mmcilroy

I'm in the process of putting my engine back together and last night noticed the difference between the old and new oil pans

When the engine was in the car I was aware of just how close the pan came to the cross memeber and I'm concerned that the new pan might not clear. My question is has anyone installed a similar looking oil pan (the larger hump just before the deep end, I know technical stuff) in their 72 cutlass? Did you have any clearance issues. I can't seem to find a pan that looks the same as the original so I'm assuming that all the new ones out there would look like the new one I have.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

svnt442

That looks like any stock pan I have seen. I have no clue what the deal with your old pan is.

citcapp

The oil pan with the bump looks like a 5 quart pan. the other looks like the typical 4 quart pan

2blu442

I just went out and looked through my core engines and have both shapes. With the exception that all have the drain plug on the very bottom. I don't think I've seen one with the side drain plug. The late 1970's engines have the smaller pan, the 1968-72 have the stepped pan. John

mmcilroy

Thanks John, and everyone else. Odd thing is the 350 I'm rebuilding I bought, supposedly out of a 72 cutlass and it had the smaller pan in the picture. The one I pulled out of my 72 cutlass convertible has the same, smaller oil pan. So they are both the same and neither matched the new replacement oil pan. That’s what caused some concern. I guess before I drop it in for keeps I'll test fit it and make sure there is adequate clearance. Just an extra step I guess.

Thanks

joe_padavano

The side bumps are typical of a big block oil pan. They both hold the same amount of oil. I've never conclusively determined why the bumps were used. In any case, there's no problem with using a BBO pan on a 350.

Warhead

I also had a BBO pan come through on a "D" diesel block.
I would rather use the BBO pan, it has the oil separator welded in it.
FYI, I could not get a BBO pan to fit into a SBO poweredTrans Am I put together, years back. Just too tight.
Never an issue on a Cutlass, though.
Jim

cutlassefi

My now scrapped chrome pan was the same as your new one and it hit the crossmember, wore a little spot in it.

I also filled both with 4 qts of water. The pan with the extra hump had a lower fluid level by over a half an inch.

mmcilroy

Guess I'll go with the ugly old one just to avoid any issues

Thank all for your feedback