[k-star]

I am looking for someone with hands on experience with the small block fords parts interchangs.
I am building a 1965 289 motor for a customer. It is in a 1955 ford pick-up with a mustang II front end. I am not doing the install,just the motor.

When i got the motor to tear down it had a rear sump pan( small front sump,with the cut out for the suspension) on it with a oil dip stick tube in the pan on the drivers side. I noticed on the pan that someone had welded a smaller piece around the rear main seal,and the orginal seal dia was still there but it was bigger. They welded the small seal part from another pan into this one.It looked to me like it was a leak waiting to happen.I am guessing this was a 351w pan and someone modified it to work on the 289???? all the bolt holes lined up....

This is where all the run around started. I have asked 3-4 local ford guys some of these questions and no one can give me a straight answer,and the one's that did answered me were wrong.

So here are my questions.
1. what year did they switch from the front cover dip stick to the stick in the block???
2. What years and or specific body types did they put the stick in the pan???
3. I know there is a difference between the 289/302 pans and the 351w.. pans.
what exactly is the difference. Is it only the seal diameters,,, will the 351w pan bolt to the 289/302 blocks(same pattern different seal diameters???) I know the front of the pan is the same because you can interchange the timing covers.(well thats what i have been told)

I actually have the problem fixed. I modified a new fox body pan to work, by adding the dip stick tube. The other fly in the ointment was the block hugger sanderson headers that required me to modify the location of the tube anyway. I am just looking for some facts to store in my brain for the next time i do this.


thanks for any help,keith

[woodz428]

The rear sump had been used in trucks earlier, but the type you're talking about came initially in '79 with the first Fox bodied cars. Every Fox chassis car used that pan although it may have been in some other models. You are correct about the front cover and pan, the cover is the same and the pan is only different in the seal area around the rear main.

[k-star]

Thanks for the info,428

keith

[k2mooch]

Don't know if this helps but I have an '83 351W truck motor I had to convert to a car motor. It was a dual sump with the stick in the pan. Had to use parts from a (car) 351W to change the pump to have front pickup only, the pan for this did not have the dipstick in it, so I had to get the timing cover off the (car) motor too since it had the dipstick inlet.

I'm pretty sure based on the steering and suspension setup of a car vs. a truck, the oil sump design had to be different for each application. Dual for trucks, single for cars. Hope this helps.


MoocH