Small Block car DIY Oil Pan Baffle - big block truck pan re-purpose!
After much shopping around and internet research I’m happy to report I just decided to make my own oil pan baffle instead of spending hard earned dollars on substandard offerings out there. Seems like there are a lot of inferior pans available these days, some good ones too though But certainly not inexpensive, this especially for us Canadians that have to factor in exchange rate from CDN to USA bucks , shipping, and potential brokerage charges etc….
I’m also MOST happy that I have found a use for all those big block truck oil pans that I had laying around too! (I wish I didn’t toss a few of them out now! lol). When I decided to tackle making my own baffle I started to look around for appropriate tin to use for the job. I couldn’t find anything ‘good’ lying around and because I’m cheap I didn’t want to spend gas dollars driving to the local metal place to be charged too much for a chunk of scrap tin, this is when I looked across the shop and saw the BB truck pan lying in a dusty corner. Wait a minute what better material for a baffle than an actual oil pan! Well low and behold I did some quick measuring and as it turns out the distance across the flat part of th truck pan is close to 8” and the distance inside the small block 392 pan (for my 402 sb motor) is 8”. BINGO!!
The work begins. I started by zip cutting the pan rail off the big block pan being careful to leave the factory bend of the big block pan in place, and then by cutting the sump off from the long flat part I wanted to use. A little figuring later and by use of a stencil I made I had the rough shape for the baffle formed. Once I had the base form I laid it in the SB pan and did some more ‘figuring’ and fine tuned the base form to the what is the final shape.
Next up, after looking at a bunch of internet pictures of various baffles and from holding a pick up tube by hand as closely to what I thought the installed position of it should/would be I made some markings and began to cut the opening for the pick up tube and then lastly the oil dipstick tube…. A little hammering and tweaking to make a nice snug fit and this is the end result. Also did a little dimpling in three spots to allow for ‘extra’ oil returning faster. What doesn’t want to travel through the dimples will just flow back into the sump over and around the openings and the sides of the new custom baffle I’ve made. Which is another reason why I wouldn’t want to weld all around the baffle. It only really needs to be held in place in a few spots. It’s okay to have gaps and spaces as it promotes faster oil return.
Today I’ll remove my supplied by mother Mopar on the P crate motor 8 quart oil pan (which k believe is a good earlier moroso unit), then gorilla tape my custom baffle into the new pan and do some test fitting and trimming/adjustments if required. It should be okay but if minor adjustments are required so be it. Once all is verified good a few strategic tack welds around the baffle and I’ll be done! Paint er’ up, and install a new magnum style gasket - with the exception of the timing cover bit which I will cut out of the one piece magnum gasket and use the standard 360 one And it will finally be done.
After much shopping around and internet research I’m happy to report I just decided to make my own oil pan baffle instead of spending hard earned dollars on substandard offerings out there. Seems like there are a lot of inferior pans available these days, some good ones too though But certainly not inexpensive, this especially for us Canadians that have to factor in exchange rate from CDN to USA bucks , shipping, and potential brokerage charges etc….
I’m also MOST happy that I have found a use for all those big block truck oil pans that I had laying around too! (I wish I didn’t toss a few of them out now! lol). When I decided to tackle making my own baffle I started to look around for appropriate tin to use for the job. I couldn’t find anything ‘good’ lying around and because I’m cheap I didn’t want to spend gas dollars driving to the local metal place to be charged too much for a chunk of scrap tin, this is when I looked across the shop and saw the BB truck pan lying in a dusty corner. Wait a minute what better material for a baffle than an actual oil pan! Well low and behold I did some quick measuring and as it turns out the distance across the flat part of th truck pan is close to 8” and the distance inside the small block 392 pan (for my 402 sb motor) is 8”. BINGO!!
The work begins. I started by zip cutting the pan rail off the big block pan being careful to leave the factory bend of the big block pan in place, and then by cutting the sump off from the long flat part I wanted to use. A little figuring later and by use of a stencil I made I had the rough shape for the baffle formed. Once I had the base form I laid it in the SB pan and did some more ‘figuring’ and fine tuned the base form to the what is the final shape.
Next up, after looking at a bunch of internet pictures of various baffles and from holding a pick up tube by hand as closely to what I thought the installed position of it should/would be I made some markings and began to cut the opening for the pick up tube and then lastly the oil dipstick tube…. A little hammering and tweaking to make a nice snug fit and this is the end result. Also did a little dimpling in three spots to allow for ‘extra’ oil returning faster. What doesn’t want to travel through the dimples will just flow back into the sump over and around the openings and the sides of the new custom baffle I’ve made. Which is another reason why I wouldn’t want to weld all around the baffle. It only really needs to be held in place in a few spots. It’s okay to have gaps and spaces as it promotes faster oil return.
Today I’ll remove my supplied by mother Mopar on the P crate motor 8 quart oil pan (which k believe is a good earlier moroso unit), then gorilla tape my custom baffle into the new pan and do some test fitting and trimming/adjustments if required. It should be okay but if minor adjustments are required so be it. Once all is verified good a few strategic tack welds around the baffle and I’ll be done! Paint er’ up, and install a new magnum style gasket - with the exception of the timing cover bit which I will cut out of the one piece magnum gasket and use the standard 360 one And it will finally be done.