Posted by Rob Steller on June 25, 2000 at 15:08:56:
In Reply to: '58 W-300 251 oil pan: front or rear sump? posted by Rob Steller on June 24, 2000 at 19:12:12:
Taking the words of wisdom presented here as gospel, I have taken hammer in hand, and converted one of my rear sump pans to a front sump. I had to elongate several bolt holes and dimple the pan to create a bit of extra clearance for the rotating parts of the 265 crank, but no welding or cutting was needed. I'll use lots of silicone (breasts?) for the seal, rather than the gaskets, as it is more forgiving in the regions where I will have to leave out a bolt or two (at the oil pump, where I had to bulge the wall to clear the intake and cross over tube). This will not accomadate the thru the block dipstick, but the pictures I have seen show the stick thru the pan side on the front sump setup. I'll rig something thru the fill tube, as I do not have welding capabilities where the truck is, and I'm in a hurry. I'm still interested in the stock pan if anybody has one.