Long story short: I cut my stock 5.3 oil pan to 5.5" to replicate the Holley 302-1 LS swap pan. I will be welding a .25" 6061 plate to the bottom.

The bottom part that I cut off holds ~1 3/4 quarts of water. If the stock pan holds about 6 quarts, then that means that my pan now holds 4 1/4 quarts. This is obviously not enough oil.

However, despite my measurements, I can't help but notice that the dimensions of my pan are very close to the holley pans. But the holley site says they hold 5.5 quarts. That's almost 1 1/2 quarts more.

Am I missing something? When the pan is full, how far from the level of the gasket should the level of the oil be? Is it ok for the oil level to be over the gasket or is this a no-no?

 

The sumps of the Holley pans are wider than stock pans, which is why you cannot obtain the same oil capacity by shortening the sump of a stock pan.

 

Ah, that's what I missed. Thank you.


On a side-note, has anyone had experience with the SPECTRA GMP77A oil pan? It's supposed to be a replacement for the LS1 pan, and it's only $150 from AutoZone.


Thanks.

 

I have never seen that pan, but it looks just like the F body oil pan. Do they sell the rest of the parts for it as well?

 

AutoZone $189.99 for my zip code. Oreilly is $179.99. Where do you see it listed for $150 ?

 

Use their 20% off discount code listed on the AutoZone site. Advance auto had a better deal, but unfortunately they aren't restocking it.


AFAIK, the Spectra product is only the pan, nothing else. I don't think that AutoZone carries the correct pickup for that pan. The pan on super chevy performance is $200 and comes with a gasket, so for about the same price you can get the GM pan w/ gasket from them. Too bad they don't have a promo code...

 

Holley pans are still one of the best deals around since they are complete.

 

I know this is an old thread but for anyone looking for info. Advance Auto will drop ship this pan (Spectra gmp77a) to you, they have a 30% off coupon you can use if you're a perks member which makes the pan $129.99 and over $100 is free shipping so you're good there, it comes with bolts and a gasket. You can buy the remaining pieces you need on ebay for $97 shipped that are genuine GM parts, including the windage tray, pickup tube, pickup O-ring, dipstick tube and dipstick. So, you'll have roughly $230 in a full F-body pan setup.

 

Assuming it fits the chassis that you are working with...

Andrew

 

Yes, it's prefaced on the fact that you should be certain it would fit your application before you bought it, but that's true for anything.

 

And the reason the aftermarket pans proliferate is because...it seems the GM pans fit hardly anything other than the OEM application they were designed for. Full circle -- which is why they're so inexpensive. More supply than demand.

But...if you can use one, relentless nailed the deal.

 

actually the the gmp77a pan is virtually the same as the fbody pan. it fits way more than the aftermarket pans do. the aftermarket pans hang down too low and many people bust them. the gmp77a f body doesnt.