In a bit if a dilema whether to chop my ex capri pinto sump.
It only protrudes about an inch and a half below the bell housing and Im wondering if its worth the aggro,the other thing is Im a lazy bastard and wondering whether to take the suck it and see route and if its a problem chop it at a later date.
There was a site somewhere that Ive lost showing a sump chop from start to finish any one got a link to it.
Whats everyone else done.
Cheers,
Bob

i would chop it, cause it means means the engine can sit lower.
Just cut 1.5" of the bottom and weld on some steel sheet.

You also have to shorten the pick up.

the only annoying bit are pin holes, which can take some time removing fully.

I'm in the same situation at the moment about the sump. How would lowering the sump enable the engine to sit lower? Surely the engine mounts remain the same, unless you are talking about lowering the suspension setup?

Don't raise it above the level of the bellhousing or it will be the first point of contact and will do much damage. My pinto sump is less than an inch below the bottom of the bellhousing and clears the road by about 3.5". I've never grounded it yet.

That was one of my thoughts Pete, better to clout the sump rather than the bell housing,plus clouting a sump thats been welded together with the risk of losing the entire oil reserve seems dead risky.
Think I'll suck it and see.
Cheers,
Bob

i chopped mine to be level with the bell housing, and it sticks 1" below bottom chassis rail.
I then made the engine mounts to fit.

If had not chopped it it would stick out further over the top chassis rail, since i only wanted it to stick out 1" through the bottom.

The ConrodKid didn't chop his first sump... then ripped the bottom out of it!

I've taken an inch out of mine (so that it's still the sump that grounds out not the bellhousing) and then mounted it an inch below the chassis.

Even with my chopped tappet cover it's still gonna be a mission to get the bonnet over it.

Benzine,
We're talking about taking 1" out of the the sump. Therefore reducing the overall engine height. It's then mounted 1" below chassis and therefore it's easier to get the bonnet over the rocker box.


I've done 2 and used 2 methods. The 2nd was much easier.

1st method. Chop 1" off then MIG weld plate over the hole. Then spend bloody ages trying to fill all the gaps with a MIG.
Then give up and have to spend ages filling all the holes with braze.

2nd method.
Chop 1" off.
Hammer now exposed 'walls' of sump to make it 'square' and therefore easier to work with.
Cut out matching base plate from 1.2mm plate with additional 5-10mm 'extra' round outside.
Bend up outside 'extra' to produce 'biscuit tin lid' shape that fit's inside hole in sump.**
Gas weld the two exposed lips together.


Anyway, point is, it worked really well compared with MIG'ing a plate over it.

Hope that helps,

James

** The lid doesn't fit over the end of the sump as a biscuit tin lid would. It sits inside the sump but with the bent up edges facing outwards. This is so that when welding the two together you are welding two edges together (a butt weld) which is way easier to get right.

On the subject of sumps mines got a hole in it and i need to know:
Can you remove the sump without taking the engine out (1300 xflow)
or has any one tried to weld one still in the car
tfyt Barrie
ps if i take it out i will chop it.

[Edited on 11/8/04 by barrie sharp]

gonna have trouble weldign it in the car cos it will always have some oil left in it. Getting it off the engine in situ depends onthe chassis layout. Just depends where any bars are. Mine wouldnt come out due to a cross bar under the sump.

You don't necesssarily have to take the engine out I took off my sump and rewelded without and engine out. You dod however have to split the engine / gearbox. The easy way it to first disconnect the propshaft, then remove the gearbox mount plate, remember to put the jack under instead. Then remove all but one bolt from the engine end of the engine mounts,loosen the remianing bolt and let the engine drop down, remove gearbox bolt and gearbox now you should be able to get at all the sump nuts.
Note when doing this be carefully your not pulling and water / electrical cables, also always give the engine some support.

Stuart