Technical thoughts on oil pan skid plates?

Having worked at a Alfa Romeo dealership, those skid plates saved many an expensive oil pan. Something similar could be made and look better if the plate is seen when parked. Bolted to the frame is the proper way to go.

 

Over the years,I found 3 inch road clear around Miami Fla. to be about as low as I can go. Some roads were you live maybe more bumps or less=adjust to were you drive.
I use a welded 1/8 inch steel plate,shaped to pan= I have a hotrod with Ford "Y" block,with the skid plate put me about "2 an 7/8 inch" of the road. It is a front sump=so skid plate has kind of a ramping at front.
MOTORS WITH REAR SUMP>,need a little more road clear= closer to center of car> you need more room for bumps !!

 

lot's of good stuff here.
raising the engine in the frame is not an option
this would cause too many secondary clearance issues, might as well tear the car apart and start from scratch.
I would prefer not to raise the whole car,
although that would be the simple solution,
something as little as 1/2" might make a difference though..
even then some modifications to the pan might still be needed.
if that's the case, that is where I will likely start.

 

If all else fails, Petersen the oil pump company, has external wet sump pumps that allow you to mount the pump up front like a dry sump pump. Then a pan with a low profile can be fabricated that raises the lowest point of the pan. The pickup used is similar to that in dry sump systems, only requiring one. And you can then run a full length windage tray and baffles to control the oil in the pan. Yes, a little exotic, and spendy, but it might be just the ticket...

 

Check out Trans Dapt Slam Guard oil pans available for Ford and Chev.
If not what you require the photos may provide some ideas

 

Amen. I haven't worked on an early Holden yet that hasn't been jacked up from under the sump instead of from under the crossmember. Surprising how much abuse they will take.

Cheers,
Harv

 

I won’t give a suggestion where or how to mount it, but would suggest using high tensile steel for it.
Really tough stuff.

 

@Paul


1957 Westside of Long Beach, a bunch of teenagers... a start of a cruising adventure.

Hello,

When this 1951 Oldsmobile 2 door sedan was Yellow, it had a normal look of being low in the stance.


But, for teenagers still in the throes of experimenting, a drop was offered. A “2 inch drop is the best… cut two coils,” etc. Everything seemed like 2 inches was the thing to do. So, my brother cut two inches or coils out of his front springs. Now, the yellow Oldsmobile sedan looked very cool sitting in the driveway of our front yard. It had the feel of something grabbing the road as we took a practice drive around the block.

Then after two corners and we came to a dip in the road. Approaching it normally in our side of the road space was the thing to do, so we did, slowly. But, the dip in the road was deep enough to cause something to scrape, even going slowly. So, the next dip was taken even slower. But, it was so low that an angle of movement was necessary to get past the dips, without scraping.

Now, that the lowered Oldsmobile was sitting on the level concrete driveway, it looked too cool to change it to a different height. The next night, my brother went to the usual teenage hangout and came home with a story about trying to enter the steep driveway of the local drive-in restaurant parking lot with his lowered Oldsmobile sedan. that was not the best thing going. Angle of approach or not, something scraped and the scraping sound was broadcast to everyone nearby.

Jnaki

When he got home, the next day we went to the local Oldsmobile dealer and bought new springs. It took a while, but now the sedan was back to normal. He kept at that level for a week or so, until he had figured out what was the next step. Now, his new idea was to attach chrome “Lakes Side Pipes” he saw at the local muffler shop.

Our friend the owner had a deal going. If you bought the side pipes, he mounted them for free and threw in a short down pipe from the stock header manifold to connect the side pipes. He knew that once that deal goes out, more business would come flowing in to his shop. it did just what it was designed to attract. But, for the stock Oldsmobile, it needed a lowering to make it look cool again. The stock height was to tall, even with the side pipes.

Note:

Now, the muffler guy was an expert at cutting coils and did a 1 inch drop for the front. Now, the Oldsmobile sedan had its look back and nothing was going to scrape. Once the look was finished, most dips in the road still had to be taken at a slow speed and at a slight angle. But the dreaded steep drive-in restaurant entrance still gave him problems. The lakes pipes scraped and that was not good. So, we took off the Lakes pipes and sold them to a friend who had a higher stance and wanted a set.

The lowered Oldsmobile sedan was painted Lime Green and then sold to a friend for his first car in the fall of 1957.

Note2:

It is depending on what you want in the “stance” of the hot rod. A larger front rim and slightly taller tire will give you some breathing room. Yet, in keeping with the thin, low profile tire and not a fat bob unit.

