Thread: Pan question wet or dry?

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O.K. This will be an occasional street car. I am trying to get the engine in the "Z" as low as possible, so I can keep the visual obstruction thang to a minimum. Don't want to antagonize the local law enforcement. They've been known to get upset about stuff stickin' through the hood. I'm putting an enderle injection hat on the blower which is a little shorter than carbs / air cleaners. Still got about 10" thro the hood. I can see the ground over the injection hat about 30 ft. in front of the car. Thinkin' of puttin' the whole thang' under a hood scoop. Sorta like outa sight outa mind. If I could get it under a 9" scoop life would be simpler.
Question is The shallowest pan I've found is 7 3/4" deep. from olson motor sports. Today I ran into a bud. of mine who's been racin' round d' rounds for yrs. He stops me to say he's gettin' close to needn' #'s for the car. So, then he askes how my project wuz comin' and we start takin' about me concerns 'bout bein' able to see over the blower.
He says go with a dry sump. I looked into dry sump but wasn't 100% sold on the idea so I decided to go with the low profile pan. But he's sayin' I SHOULD reconsider seeins' how I can use a 4" pan wit the dry sump.
Well not to make this short story any longer..........
Are there any downsides to the dry sump system?

Isn't there a way to chaop a pan shorter than weld it back up?

Originally posted by Matt167
Isn't there a way to chaop a pan shorter than weld it back up?

That's how I got to a 7 3/4'' pan. You can only go so far with a wet sump cuz' you have to have room for the oil.

Oh, I did not realize that.

Originally posted by Streets
Dry sump: If the line to the tank mounted in the trunk breaks, ya unload the oil in a hurry..
You'd still have to mount the engine LOWER to get any lower under the hood, besides being that the suspension usually dictates how low you can go, with a dry sump, you'd be able to have the crank 2" off the ground and lose whatever suspension travel/ride you do have now.. I'd check out your State laws that dictate what the hood height can be and IF they give ya a hassle.. quote the law for them in court.. But, THAT's just me...

I havn't done any weldin' on the front end yet, so I can mount the engine some lower. Got strut front so there's not too much in the way of dropin' it. Can the tank be mounted under the hood to make lines SSAP As Short As Possible?

Originally posted by Streets
IF ya got room for a 5 gallon tank in there yeah, but then ya got HEAT in there to contend with also...IF ya lower the engine too much yer tranny pan is gonna scrape the ground then too... ..

maybe I best wait til I get the front susp. put together , then set the stuff in place to see where I'm at.

hey Pro, how about a shortened pan and pickup, then weld some kickouts on the bottom to maintain the oil capacity? A dry sump does a great job of oiling on a dirt burner, but is probably overkill on a street machine. I have built some of the wider pans for my stuff, for sure the Ranchero is gonna need one. I will also be using a remote dual filter and oil cooler, they do an excellent job lowering oil temp on cruise nights. After the initial run in and a break in, I put all my motors on synthetic oil, current choice being Valvoline.

I was thinking of running a dry sump on my cleveland, But then I heard that the oil pump was belt drivin, so I shyed away from the idea! Because I don't want to break a belt and loose the motor. Is that the only kind of pump they have for the dry sump pans?


~ Vegas ~

Vegas finally got to the other potential short coming. Of course the way to deal with that is an oil pressure cutoff switch...........lose pressure, lose ignition, hopefully save engine.

Also, it's not just the pan to be concerned about if your goal is to lower the engine in the chassis. You also have the bottom clearance of the scattershield, bellhousing, trans pan, bottom, whatever. Then there's the issue of driveline angle after that.

Originally posted by Dave Severson
hey Pro, how about a shortened pan and pickup, then weld some kickouts on the bottom to maintain the oil capacity? A dry sump does a great job of oiling on a dirt burner, but is probably overkill on a street machine. I have built some of the wider pans for my stuff, for sure the Ranchero is gonna need one. I will also be using a remote dual filter and oil cooler, they do an excellent job lowering oil temp on cruise nights. After the initial run in and a break in, I put all my motors on synthetic oil, current choice being Valvoline.

Yea, this guy I got the info. from about the 7 3/4" deep pan says his have the advantages of a dry sump w/o the weight. His has the kich off the side to catch the oil and somewhat keep it away from the rotating assemb. I'm thinkin' I problee otta' follow Streets advise and check w/ the DOT to see what kind of visual obstructions I can get by wit'. Then I'll set up the "train" to see how Loooow I can go?

Ya Bob, That tranny thing is another point to consider. Better not get the cart before the horse. Or the engine before the chassis. Got a Jerry Bickle chassis guide here. I know with toooo much info I may become dangerous. But he shows pro stocks with the engine lower than the rear and drive train angles up to the rear end. I'm sure when I do the dry run with the parts it'll all become clear to me