Dry sumping a BBC
 

Hello all.

A little background first:
I bought a 2001 supercat 522 (.060 over) engine from ilmor last year for my 24-7 pantera project. It will be de -tuned to run on pump gas. The engine came set up for a dry sump oiling system and I plan on keeping it that way. It came with a custom aluminum pan that was used with a marine bellhousing starter and I have a bravo that takes a conventional starter so the pan was useless to me.

I had a pan made and bought a barnes five stage pump, a bunch of -12 hose and fittings and fabricated a pump mounting bracket. I have a parallel filter assembly that came with the engine and will have a 10 to 12 qt. oil tank with -16 fittings made.

Pics of the pan:
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps7fb8e2b9.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps9f7b93fb.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps0c50fead.jpg

Pics of the pump:
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...ps7a64d1d6.jpg

According to the folks at barnes, I should drive the pump at around 60 to 65% for a marine application.
I'll be using a CV products "twin pin" HTD belt and pulley system for the pump drive.

I'll try to keep this thread updated with everything I learn so others thinking of giving it a go can see how I did mine and get ideas.


Any thoughts?

REmember..its better to dry sump than to dry hump.....

I try to talk all my customers into dry sump for many reasons..........thanks Rob (phragle) now I have 1 more reason.

Hey Brian.
Can you elaborate on the benefits of a dry sump system on a marine application?

Is this hearsay or is this the voice of experience?

Higher volumes of oil can be used in the system. This allows the oil to run cooler, last longer, and also de-gas better (from ring blow by). The pan can be much lower profile, meaning the engine can be dropped for a better CG. No sloshing issues so extreme cornering or pounding from waves will not starve the pump. Pressure can be adjusted. External oil pump, so it can easily be serviced. Basically a dry sump system is better in just about every way, but they can be a little pricey and are also more complex.

Other benefits are the crank does not have to fight its way through the oil splashing on it, constant vacuum inside engine so no oil leaks and more HP. The only negative is the cost.

All good points brought up by SS930 and Brian41. My buddy that I drag race with, runs a big cube SBC (approx 500 CI) that is a dry sump. He spins it hard too. Ther was more up-front cost, but everything else is a plus. Including, it just looks nice!

I would imagine in a marine application, all of the same advantages apply, especially the larger oil volume with the tank and the lower CG.

In a system with 4 scavenging pickups on the pan, what kind of crankcase vacuum can I expect and what does that do to my piston ring selection?

I plan on 2 -16 return lines to the tank and 1 -16 supply to the pump from the tank.
Also 1 -12 supply to the filters and then into the block. As stated earlier, it's a five stage pump with 4 -12 scavenging pickups

Also, due to the expected cooler oil temps due to the increased oil volume, I was hoping I wouldn't need an oil cooler. Am I crazy on this one?

Also, any thoughts on venting the system?
Should I have a vent in each valve cover and then another on the top of the tank?