Smooth...

So to finish the pan, we need to know the engines setup, more specifically its happy place. 

Three weeks ago I drew the flat plates that bolt up to the block, and the overkill side plate loops around the sleeve to make the engine mounts. Lets just say, broken engine mounts annoy the shit out of me at the track.

In 2003 I drove my 180sx drifter from Malacky, Slovakia to a little town called Nurburg in Germany, some 900kms away. About three quarters of the way over I started hearing a nasty noise, a chatter, only on boost /  acceleration. Turns out I had cracked a engine mount apart on the casting.

So to let it know how dissapointed I was, a couple laps of the Nurburgring late in the afternoon session did it. And pissed me off the whole time.


Mate of mine Todd gave me a set of Nissan Patrol trailing arms he had laying about. I cut off the arm-tube, cleaned it up and put some plates around it.  This way I drop in a Whiteline polyurethane Patrol trailing arm bush, four come in the bag, so engine and a spare set in the toolbox, plus the ability to buy engine mounts anywhere in the world, OEM or aftermarket.


I put in a laser cut order, for the pan, and these end plates a few weeks ago. I took a guesstimate on the size, and got it (the block) about 8mm off each side. Perfect, no need to trim down. The baseplate I made out of 6mm, but the side plates are 5mm, I know its minor but my OCD (I dont actually suffer OCD, but this will annoy me) wont let me off this out. It could have been 5mm, if the front end isnt behaving as it should, ill know that the extra weight of the 6mm base plate is all at fault!. Ok, maybe not.

Dry Sump Pan Day

So this has to start somewhere, the whole placement issue.

I call it a issue, because I get no fun from this task of retrofits. 

Actually, allow me to clarify, I like the job itself, I love the technical aspect of setting a engine up when you have artistic freedom, I just dont find this kind of work amusing anymore when youre in a 'chair. 

Engine in, measure and mark-up, engine out, modify, replace and engine back in again a dozen times or more if you want the pan, the engine and gearbox mounts perfect.

So to set the height, we need a pan. To finish the pan, we need the engine mounted. To mount the engine, the gearbox and bellhousing needs to fit the transmission tunnel.

What it does not.

Starting off I opted to go 316 stainless steel for the engine pan. Why, not aluminium?. Well stainless only won out because of the specific notching for the steering rack and engine cross-member, its cleaner, thinner and if I get a rock caught between it and the power steering rack, it wont wear a hole in it, and if it did I can weld stainless at a countryside roadhouse if need be. Welding aluminium is a bit more of a pain. Saying that, its not uncommon to find a stainless pan on a high end no budget Nascar motor.

So basic design is like you see on circle track stuff, but in a smaller simpler scale. Pan is rather shallow and runs a gutter along the scavenge (backside) side.





Ill run 3-points of scavenge on the pan, so ill happily sacrifice the gutter where it hangs too low.





Few test fits, markup and notch out.







Got it nice and low in the bay, and pretty hard up to the cross-member.

And in-case you're wondering, yes that is a S13 cross-member.




The inner view reveals how low it can sit. This time I won against that steering rack, however the next time we meet will be headers time, and I just know that will get ugly.

Real ugly.