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Author Topic: Strange Oil Pan  (Read 17352 times)

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TopNotch

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Strange Oil Pan
« on: August 11, 2014, 09:22:35 pm »
The engine I got from the parts car has a strange oil pan on it....

Do any of you recognize it?
It tells me....
a) The engine is not the original one in the car.
b) The oil pan was changed for some reason.
There are no starter holes on the other side of the block, so it's not a Camero/Firebird 3.4.
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Fierofool

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Re: Strange Oil Pan
« Reply #1 on: August 11, 2014, 10:00:48 pm »
Pat, I'm not 100% sure but better than 75% that it's either a 3.1 or 3.4 FWD oil pan.  I believe both had the cast aluminum pan on them. 
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TopNotch

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Re: Strange Oil Pan
« Reply #2 on: August 16, 2014, 10:22:58 pm »
I have the engine in my garage now, and it's definitely not a 2.8. It has a crank sensor.
Below is the engine.

Closeup of the crank sensor.

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Roger

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Re: Strange Oil Pan
« Reply #3 on: August 17, 2014, 09:49:09 am »
That certainly does not look like any stock pan. Whatever it is, that is a deep sump oil pan with provisions for an external oil pump (or cooler or filter). The engine has certainly been gone through because GM doesn't use brass water jacket plugs on its engines.
I suspect that the engine may have been bored to the max and stroked. If the cooling system did not have any upgrade then they used a larger oil pan requiring more oil to keep the engine cooler.
Did they plan on using this at a circle track or something like Road Atlanta?
« Last Edit: August 17, 2014, 09:51:12 am by Roger »
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TopNotch

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Re: Strange Oil Pan
« Reply #4 on: August 17, 2014, 10:24:14 am »
I also posted these pictures on Pennock's. According to some replies I have received there, the block is a GM 3100 or 3400 roller cam block with 2.8/3.4 iron heads installed. That means it must have had the pistons replaced, and custom push rods installed. I may have to do some disassembling to check these things out.
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Fierofool

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Re: Strange Oil Pan
« Reply #5 on: August 17, 2014, 11:59:18 am »
This car belonged to a woman, so she probably wasn't setting it up to use for anything other than a daily driver.  That and the fact that it has no other modifications to the suspension or body.

I was thinking that the engine might have come from one of the Chevy, Pontiac or Oldsmobile vans.  It's good to know that there is a higher volume pan, and probably higher volume oil pump hidden inside, that will bolt up to our cars. 

With the crank sensor port, it would be very easy to set the engine up with the DIS system.  Anybody know where you can get a good Digital EGR Adapter Kit?  :)
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MetalBlue85GT

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Re: Strange Oil Pan
« Reply #6 on: August 18, 2014, 07:44:27 pm »
Score! 8)
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Fierofool

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Re: Strange Oil Pan
« Reply #7 on: August 18, 2014, 09:43:04 pm »
I talked with Robbie today and he had some memory of the car.  He said that she had heard of Robbie and found Robert's Automotive or Robert's Service or something similar and thought she was taking the car to Robbie.  The garage did some work on the car, but he didn't know what was done.  It could be that they replaced the engine for her. 

Anyway, there were some problems of some kind and eventually she found Robbie.  He didn't remember what he had done to the car, but had gotten ownership because she couldn't pay for the work he did so she signed the title and released the car to him.  I have the signed title at home.  The buyer's info is still blank.

You might do a search in the Athens, TN area and see if you can find any type of automotive service with the name of Robert to get more information on the car.
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TopNotch

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Re: Strange Oil Pan
« Reply #8 on: August 24, 2014, 12:10:51 pm »
I took the exhaust manifolds off the engine today. As you can see in the picture in reply no. 2, one bolt is missing. Well, the broken piece is still in the head. And there are three other broken pieces I will have to deal with as well. One already broken on each side, and one broken by me on each side, trying to get them out.
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Fierofool

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Re: Strange Oil Pan
« Reply #9 on: August 24, 2014, 12:21:06 pm »
While the engine is out would be a perfect time to do the 7730 and even the DIS conversion.  Makes running the wiring much easier. 
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Robs Fieros

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Re: Strange Oil Pan
« Reply #10 on: September 11, 2014, 09:13:40 am »
His phone number is 423-744-0826. Robert's Auto Repair.
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TopNotch

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Re: Strange Oil Pan
« Reply #11 on: January 27, 2016, 09:04:31 pm »
I now know more about the engine. My brother expressed an interest in buying it, but only if it was a 3.4. So I pulled a head and measured the bore and stroke, and checked the lifters. Turns out it is a roller cam 3100 block.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2016, 09:19:20 pm by TopNotch »
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Fierofool

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Re: Strange Oil Pan
« Reply #12 on: January 27, 2016, 10:21:52 pm »
When I was talking with Dave about the Fastback Formula, we were talking about the engine in it and he thought it was also maybe a 3100.  We talked about your engine with the cast aluminum pan, and he said that the pan was interchangeable on all the 60 degree V6's.  He thought the one in the Formula was originally aluminum but had been swapped to the conventional metal pan.  A 3100 can be punched out to about a 3.4 and have the benefit of the roller cam. 

Hope the rest of the engine is serviceable and not in need of any repair.  It would be a good drop-in for MetalBlue's 85GT that's for sale out in Douglasville.  https://atlanta.craigslist.org/wat/cto/5418766842.html
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There are three kinds of men:

1.    The ones that learn by reading.
2.    The few who learn by observation.
3.    The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves.    Will Rogers

TopNotch

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Re: Strange Oil Pan
« Reply #13 on: January 28, 2016, 04:49:15 pm »
The engine looks quite good on the inside, hone marks still visible on the cylinder walls, and no ridge at the top. Also, no carbon build-up on the heads.
I'm thinking of putting it in the silver formula, with a 7730 ECM, and ported exhaust and intake.
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Raydar

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Re: Strange Oil Pan
« Reply #14 on: January 28, 2016, 08:14:09 pm »
Quote from: Fierofool on January 27, 2016, 10:21:52 pm
... It would be a good drop-in for MetalBlue's 85GT that's for sale out in Douglasville.  https://atlanta.craigslist.org/wat/cto/5418766842.html

He went up on the price. He had it listed last week for $1000. I wouldn't be surprised if that's his bottom price.
Someone I have emailed with was interested in it, but apparently the seller wasn't interested in dealing with shipping (or Paypal) because he never responded to several emails from the guy.
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