With more LS engines being swapped into early-model muscle cars that participate in bracket racing, autocross and other competitive events, the limitations of the stock oil pan become more evident. While it’s definitely easier to slip an LS V8 into almost anything these days, the LS oil pan doesn’t always clear the vehicle’s cross-member or steering components. Furthermore, muscle car owners with an LS engine under the hood want to prove their vehicle’s performance in competition. But under hard cornering or acceleration, oil can move from one side of the pan to the other and cause temporary oil starvation, and engine damage.
Holley came up with a solution to these problems with its LS oil pan systems. Holley’s Retrofit Oil Pan solves many LS V8 swap fitment problems by providing a high-quality, cast aluminum oil pan that fits like the factory pan with an OEM seal. The dimensions of the Holley oil pan are different from OE LS oil pans. They allow for maximum ground clearance and room for chassis and steering linkages on a variety of early GM vehicle applications from 1955 thru 1987. Just about any vehicle that originally came equipped with a small or big block Chevy engine, with a traditional rear-sump style oil pan, can easily swap in an LS V8 with Holley’s new oil pan in place.
Holley’s LS Retrofit Oil Pan has a 5.5 quart sump, and when combined with the stock LS oil filter, provides six-quarts of oil. Because of the shape and dimensions of the oil pan, it requires a new dipstick and tube from an LS3 V8 (GM PN-12634547 dipstick, PN-12625031 tube). In unique applications, Holley also offers a variety of Engine Swap Mount Plates that can provide additional oil pan and exhaust clearance by allowing the engine to be installed forward, up, down, fore, or aft of the cross member.
The Holley oil pan comes as a kit that includes a sump baffle, pick-up tube, sump plug, oil filter stud and oil passage cover. It retails the stock oil filter mounting position and has provisions for the OEM oil cooler ports and engine NVH noise suppression.
Oil pan baffle kit
While some muscle car owners are satisfied with a late-model LS engine in their early muscle car, many will continue to transform their vehicles into a formidable vehicle for competition. So to minimize the potential for accidental oil starvation under hard acceleration or cornering, Holley created an Oil Pan Baffle Kit to maintain proper oil level at the oil pump pickup. Fabricated from sheet aluminum, the kit replaces the standard tray baffle on Holley’s Retrofit Oil Pan. It features one-way trap doors that surround the OEM pickup to prevent the oil from moving around and losing oil pressure during road racing, maximum cornering and hard acceleration.
A comparison of Holley’s swap oil pan with the GM pan
Holley’s line of performance LS swap products make it much easier for a vehicle owner to achieve maximum performance during competition, without taking away any of the vehicle’s drive-ability on the street. This fact is most evident during Holley’s annual LS Fest competition that takes place at the company’s hometown of Bowling Green, KY. The LS Feat brings out thousands of LS enthusiasts, and hundreds of LS-powered early GM muscle cars, as well as late-model Camaros, GTOs, Corvettes, and numerous other LS powered vehicles that are also retrofitted with a variety of Holley LS performance parts. You can look for coverage from the show at OnAllCylinders this fall.
You can find Holley LS swap components at Summit Racing and find more valuable LS tech from Holley by viewing its video series: LS Engine Swap on a Budget.
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