Hey guys! Need some help from the guys with assembled 442's or Cutlasses, circa 1968. I am building a 455 for my 1968 442. I just bought a Moroso 7 qt oil pan for the motor which is 8.5" deep. The stock oil pan I believe is 7" deep. If the car ends up being lowered 1", that means my new clearance is 2.5" lower than stock. IS this going to be below the frame and do you think this will be an issue? I wanted to just get a 6 qt oil pan to help the engine out, but apparently no one makes one. Has anyone tried a Toronado oil pan?

Jolly

 

lowering the suspension of your car will not alter or effect the relationship of the bottom of the oil to the frame front crossmember. The Moroso pan should fit and work fine. The bottom of the pan should be very close to the same level as the crossmember. If you concerned about bottoming out after doing a "wheelie", then some people weld a "skid bar" to the bottom of the frame to protect the bottom of the oil pan from hitting ground!
But generally speaking you should have no trouble using the Moroso pan -- although it will be a very close fit and sometimes you even have to move your brake line to give it clearance to the crossmember. The Milodon pan fits much better in this location. Also a Toro pan will work just fine for you too. Most guys that use the Toro pans "massage" those "humps" out of it to obtain better drainage back to the sump!! Hope this helps!!

 

Make sure you use a correct oil pump pick-up for whichever pan you decide to use!!! Each pan uses a different length/shape tube!! Example: If you use a Moroso Pan, be sure to use the Moroso pick-up tube!

 

I have that 7 qt moroso pan on mine with the correct pickup. It was real tight going in with the trans on, but it clears the brake lines fine.

 

I guess I should also specify that I am worried about ground clearance mostly.

 

I have used the 7qt and 8qt pans. The 7 quart will be about even with the bottom of the cross member under the engine. The 8 quart will be about 1 1/2" below the bottom of the cross member and WOULD be an issue.

BUT, since you are using the 7 quart pan you won't have an issue. If you bottom out you will hit the frame first, so long as you bottom out on a flat surface.

 

The only issue I had was the front of the pan being extremely close to the center link. It only had about 1/8" of clearance, and once the motor mounts started getting spongy, it rubbed. I put new mounts on, and it was fine again.
I shimmed the pads up a little bit with some steel plate so it doesn't happen a second time.