[DeTomaso] Cheap high capacity oil pan

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 12/14/11 14 54 0, kenn_green at yahoo.com writes:


> I think this is what I have, and it looks like good stuff:
>  
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160696667832
> 

That's not an oil pan.   That's a cheap, piece of junk bucket.   Unlike 
proper oil pans like Aviaid, Armando's etc., this thing has absolutely nothing 
inside of it--it's just a big bucket of oil with a home-made windage tray on 
top of it.   Pans somewhat like this were made by Miloden, although this 
one looks almost home-made.

Larry Stock had a Miloden pan like that on an engine that he bought.   His 
car was running around the track and he assumed he had proper protection 
against oil starvation because externally it looked like a proper oil pan.   
BOOM! went the engine, a connecting rod came zinging out the side of the oil 
pan.   When he removed the pan he discovered it was a scam, just like the one 
in this E-bay listing.   A bucket masquerading as a proper oil pan.

About five years ago, a friend in France ordered a 'crate engine' from a 
So-Cal engine builder.   He specified an Aviaid pan but what he got was a 
Miloden pan.

The motor blew a head gasket almost immediately, and he got water in the 
oil.   When he took the motor apart he was shocked to discover a POS bucket 
instead of a proper pan.   I hand-carried it back to the USA and it got 
swapped out for the Aviaid pan he had paid for.

In looking at the Miloden site now, it appears they have changed their 
ways, and they make what hopefully is a decent oil pan for the Pantera:

http://www.milodon.com/oil-pans/road-race-oil-pans.asp

It's hilariously overpriced at almost $700 including the pickup; Aviaid and 
Armando pans are more like $440.

Anyway, with respect to this E-bay pan, it's not even worth the cost of 
shipping, much less buying it, unless you're running it in a boat, or an RV, or 
something like that which won't see any sort of cornering, acceleration or 
braking forces.

Mike