SBC 350 Oil Pan Clearance

Hi All,

I have an old Mercedes sedan with a SBC 350 in it. Due to the oil pan being so tall, the motor sits too high and doesn't give me enough clearance up top to add an air filter on top of the carburetor. I need to drop the motor down about 3". There is plenty of room everywhere else except the tallest part of the oil pan sits directly above the sub frame cross member and steering linkage. I was hoping for some advice or alternative ideas. Here are the options I see so far:

1. The cross member is about 5" tall and hollow in the middle. I can modify this by cutting it out in the center where the oil pan goes and then weld it closed in it's new shape. I can also modify the steering linkage so that it hangs lower.

2. Dry sump kit. This will reduce the height of the oil pan by at least what I need and resolve my clearance issues. The only problem is that this is a really expensive option. I'm seeing kits for $1200 to $4000. If it was a few hundred bucks, it may be worth it. I did find some used parts that could save some money, but I would have to make my own kit using spares found here and there and I don't really want to do that.

So, based on anything that you have worked on, do you know of any other alternatives that can solve my issue? Thanks in advance.

Theres a few different sbc pans. Post a picture of the challenge spot, and ill see what cheap and easy options exist.

In reply to AMGZLE:

I believe there are front sump pans and rear sump pans for the small block Chevy engine. You may look into an alternative pan that will alleviate all your issues if you're lucky and if not so lucky possibly give you an option for slight modification of the pan rather than the crossmember.

I don't have any pictures but I did take a video to send to a friend of mine who is an engine builder. He's the one who came up with the dry sump system idea. Here's a link to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPBqAOStejc

I think there is an early Nova oil pan that might work.

Otherwise make one not that hard, shorten up the front of the sump and widen it out to get back capacity.

You can make a front sump pan for it but you are limited in the rear by the oil pump itself.

Dry sump is looking really good right now, you can piece it together from off the shelf parts. (There's a bazillion Chevy powered sprint cars)

bentwrench wrote: I think there is an early Nova oil pan that might work. Otherwise make one not that hard, shorten up the front of the sump and widen it out to get back capacity. You can make a front sump pan for it but you are limited in the rear by the oil pump itself. Dry sump is looking really good right now, you can piece it together from off the shelf parts. (There's a bazillion Chevy powered sprint cars)

I don't think a front sump pan will work either. The current oil pan is already a very low profile (6.5" at it's tallest point) so even the front sump pans don't shave off enough to give us 3" more where we need it shortened.

Maybe a combination of the front sump pan and cross-member trimming.