Projects 1951 Merc Engine HELP NEEDED

Gents (and ladies)
Need guidance here...
Have to swap a 1951 Merc oil pan on 27 T hot rod
Pretty sure the pan is spot welded to the housing attachment. Do I need to pull the trans back to swap out? Or loosen motor mounts?
Sage guidance greatly appreciated... need to be race ready in a week for Romulus.

 

This brace thingy?

 

My 51 didn't have that piece on the pan but then again I don't think the car had an original Merc engine and someone had stuck an 8BA in it. That was in 1963 though.

 

Your pan(I believe) is a Merc pan 49-50??? that has a “windage tray” built in(believe the windage tray was to improve oil control in the pan to keep more oil in the area of the pickup) and not so much for the performance part of keeping more oil away from the spinning crank that would hamper its ability to rev up easier. The “money shot” is the oil pump and pickup that was designed to seal off the pan as part of the design. I also believe(could be wrong) that a starter plate is made for that particular style of oil pan. I had 3-4 of those pans but all mine were found with the “correct” pieces and worked well together.I spun my flatheads 5500++ many times and ran all my engines pretty hard at times. Had a 48 English Ford that ran 15 flats at 93 mph and a 32 Henry cabriolet that ran 80 in the 1/8.

 

Thanks for the input!
So if the windage tray and pickup are spot welded to the oil pan, ***ume that means I need to remove the starter to pull the oil pan out? Once the pickup is unbolted from bell housing...

 

there's another merc pan that has a big cleanout in the bottom of the sump. racers like it.

 

Truck pans have them too.

 

Yes, the starter needs to be removed b4 pulling the pan. The pickup is bolted to the block—-not the bellhousing.