Placement of dry sump tank?

[mistblue]

Hello. I have a chevelle -66 with ls1 engine.
LS1 engine should now be replaced with a LS3 Corvette Grand Sport dry sump engine.
Because of lack of space in the engine compartment, I had thoughts about installing dry sump tank in the trunk.

Is it doable?
Is there anything I need to consider?, .... i.e. placement of the tank, length of hoses, etc.

Hope You can help me out.

Pether.

[Blake Foster]

My personal thought is No on the tank in the trunk, it would be a lot harder on the pump to transfer the oil that far I would think.
why not call one of the dry sump companies like Peterson Fluid?
I know the NASCAR guys mount them in behind the driver but they are using 4-6 stage belt drive pumps.
just my .02 worth.
Is there no room to move the battery to the trunk and mount the take there? that is where the ATS dry sump tank mounts on the first gen Camaro

[71RS/SS396]

You can put it in the trunk but you need to increase the line size to a -16 or better yet -20 to reduce the restriction, but I bet you won't like the price of the hose and fittings -20 hose ends are like $75 + each. Do not use any forged elbows, use only high flow formed tube elbows, the forged ones are very restrictive. I would also highly recommend that you vent the trunk somehow to exhaust heat that will be generated by the tank, The vent for the tank should also exhaust outside of the trunk and a sealed firewall behind the back seat would be a very good idea should something bad happen you don't want hot oil catching on fire behind the seat. What's the capacity of the tank in the picture? It looks pretty small to me, 2 gallons is the absolute minimum imo, more is better.

[Flash68]

Originally Posted by Blake Foster

I know the NASCAR guys mount them in behind the driver but they are using 4-6 stage belt drive pumps.

They are also turning only LEFT.

Run large lines like Tim said and get enough capacity. Your tank looks like 3 gallons to me. I would use no less than 4.

I am putting mine in the area behind the passenger seat and running lines on the passenger frame rail up to the engine. 3 total lines of 16AN (1 supply and 2 return). Nascar used to run dual 16AN return now most are using single 20AN)

[Blake Foster]

Originally Posted by Flash68

They are also turning only LEFT.

Run large lines like Tim said and get enough capacity. Your tank looks like 3 gallons to me. I would use no less than 4.

I am putting mine in the area behind the passenger seat and running lines on the passenger frame rail up to the engine. 3 total lines of 16AN (1 supply and 2 return). Nascar used to run dual 16AN return now most are using single 20AN)

REALLY? only Left you say!
what about Watkins glen and Sonoma?

[Flash68]

Originally Posted by Blake Foster

REALLY? only Left you say!
what about Watkins glen and Sonoma?

Knew you were gonna say that.

If I had to guess, I'd say they make up for it somehow to balance the car on the road course.

If they drove 13 out of 15 events on the road course don't you think it might be different tank placement?

Of all the people you see putting tanks in the trunk, how many put them on the driver side? I've seen 1 out of 50 and that's because it was more of a show car.

Just my observations from the cheap seats here.....

[mikespeed95]

Post a pic of your engine bay, I have seen some very creative solutions involving custom or notched oil tanks. What all is along the firewall, and what type of dry sump system are you actually using? If it's the stock LS3 "dry sump" out of the grand sports, that is just a scavenging pump, feeding a tank, to a stock oil pump. There are some very easy solutions for this in the engine bay, but you'll need a different tank than the off the shelf Petersen unit everyone loves to use.

A lot of people aren't aware of how simple the OEM GM ''dry sump'' system is, it's a neat design but kind of comedic simplicity when you think of how a dry sump typically works.



Most people that hide these things put it along the firewall with an oddly shaped or notched tank, or on the radiator support area, along with some other things and just build a bulkhead or cover or something.

[mistblue]

Thanks for the info.

The tank is a 3gallon Howe Racing Enterprises.
As you can see it gets tight with the tank mounted in the engine compartment.

I will still use the original oil pump, so I´ll try to make it fit in the front.(see pic.)

One more question about placement of the tank.
How important is it that the connections between the oil pan and tank is at the same level?

Pether.

[mikespeed95]

As long as the lines feed down towards the pan you're good.

[Flash68]

Here is a 2.5 gallon tank in the engine bay of a 1st gen Camaro. Dang tight in there.