My new 383 and oil pan compatability

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Marksman

Marksman

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Get ready for a long post..

At the local yard, for the last six months or so there has been this 383 missing one valve cover and no distributor or carb on it getting rained in. Thursday afternoon, something told me I should go buy it.

Went out there and bought it for $80, which I thought was too much. Got it home and pulled the intake off. Intake ports were standing full of water. Pulled the heads off and 2 cylinders were standing full, BUT surprisingly every hole was nice and shiny with no rust. Cleaned the water out.

Pulled the drain plug out and got a gallon and a half of water and a small amount of oil. Pulled the pan and everything had a nice coating of oil on it. Pressure washed all the oil/water gunk out.

Put some oil in the cylinders and let it soak a few hours, and the engine came loose without too much effort. All bores look good all the way down and there isn't a noticeable ridge at the top. Exhaust valves were white and exhaust ports were clean, so I guess it was running clean.

Cleaned everything up good and painted it. Put it back together today and it's almost ready to go in my 76 d150, except I have a question about oil pans. I know this isn't an a body, but this forum has a lot more knowledge than the truck forums.

Does anyone know if a car pan will clear on a truck? It doesn't have much of a sump, which makes me think there is a chance. I used my only truck pan on my d200.

Also, Engine is a 66 4 barrel, which decodes to be 10:1 and 325 Hp.

Thanks!
 
I know not a small block or a buddy but I want to hear how it runs. Sounds like you may have saved it just in time. Keep us posted.
 
Once I find a pan and get it in, I will update how it runs.

Thanks.
 
I used a rear sump pan that had the dipstick tube attached with a brass fitting on my 150.
 
You did good. Engines are remarkably weatherproof sometimes. Ya cant leave a shortblock in the driveway for 10 years, but a greasy engine can shed water for a while...
 
Marksman said:
Once I find a pan and get it in, I will update how it runs.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
JUST WONDERING WHAT NUMBER PAN WAS ON IT BEFORE YOU SWAPPED IT TO A TRUCK PAN PLEASE LET ME KNOW AS IM LOOKING FOR A PAN FOR MY 67 DART CONVERTIBLE WITH 383 THANKS
SCPO L J HEMING USN
 
I don't recall what pan was on the engine and I probably couldn't identify it in my pile either. The engine wasn't out of an A body so it probably wouldn't help you anyways. Wound up slapping the engine in my buddy's 68 satellite trying to get it ready for HRPT. Sounded good for a bit and then it spun #3 and #4 rod bearings. Actually just reassembled the rotating assembly yesterday afternoon..

Also, there's no need for the caps. We can actually read it easier with them lowercase.
 
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