Project 510 – sump mods

Ever since I first lowered the car a few years ago, one problem I’ve always been faced with is a low-flying sump plug (sump = oil pan). The previous owner fabricated a custom sump for the car and positioned the drain plug right at the lowest point, which wasn’t a problem at the ride height they planned to run, but I had different ideas. Added to that, the sump had some received some damage over the years which resulted in a few hairline fractures, and the plug no longer had a perfectly flat surface to seal to, so when I walked into the garage and saw a large trail of oil, I knew it was finally time to put my long-running plan into action.

As this picture from my last post illustrates, the plug is poking it’s head out, ready to cop some road rash at the first sign of any big dips in the road…

…which happened on more than one occasion (I’m now onto my second plug).

So the plan was to remove the existing plug, weld up the hole, and reposition a new outlet on the side of the sump, like so…

The problem with this job is that the sump can’t be removed from the engine while it’s still in the car unless the crossmember is removed, so that means the engine has to be supported by a special frame that allows you to remove said crossmember without the engine falling on your head. That means I had to enlist the help of my long-term and always helpful mechanics at Protek Automotive.

With the engine supported and the crossmember removed, they set to work repairing and modifying the sump. All of the dents were bashed out and the seams double welded to seal up any cracks. Most importantly, the sump plug was moved out of harms way and into a safer position…

With everything bolted back up to the car and some fresh oil poured in, I was ready to roll again. This is how the setup now looks from underneath…

Much better! I no longer need clench my butcheeks over every dip in the road.