External Top End Oiler on 56 Pan

[Joelpan]

Has anyone ever added external oilers to the top end on a older pan. I need to do this for my 56. I'm building a 90" motor using S&S shovelhead big bore cylinders. My plan is to drill down under the intake rocker where the oil hole comes through. Go at an angle bringing the hole out in the underside flat area. Drill out the small hole from bottom and tap for a pipe fitting. Then its just a matter of rigging up some feed lines from a port on the Sifton high flow oil pump. Any sugestions or previous experience adding the external oiling would be appreciated.

[Cotten]

Joel!

Before you start chewing things up,
I gotta ask:

How are you going to bolt down those Pan heads to Shovel cylinders?

....Cotten

[Joelpan]

Simple just add the one hole thats in a different location. I'm a machinist so it makes things pretty easy for me. The heads have already been fitted to the shovel cylinders.

[Cotten]

So Joel!

Ever wonder why everybody didn't do it?

....Cotten

[steinauge]

Your top end feed setup will certainly work.Andy Hansen at H.E.S used to sell that exact job many years ago. I would think it would have been simpler and less destructive to use pan barrels.

[Joelpan]

Never gave it any thought but since you ask unless you have access to cnc milling machine it would be pretty hard to do. It's not just as simple as drilling and tapping the extra hole, although that would probably work. What I did was more complex than that though. I'm a machinist and a cad cam specialist. Why would anyone need to do it anyway unless they were going to big bore cylinders.
Steinuage they don't make them for the pan.

[Cotten]

Joel!

I think you missed my point.

What do you think that thin little isthmus of casting that you put that big bolt hole into is going to do with 65 ft-lbs of fastener torque, even before it sees the stress of compression and heat-cycles of duty?
And what will it do to the near-by valve seat?

Metal moves.

Did you expect to shorten a bolt, or did you just blow the hole all the way into the intake port?

Did you expect half-century-old cast aluminum to hold its threads, or did you blow an even bigger hole for an insert?

Please think about it before you have to become a welder, as well as a consummate state-of-the-art twenty-first century machinist.

...Cotten

[1964 pan]

Joelpan!
About 30 years ago EasyRider magazine had an article about drilling and tapping early model panheads to accept overhead oiling. i had to do that to some early model panheads (sorry Cotten) for my '64. Another story. All done on a manual mill. So it should be no problem for you. I'll see if I can find that issue. Good Luck.

[steinauge]

You can get big bore pan barrels from a number of different sources among them S&S cycle.I realize you have already done your conversion but the cylinders are indeed available.

[Joelpan]

I checked everywhere. S&S included. They no longer have the big bore cylinders for panhead. I could not find anyplace that has big bore for the pans anymore. My parts supplier also checked and could not find them. They are available for 66 & up. I would have much rather gone with pan barrels if possible.

[Cotten]

Joelpan!

Since you have the machinery and the skills,
why not just drill the cylinders with oil galleries?

....Cotten

[steinauge]

Cotten I dont know that there is enough metal in that cylinder to drill that oil gallery without hitting air on the outside.Remember the pan cylinder had a place in the casting for the passage.Besides he is going to be plenty busy trying to keep a head gasket in there without worrying about anything else. I did that pan head on a shovel barrel once about 30 years ago and found that even after making up a waisted head bolt for that hole that head gasket life was iffy and that was on a low compression 74.

[Joelpan]

Cotten I thought about that but I think Steinauge is right, it would be tight. Also external oil feed is better anyway. It keeps the oil to the topend alot cooler since its not running through the heated cylinder. Adding the external oiler does not seem to be a big deal anyway. Steinauge as far as keeping head gaskets the Sidewinder kit comes with some real nice copper ones and they recomend a gasket cement also. Only time will tell if thats going to be a problem. Thanks for all the input guys. I appreciate it.

[Cotten]

I dont know that there is enough metal in that cylinder to drill that oil gallery

Steinauge and Joelpan!

Perhaps drill it fat to out to sweat in 1/4" SS tubing then. Even that would look better than making the heads look like they have been assimilated by the Borg.

I confess that once upon a time, long ago and far away, I plumbed a pair of heads by drilling between fins into the apex of the "V" in the casting where the oil galleries conjoin. I then tapped for 1/4"-28 and made two nipples of SS tubing to accept hoses between the pushrod tubes.

It looked like it was on life support.

....Cotten

[Joelpan]

I thought about going that way between the pushrod tubes but I think coming down from under the rocker block and ending up behind the carb will be practically unnoticable. I'm using brake line fittings and SS brake line. 2 lines coming into a junction block and then one line to the oil pump.