Ever scrape your pan on a speed bump?

How much clearance do you have before the oil pan hits the ground? I'm putting a 2.3 in a low Model A and want to keep a flat floor, looks like I'll have about 4". Do I need more?

 

depends on how far you ch***is is off the ground????.....

 

Ahhh, you lost me there mate, the oil pan is lower than the ch***is.

 

Yeah didn't read it properly....4" should be heaps ***uming the pan isn't very far behind the front wheels.

 

The lowest clearance I could drive was about 2.5 inches, no ****!!!
Gotta plan your routes that low-

 

Make the ch***is the low point. Ever seen an engine bleed?

 

I made the bottom 4 inches of mine out of 1/8th inch steel and I'm thinking of adding a skid plate over that.

 

Also learn how to hit things at angles.

 

Depends how you drive.If you drive hard,more clearance and something non engine like a skid plate or ch***is should ground out first.Bend the oil pan sump up against the pick up and the next time you wind it out,it's gonna be all blue sparks and smoke.
If you get out and walk it over every bump in the road cause it's too low,then drive it like a ***** and don't worry about it

 

A good rule of thumb is that the oil pan should be the same distance as the bottom of your straight axle..............mine was 5", bottom of the front axle, oil pan, etc. I guess you can put a skip plate like 4x4's use......................or stay away from speed bumps.

IMHO

 

Saw a guy rip the drain plug out of a 350 blower motor on a speed bump idling through a parking lot once.

 

I agree w/ this

my 46 is 2"- 3" off the ground at the nose and rarely have s****ing, and keep in mind, thats at the nose, if it was at the wheel area would be no issues

 

If you've never s****ed the bottom,then you haven't got your car low enough!

 

Yeah but you get tired of it real fast.

The more clearance the better. Doane Spencer had the right idea!

 

another thing.....a finned cast aluminum pan isn't any stronger a buddy snagged a fill cap in a gas station with the drain plug on his.....big mess

 

Yes , and it ****s ! My truck had a 1/8 skid plate welded to it, and the front and the back edges are a little long and angled up to help make it slide over the bump. If you are really going to drive the car .. I would make it as high as possible .. can you raise the engine in the frame ?

 

Yup! First year I had my 396-powered T-bucket on the road I cracked the oil pan open hitting a speed bump. I wasn't going more than crawling speed at the time, too.

 

If you are going to lower your car it's going to s****e. You live iwth it or not.

I could handle the speed bumps by taking them at an angle and reasonable speed. It's the damage and mess of roadkill that would get me.

 

Took a right out of a parking lot once at an angle. The drain bolt caught the top of the entry ramp where it meets the blacktop. talk about odds. it hit just right to turn it a 1/4". **** happens!

 

Knocked a hole in my Fairlane's 390 pan after catching some air over railroad tracks, but that is a different kinda problem.

 

Here is what I do when I am building something if I am worried about s****ing.I take a pack of cigarettes and stand them up if you can roll over them with out knocking them over you will usually not s****e on most things.And as other people have said learn the angle trick.

 

High enough to slide the drain pan under is high enough for me.

 

Guess it depends on whether you want a trouble free driver you could use everyday, or a poser.

While a substantial skid plate with generous entry/exit angles under components likely to be damaged will allow you to drag the car over obstructions, doing so unloads the suspension, and if the car is in critical maneuvers at more than a walking speed, can cause loss of control.

Why not instead build the car with adequate ground clearance even if it means compromising a little on interior space? If the car is far enough along, put the suspension in full jounce, front and rear. Then position the engine and other likely to be damaged components high enough to give you 1" to 2" additional clearance before contact to them.

You can build it with less, of course, and maybe YOU'LL never have a problem, but Murphy aways seems to get me.

 

think of how high speed bumps and curbs are.. you want your pan clearance that much at least... mines at 5inches

 

After the best part of 65 years HOT RODING in Ohio. 4 1/2 inches at the pan/flywheel
and a little less at the frame is enough to let you drive it like you stole it. Remember when you stop in the middle of the road to clear the manhole everyone else p***es over at 50. Your-look in-your mirror to see "Nothing But Bumper----Peterbilt Bumper, you may wish to give your self a few more inch. also remember there may be some innocent people behind you, seeing nothing but bumper in there mirror. Check out the pans and flywheel at the local CHOKE and PUKE. I think you will find just a tad less than a Budweiser can is perfect. Not a stubby ,not a tall one, just your average Bud will du just fine.

If it aint "BOSS,STOKED, GEARED, ZOOBED, AND TWEEKED" IT AINT MUCH OF A HOT ROD

 

On the last channeled truck that I did I welded some 1" by 1" tubing to the bottom of the frame. This kept not only kept the body 1/4" higher than the lowest point of the frame but the bottom of the oil pan as well. After 2 yrs. of driving I was amazed at how banged/s****ed up the extra metal got!

 

Is that 100's?

My roadster is high enough that I can still get the drain plug out, barely!

 

No that is regulars or if you are like me and smoke unfiltered you need a hair more than the pack height.

 

Had a buddy rip the drain plug outta his oil pan on a manhole cover sometime back

 

LOL... Did that in my 390 '69 Ranchero on a back road 200 miles from home. I had to stop and use a ball-peen hammer to close the gap before it lost all the oil.