How high and what thickness of metal to make a oil dam for a one piece pan?
Gary-
I made mine the same height of the upper part of the inspection cover. It does not need to be very thick. I braised mine in place. It doesn't need to be an "oil tight" fit.
: ^ )
No more than 1" high. The important thing is to add scoops to each of the big end caps appropriately drilled to allow oil to enter. Chev 4 scoops work well.
All our 'T's were all modified this way after running a big end bearing in my pop's 1923 tourer many, many years ago at a show in the Barossa Valley and using somebody's leather belt as a bearing to get home. We modified each and every car after this and never ran a bearing again. For some reason it seems to be not a very popular modification.
Gary -- If you add that piece, be sure to take the pan to someone with a straightening jig afterward. Welding (or brazing) on a crankcase will distort it. (Guess how I know!)
David -- The reason it's not very popular is because you're using Chevy parts. All the T parts vendors have aftermarket dippers for FORDS.
I must say we used to braze weld on scoops prior to pouring and machining our own big end bearings. Buying scoops from a supplier is just easier. Sorry I used the nasty 'C' word!
Here is an original one piece pan showing the oil dam at the third main bearing. It is brazed and soldered in place. There is hole punched in the oil dam to maintain the oil level in the pan dips. You can also see the brazing on the pan rivets to stop leakage.
To answer Gary's original question - the oil dam is .036" steel. It is the width of the pan and has about 1/4" clearance minimum around the main cap and bolts.
Later in 1910 the dam was dropped, according to the encyclopedia. In march 1911 at about #44,400 the three dip removable bottom plate appeared.
(Message edited by Roger K on November 15, 2014)
I installed a dam in my '12 pan. Two things to consider.
1 After you run the engine the oil level on the sight glass will not be accurate until the engine sits for awhile.
2 It's important to drill a couple of small holes near the bottom of the dam to allow the oil to flow back into the sump. Guess this prevents a build up in the bottom.
Check out Terry Horlich's design a couple of years ago.
The way Royce shows with the early pan is how we used to weld our into the sump and then set the level about 1". The oil level is not a problem, once full the dam stays full. Changing the oil is the problem on a "no inspection" plate sump, but for any other you just drop the plate off too during an oil change.
Great photos Royce, thank you for sharing them. As I wrote in a post above, not a popular modification, but I do not know why, it works extremely well.
Thanks for the input men. Wonder what Kim Dobbins design is for this dam?
So the oil doesn't all drain into the sump? Oil changes are done more often I would imagine.
Gene how big and where did you drill the holes? Do you have a photo?