Oil pickup

[pptom]

Just putting my engine together and i've decided i really should make a proper gated, baffled sump, similar to the design of Rohans. My question is around the oil pickup which is currently the staight press fit 6 bolt crank type. The gauze is ruined on my old one, these are ?50 alone and i think the inlet sits too high, also i'd like a centre located pickup, so i'd like to know if there are any standard pickup tubes which will give me this, or have people fabricated their own and how?
I tig weld and have a lathe, but don't have kit to braze or bend pipes

[prezoom]

With the tig, silicon bronze rod is a good choice for brazing. You have a lathe, look at some of the designs, and build your own bender.

[Davidb]

I went through this a couple of years ago. I modified the sump as per the instructions from Col Croucher-it was he who developed the modification I believe and Rohan was the Guinea Pig (I hope I am right on that!)
Anyway if you order the on-line book from Col Croucher included in the oil pan modification is how to modify the oil pick up. I had to learn how to braze to do this...
I ordered an oil pick up from Burtons and then cut, bent and modified it to the design shown in Col Crouchers book. Burtons part number is FP645-cost 29 quid.
It was a cheap item from Burtons, and it works very well. I will try to attach a photo-don't hold yer breath...

[pptom]

Thanks chaps

[rgh0]

I went through this a couple of years ago. I modified the sump as per the instructions from Col Croucher-it was he who developed the modification I believe and Rohan was the Guinea Pig (I hope I am right on that!)
Anyway if you order the on-line book from Col Croucher included in the oil pan modification is how to modify the oil pick up. I had to learn how to braze to do this...
I ordered an oil pick up from Burtons and then cut, bent and modified it to the design shown in Col Crouchers book. Burtons part number is FP645-cost 29 quid.
It was a cheap item from Burtons, and it works very well. I will try to attach a photo-don't hold yer breath...

IMG_0724.JPG

Actually the other way around. i developed it based on need when accusumps were banned in my race class ( they have just allowed them again after 25 years ) and the idea was given to me by an old twin cam racer during a discussion about the banning at a race meeting many years ago. I developed a one off hand made set of baffles. Some other people racing wet sump twinks I helped build copies. Col wanted to make one for his road Elan as he was sick of losing oil pressure on winding mountain roads and Col in his usual thorough way improved the design and documented it for his E Book on Elan Trikbits. My original one still runs in my race engines after 25 years with absolute reliable performance.

Col may still have a spare modified pickup to sell as he recently made up a new baffled sump as I was planning to make a second so I did not have to swap the sump when changing engines and he volunteered to do it as a return of a favour for me and he did it including the modified press in pickup. I did not need the pick up and left it with him as I build my engines based on earlier 120E blocks which use the screw in centre located pickup as standard and I have lots of those as spares.

cheers
Rohan

[mrdoow]

Col Croucher's book inspired my approach to my sump project. I relocated the oil pickup to the center of the sump. Had to make a new pickup tube and installed the original Lotus screen parts to the tube. While I was in there, I fitted crank scraper plates. New baffle plates were made to accept Cosworth oil flaps and surround the relocated pickup. My thinking was to trap 2/3 of the oil in the center of the sump. Hopefully the photos will give you the idea of how I did it.

[pptom]

Wow, there's some work gone into that. Very nice

[Davidb]

"Cosworth oil flaps". Never heard of those-they look useful.

I did it slightly differently-I also used Col Croucher's book as the basis but I thought the removable baffles were too fiddly so I welded them in-it is easy to clean around them.

For a windage tray I used perforated metal bought on ebay. I got that idea from the US hot rodders:

The only problem I have found with this style of baffle is that when fitting the sump with the engine upside down on the stand the baffles flop open and prevent the baffles from passing the oil pick up. I solved this problem by gluing them shut with grease-at the first oil change I poked a piece of wire through the drain plug to confirm the baffles were operating-they were!