I have an opportunity to buy a 350 GAS engine that has been retrofitted with a Olds diesel oil pan to make it fit in an 80 Caddy Eldorado. I'm looking to put this engine in a 77 Cutlass. Do I need to be concerned if this pan will fit the chassis or not?

Thanks in advance for any info.

Mark

 

The pan isn't different because it came from a diesel, it's different because the Toro/Eldo FWD configuration requires the different pan. The good news is that the Toro pan will fit the A-body chassis with no problems.

 

Perfect Joe! That's exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you very much.

 

it is different because it's from a diesel,it's 7 quarts.it will clear the crossmember no problem but it will hang down below the crossmember and could be a ground clearance issue.

 

One more time. The oil pan in question came from an Olds motor in a 1980 Eldo. The Eldo/Toro oil pan is unique because of the TH325 trans used in that FWD application. It is shaped to clear the trans and final drive housing that nestles on the driver's side of the engine. The pan also has a notch where the RH axle shaft passes under the pan. This same pan is used on ALL Olds motors with the TH325 trans (and is essentially the same as the pan used on the earlier Toros with the TH425. Again, the shape of the pan has NOTHING to do with it being a diesel and everything to do with it being FWD. By the way, the Toro pan is advertised as a 6 qt pan.

Here's a Toro pan:



Here's a pan from a 1981 RWD diesel:



And here's a stock pan from a 455, which looks AMAZINGLY like the diesel pan:



The extra oil capacity in the diesel motors is NOT in the pan, it's in the external oil cooler.

 

Yeah, I've been finding pictures of diesel pans and non-diesel pans and they look too close for me to know.

I appreciate both you guys weighing in though. My biggest unknown was whether the pan would clear the A-body chassis.

 

That's good info to have. Thanks Joe.

FWIW, I bought the Milodon deep oil pan for my 455. It worked great. Don't buy one for your Cadillac though, it won't fit without a BFH.

 

not sure why we are talking about the similarities between a rwd diesel pan and a big block pan,they have nothing to do with a fwd diesel pan,the fwd pan pictured is not from a 1980 eldo with a 5,7 diesel,it's more likely from an early 70's toro.I can guarantee that the fwd diesel oil pan will hang down considerably below the crossmember. I've done it ,have you?