If the low stance is necessary, and you do have a place to weld or bolt on a thicker plate for protection, that seems better than one welded to the oil pan. Scraping and hitting something with the plate on the pan is still going to send vibrations and shock to the whole motor. YRMV



In the reverse of your skid plate fiasco, the local custom car guys have welded on plates to protect the gas tanks over the years. But, there was a larger area to weld or bolt on the plate, too. Some of those guys used the welded plates for actual spark flying displays as they drove their lowered cars. Not the safest thing in the world…

 

pan in question is attached to a '58 Olds 371.
those familiar with the early Olds engines know there is no easy way to raise the oil pump pickup, so that is not an option.
but, in '58 the drain plug is located in the front of the sump and in it's own little sump.
that is what has been bottoming out, most often from coming down off a speed bump,
the weight of the 600+ pound engine compressing the suspension at just the right moment.
as said earlier I can not raise the engine without modifying a hundred other things.
the pan needs repair, so that's where I start.
I can reduce the total depth of the pan by removing and relocating the drain plug and eliminating it's little sump.
this will give me roughly one inch more ground clearance.
if that's not enough I will raise the car by placing shim plates on the spring packs.

 

Will the oil pan still be the lowest point after raising the bottom point an inch?
If it is, adding some simple skids under the frame or similar to make them the lowest points may save the pan in the future. Obviously won't stop a smaller item poking up in the middle from hitting the pan, but if you're going across something wider such as a speedbump the skids should hit first.

 

Check with 4WD warehouses, they have oil pans available with skid plates built on them.

 

Well shoot if you’re just tapping the pan on speed bumps skip all this hard work and just hit the speed bump faster. Picture it if you will as a mini ramp. Might need to add a little extra air to the tires but I have faith in you.

if this fails an alternative is cheater slicks and a blower which may impair your line of vision so we don’t generally want to go to that plan right away.

lol

 

at the end of a poker run a few years ago a few hoodlum types were showing off with little burnouts as they headed out.
this on a little rise in the road at a rail crossing.
it looked like fun so..
at the base of the rise I came to a stop,
checked for a clear path, revved it up and popped the clutch.
tires bit hard, the nose came up and the wheel got loose.
I literally flew over the tracks.
bystanders said I "caught air".
but on the other side it came down hard,
tearing a motor mount almost in two.
I drove gingerly the rest of the 60 miles home.
that was a fun day.
that was a fun car, the '27 T RPU with blown Olds 303

 

see if you can find an old dragster full length sump not as deep but same capacity i have seen then for relatively short money at swap meets

 

I appreciate the suggestions to find or buy a pan, and that may be an option for others but, not in my case.

I am modifying the pan I have
and will add the process to my build thread
with a link here for those that want to see.

 

Man I did something similar, launching a car over track on top of a berm. I tried to scrub some speed when the panic set in but it was too late. I was off the ground for a pretty good distance but it felt like I was going all the way to the moon!

put the tires into the inner fenders on touch down as well. That’s the part nobody seems to talk about lol.

I bet those guys still talk about the blown T taking flight

 

I posted the pan modification to my '23 T build thread here
thanks for all the input guys

 

before and after

now with 1" more clearance
right at 3-3/4"

 

Or put a larger tire on the front wheels.

 

I don't want to do anything that will change it's attitude.
It took a lot of noodling to get the look I wanted.
Very subtle alterations might work.
It may be fine now,
or it may need just a bit more adjustment.
Slightly taller tires up front and shim on the rear spring to keep the rake might be one option but not one I would choose easily

 

I must be a sissy. I shortened mine 3/4" to get 5" of ground clearance.

 

I guess I'm a sissy too. I've added skid plates to protect the pan and transmission on some cars. I usually shoot for 4" of clearance, give or take, just to be able to clear the speed bumps and some of the driveway transitions around here.

 

My dad used to say "if you can sit a pack of camel cigarettes on its side and just slide it under its perfect!"

Don't think I could get away with that around here any.


..

 

Moving the drain plug to the side is a good option as well.
I put 1/8” plate on Jeep pans. They get smacked with things pretty commonly. The trick is not welding a straight line around them. The welds crack if you do. I make the skids with fingers that wrap up the sides and then weld them 100%.

 

The whole bottom of my dragster pan is a heavy gauge skid plate.

 

Sometimes that is an option but it depends on the engine, it damn sure is a problem on an early Olds!

 

Not for an early Olds they don't!