Hey guys,

has anyone here install a 292 oil pan & fit it into an "F" body?
Does it clear the cross member?
"F" body = 1967 -1969 Camaro, 1968-1974 Nova, or similar Pontiac, olds, models.


Thanks in advance.

I am going to try installing just the block & my 292 pan to see if it works & was wondering if anyone had done this before.

The 292 oil pan is much deeper over all. Unlike the 230,250 oil pans. So even the front half will not clear the frame to the best that I know of.

Larry is right, the 292 pan is longer on the front side of the sump forward than the 230/250 pans are, which is right where the crossmember is. I have one pan of each I can take some pics of to show the comparison.

Thanks guys.

I did have a little bit of room w/the stock 250 pan between the pan & cross member, IIRC it had about an 1 inch to 1.5" range of clearance.
I will try it & see, don't think it will fit.

Probably have to trim it to fit.

Anybody have a recommendation for a shop to fab up a pan for me?

Thanks again.

MBHD

What's wrong with using the 250 pan? Just curious.

The 292 pan has more room in the front & reduces oil splash back onto the crank & rod assembly's.

I am just thinking of any free HP to be gained by using a different pan.

Unidirectional screen material, oil pan kick outs, more volume etc, all in the name to make more HP.

MBHD

OK, so today I tried out a 292 oil pan & it fit into my 69 "F" body Camaro.

I did have to notch out a section in order to clear my aftermarket rack & pinion steering unit, but as far as the front section of the oil pan that goes over the cross member, it clears w/about .500" clearance, so that's good.

Just to add more info,, I have a 1" anti sway bar (bigger than stock) in the Camaro & there is about 1/4" clearance to the oil pan.

MBHD

Another piece of the puzzle.

Hank i know your pain of aftermarket power steerin clearances

Hank,would the pan clear the stock steering linkage ? I would like to run a 292 pan in my nova. Is a 69 Camaro a Front steer or a Rear steer car. Mine is a Front steer which means that the linkage is in front of the big crossmember. My stock exhaust pipe runs between the sump part of the pan and the frt crossmember. I suppose that that will have to change also. Thanks for letting me know. Jay 6155

What year Nova, 75-80ish?

Your Nova is a 78?

If so, the cross member is different.
I cannot say for sure, but if your engine pan has about 2"ish of clearance w/a stock 250 pan then a 292 might fit.

Going from memory, (it's been a while since I have seen a 75-80 ish Nova w/a 6 cylinder) there is not a lot of room between the oil pan & cross member.

See if you can take some pics of this area between the oil pan & cross member.
Or see if you can measure the gap.

I believe the 292 holds one more qt of oil? Than a standard pan.
I never checked it before I cut my pan.
Anyone here know?

The one advantage the 292 pan has is the front section being taller/lower than a 250 pan, it can reduce oil splash back onto the crank & rod assembly's, which could rob some HP, not a lot mind you.
You can remedy this by adding (to the front section of the pan) unidirectional mesh screen to prevent the oil from splashing back up.

Other wise, the rear far aft section of the 292 pan is a worse design.

When accelerating hard, the 292 pan has a ramp that will allow the oil to ramp up easier onto the rear main cap & crank & rod assembly's.
See picture in Leos book pg 41 second edition.
This design flaw can be easily fixed by adding a plate as shown on page 43.

MBHD

My nova is a 78. I just measured the clearance, at the closest point I have 1 7/8 or 2" between the crossmember and oil pan. Yes Hank the 292 holds 1 more quart of oil than a 250. I will also tell of my own experence with this swap. I had a 79 GMC with a 250, wanted to put in new main and rod berings. I thought that while I had the pan off I would put on a 292 pan and hold an extra quart of oil. I pulled the pan off checked the berings (they were ok) and looked at the depth of the sump to see if I needed to move the pickup. They looked about the same depth to me so I just put on the new pan and put in 6 quarts of oil. Using the original dipstick and tube I was still low. It took 9 quarts of oil to get to the full mark on the stock dipstick. I figured that if I ran the dipstick full then the pickup would be ok. This is when I was young and dumb not old and dumb like now. I would really like to know how much lower the pickup has to be when running a 292 pan. I hope this helps. Jay 6155

On the oil pick up.
You would want 3/8"- 1/2" of clearance/space between the oil pick up & the oil pan.

Here are a few picks of when I was trial fitting a 292 pan.

Engine block in w/292 pan installed.



This one shows where I needed to cut out a section to clear my aftermarket rack & pinion steering unit.



Clearance between cross member & 292 pan. About 1/2" of clearance.



MBHD

Thank you for the pictures. I think that I can fit a 292 pan in the Nova. I won't have any problems with steering because mine is stock and has the linkage in the front. Of course I will measure before installing and this time measure the pickup correctly. If you have a stock 250 pan can you tell me how much deeper the sump on the 292 pan is? Do both pans have the same baffles inside stock? The measurement that I get for the 250 on the engine stand is 7" from the top of the pan rail to the bottom of the sump on the outside. This could be +or- 1/6 of an inch. I measured at the middle of the sump at what I thought would be the deepest part of the pan. If you need it I will be happy to measure the dipsticks and tubes on both my engines. Jay 6155