bubbles. Lots faster than waiting for a drip and also finds those tiny holes.

Edited July 15, 2021 by mender

[mhr650]

Very nice work. It’s good that you made it from steel, pretty much every fabricated aluminum oil pan I have ever seen ends up cracking and leaking….back in my professional drag racing days when we ran some really huge and elaborate dry sump pans I had a rule of thumb, the more you paid for an oil pan the worse it fit and the more it leaked.

 

When I was looking at a fabricated oil pan, I had an idea to paint it with something like bed liner to help give it a very tough finish, and maybe even some extra sealing capability. Of course, I never looked into the heat capability of bed liner and the obvious downside is that it would not be as good for heat transfer from the pan, but if you have an effective oil cooler it shouldn’t be too bad.

[mender]

I have some wrinkle black paint that should look good and help shed some heat, or at the least hopefully not act as too much of a barrier. I'm using the factory oil to water cooler and will be monitoring the oil temp.

[TiredBirds]

glad we run a SBC, they literally sell dozens of styles, with many options. 

[Indysupra]

I’m in the process of building one for the Vette to save points. What a PITA! Your is looking good. 

[TiredBirds]

16 hours ago, Indysupra said:

I’m in the process of building one for the Vette to save points. What a PITA! Your is looking good. 

they are only 25 points now. Speedway has the "do it yourself" kit

[Bandit]

40 minutes ago, TiredBirds said:

they are only 25 points now. Speedway has the "do it yourself" kit

He has a 450 VPI car. 25 points is expensive when you only have 50 to play with.

[TiredBirds]

6 hours ago, Bandit said:

He has a 450 VPI car. 25 points is expensive when you only have 50 to play with.

kit..cheap cheap

[Sleepy_Steve]

So is a modified stock pan 25 points just like an aftermarket pan is 25? Sorry, that's the only reference I can find in the rules. 

[mender]

20 minutes ago, Sleepy_Steve said:

So is a modified stock pan 25 points just like an aftermarket pan is 25? Sorry, that's the only reference I can find in the rules. 

If you buy it, it's 25 points. If you build it from a stock pan:

 

• Materials will be charged at the following rate:

o Interior bulkheads: 0 pts

o Plywood: 1 point per sq.ft.

o Sheet aluminum/steel: 2 points per sq.ft.

o Sheet plastic/polycarbonate/fiberglass: 3 pts per sq.ft.

o CARBON FIBER: NOT ALLOWED

[enginerd]

9 hours ago, mender said:

If you buy it, it's 25 points. If you build it from a stock pan:

 

• Materials will be charged at the following rate:

o Interior bulkheads: 0 pts

o Plywood: 1 point per sq.ft.

o Sheet aluminum/steel: 2 points per sq.ft.

o Sheet plastic/polycarbonate/fiberglass: 3 pts per sq.ft.

o CARBON FIBER: NOT ALLOWED

If you can call it a “modified pan” definitely. Need to retain some part of the original IMO.