While my buddy is finishing up the machine work on my flathead block, I'm getting a few miscellaneous pieces ready back at my shop. I straightened up and blasted my best oil pan and was getting ready to slick it up when I discovered the threads in the dipstick tube receiver were shot. I checked the other two pans I had and they were no better. So I decided to just make a new one out of stainless and polish it up. I started by drilling out the rivets and removing the aluminum receiver. I picked up a piece of 1/4" stainless out of the scrap and a stainless coupler from the local farm store for $3. Since it was a rough mill finish, I decided to face it off a bit to make the polishing easier later. Using the original receiver as a guide, I set the plate in my vice at the proper angle to put the hole through it for the threaded coupler. I machined the coupler down to .625" o.d. and then milled the hole in the plate to accept it. Using the original again as a guide, I transferred the hole pattern and drilled the plate. I then rough polished the plate before tracing the outer shape to the plate. Using a cutoff wheel on my hand grinder, I roughed out the shape and then fine tuned it with a flap disc. Smoothed and polished, ready to tig weld the coupler in. I marked the angle on the coupler and trimmed it up for a flush fit on the back side of the plate. Tig welded on the back side. Check for fit. Not sure if I'll rivet it back on after I paint the pan, or put rivnuts in the pan and bolt it on. Anyway, this should put an end to any thread problems here.
Nice piece of work! Are you accepting orders? I think most of the ones out there are like your original and these would be well received.
When you get ready to install it, braze 3 short bolts inside the pan and then make a gasket, then use SS acorn nuts on the outside to secure the Dipstick tube. Looks cool I did it
That's exactly what I was thinking about with the acorn nuts. Will match up to the head bolt covers nicely. Welding in some grade8 bolts would probably be better than the rivnut idea, too. Thanks Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
That is the type of detail that is important, and nice looking, too. After working in machine shops for years, I can appreciate the thought, time and effort that went into your work.
More Saturday piddlin. Got the block back from machining and I cleaned it all up to prep for assembly. Probably not the best idea to paint the block before putting it together, but I figured it was cleaner right then than it ever would be, so I opted to paint it now. I can always touch it back up if need be after I get it put together. Just used some cheap Summit single stage urethane over epoxy primer. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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