1981 Corvette

RWILSON

MEMBER
1981 CHEVROLET CORVETTE

My oil pan is mangled ihave installed a high volume pump and the sump screen doesn't fit because of the strange baffles in the oil pan. Can I use a regular oil pan and sump screen without engine damage. Does anyone know what the purpose of the unusual baffles in an 81 vette's oil pan are for?

1 Reply

MECHANIC116

MEMBER
28 POSTS

Why did you install a high volume oil pump? Installing a high volume oil pump on an engine that has not been blueprinted for higher oil flow (which I am assuming yours has not) can be a mistake. The result will be grinding the distributor drive gear right off. (The dist. Drives the oil pump) A high volume pump intalled on a tight clearance engine will require way too much torque to be driven, hence the grinding off of the drive gear. I would suggest that you straighten out your original oil pan as best you can and then put a stock replacement type oil pump back on it. You're asking for trouble otherwise. The baffles in the pan are there because corvettes are intended for road course type use, spirited driving on twisted roads. The baffles in the pan help to keep the oil where the oil pump has access to it. If you remove the baffles, every time you corner hard, your oil light will come on.