After all my measurements of clearance for the oil pan, and not wanting to hack the stock kmember to bits I've decided I'm not going to go with the traditional front sump gto oil pan that I've seen others use to successfully pull of this swap.
Clearance at the front k-member
Clearance at the center link(without turning the wheels)
Clearance on the passenger side with the wheels at full lock.
As you can see, there is only about 3" of clearance in the back when turning the wheels left and right, and 4" in the front in order to keep from hacking up the stock k-member. Another thing to note, with the centerlink being where it is, and at the depth it is, there is just about no chevy product rear sump pan that will work with the stock layout suspension/center link because the oil filters are all right over where the center link is. Unless you have a 3" tall filter to thread on there, it'll hit that center link when turning.
I also don't want to pay $699 for the sikky products style 1 mid sump aluminum oil pan, still having to run a remote filter. But for anyone doing this swap, according to my measurements and the measurements off their site, this would be a purchase off the shelf option that would work for an LS1 swap in an A-body.
LSx Swap Mid Sump Oil Pan | SIKKY
After doing some brainstorming with Dave, along with me being willing to be a test mule of sorts, I plan on getting a steel jegs performance rear sump ls oil pan, cutting it and flipping it around and rewilding it to make it a center sump pan. Placing the sump where it needs to be and making the front and rear of the pan shallow enough to clear the center link and front kmember without modification.
JEGS Performance Products 50228 Street & Strip Engine Swap Oil Pan GM LS Series | eBay
This is the idea behind modifying that steel oil pan to fit.
