3400 rwd conversion

[dusterbd13]

Stuffing a la1 3400 into a miata.

right now the biggest interference issue is the oil pan.

other than cut and weld the cast aluminium, what are my options? Can a steel rwd oil pan be used? Im thinking not, due to the crossbolted mains.

[sharkey]

aside from the cross bolted mains, the pan is different around the front because the timing covers are different.

[dusterbd13]

So id have to use the rwd timing cover and accessories from a 3.4 camaro in addition to the pan, right?

can the stamed steel pan be used after drilling it for the mains?

[sharkey]

i did a little more looking, i might be wrong on the oil pan not lining up to the timing cover. it appears you can run a 93-95 f-body timing cover on a 3400 with the 3400 oil pan, so a stamped rwd pan will fit the 3400 timing cover. im not sure the bolt pattern is the same on the block though. one thing for sure is if you can use the stamped rwd pan there is no reason to drill the holes for the cross main bolts, there is no structure in the steel pan.

your best bet really is to modify the 3400 pan to fit the chassis.

[Guest]

The timing cover to oil pan mating is not an issue, however, the bolt pattern is quite different, and throwing away the crossbolting is a big step backwards to me.

Modify the oil pan, you'll be happy you did.

The only alternative is modify the car to fit the oil pan...

[dusterbd13]

Do you have a picture of how much the oil pan can be cut?

id really rather not lose the crossbolted mains as this engine is destined to be boosted.

ive begun modifying the car to fit the oil pan, but would like to stop cutting now for structural rigidity concerns.

[Guest]

I don't have any pictures like that, but it could be made to be similar dimensions to the steel pans, however, the windage tray will limit how high it can be cut, and the thicker aluminum adds some bulk, but this would not be the first time a gen3 oil pan would be modified for this exact reason.

[Ed_Mc.]

Here's a few pics of the steel pan and of a cast alum. pan modified, that I snagged a few years ago.

HTH............ed