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By Charles - 6 Years Ago I have a 57 312 in my 55 f100 it is a front sump. I stretched my front axel 3 inches and have a mono springs on the front and the axle still hits the oil pan. I have read on other sites that the 312 engines were all rear sump. Is this true ?  because I am in need of a rear sump oil pan due to my clearence issues. any sugestions ? Thanks, By 1960fordf350 - 6 Years Ago I just bought a 312 a couple weeks ago.  It came out of a station wagon and it has a front sump pan.   It also has the dipstick in the front corner of the block.  The truck engines have the dipstick coming out of the pan in the center on the passenger side. By Marc - 6 Years Ago I think I have a pan out of a F600 downstairs someplace. I can check tomorrow . By Charles - 6 Years Ago Thanks, that is how mine is as well. That answers alot, got the truck truck after my fathers passing years ago. By NoShortcuts - 6 Years Ago Welcome to the site, Charles. Many y-block equipped Ford trucks to 1964 were rear sump.  '55 to '57 'Birds used a rear sump, also. Click the link below to see one rear sump y-block oil pan presently listed on eBay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1955-1964-Ford-Truck-Y-Block-Oil-Pan-239-272-292/263480337784?hash=item3d58a6e578:g:r48AAOSwll1aeQMM&vxp=mtr Hope this helps.   By charliemccraney - 6 Years Ago Cars, except T-Birds, came with front sump pans, no matter the displacement.  It is not a 312 thing. Rear sump is a truck or T-Bird pan, but they are different and a T-Bird pan may not fit a truck. No Y-Block oil dipsticks go into the pan.  They go into the side of the block for the rear sump applications. When looking for a truck pan, try to find one which has a baffle.  You can also add one if you get a pan without it.  There are also 2 different oil pickup positions for trucks.  The best is the one with the removable mesh screen, which is not only possible to clean, but is positioned closer to the floor and toward the rear of the pan.  I can post pictures later, if needed. By 2721955meteor - 6 Years Ago note some rear sumps had issues on fast stops or rapid acceleration,oil pressure would drop for short time  due to slosh.biger trucks had baffles to rectify. 1956,789  f1s in canada had this isue. there was a recall event, the 1 i have in my 49merc has baffles which works well.. extra quart woks swell. t bird guys claim bird pans are slightly diferent. i am not sure tho used truck pan on my 1st 55bird with a 312 trans plant By 1960fordf350 - 6 Years Ago Since there is 2 locations,  I wonder if both are drilled from the factory and then 1 is plugged?   Just a thought.  I'd also like to see some pics of installing a baffle.  I don't know if my truck pan has one in it.   But when I pull it,  the info will come in handy if I need it. By charliemccraney - 6 Years Ago Bird pans are quite a bit different from truck pans.  Truck pans are more or less wedge shaped with only a couple inches difference in depth from front to back.  Bird pans are much thinner at the front, to clear the crossmember and actually have a sump which extends a little farther forward than truck pans.  If a truck pan is used on a Bird, then it is extremely close to the crossmember, if it isn't touching. You can see pictures of the different pans here:  http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/FindPost74375.aspx Both locations are drilled.  The front sump dipstick actually goes into the timing cover.  A 1/2" plug goes in which ever hole is not used.  The pan in the middle in the post linked above can be found with and without a baffle.  It is a simple baffle to make, if you have a pan without it. By Marc - 6 Years Ago If you're looking for a truck pan, I do have a HD pan I don't need. Located in CT, Make an offer if you're interested. By Charles - 6 Years Ago Thank you for the offer, I front portion of this pan will be to deep and unfortunately will also hit my axle. Your knowledge and input is very helpful and appreciated. I am looking into the one on ebay though I would need the exterior tube and have a baffle put in. Charles By Charles - 6 Years Ago Would like to see that baffle install as well. I might need it. By charliemccraney - 6 Years Ago I think you might be confusing the rear of the pan Marc is offering as the front.  The front portion of the HD pan is much shallower at the front than the front sump pan you currently have.  If the HD pan hits, then your current pan must be absolutely destroyed.  The standard truck pan is not much shallower at the front than the HD pan, so if they really are too deep in that area, then you may need a Bird pan, or simply to modify a truck pan.  I have one of each (not for sale) that I can measure and let you know the difference. I don't have pictures of a baffle install, only pictures of a factory installed baffle.  I may have a baffled pan that I can measure. By Hoosier Hurricane - 6 Years Ago The truck pans I have are 3" deep at the front end.  The T-Bird pan is 1 1/2".  Years ago I modified a front sump pan to put a 292 in my '33 Ford pickup.  I took a front sump pan, cut the flange off, turned it around and re-welded it back on.  Relocated the pickup tube hole to the other side.  That pan measures 1" deep at the front, but it has the original front sump in the rear now and the capacity is only 4 quarts.  I couldn't afford a T-Bird pan at the time.  Still can't. Is your truck drastically lowered at the front?  If your axle is "dropped" at the ends to lower the truck, that wouldn't affect the axle to pan clearance.  But if the springs are reworked to get the truck lower, that would affect pan clearance By willys392 - 6 Years Ago I just added some pictures of what I had to do to the truck pan to fit an aftermarket crossmember in my 56 F100.   It's posted in "Need some skoolin in oil pans on the Y's" By charliemccraney - 6 Years Ago This is the pickup that you want to avoid.  I think it only came with baffled pans.  The positioning is terrible because it is angled up to get over the hump in the floor of the pan.  This makes it real easy for the oil level to drop below the pickup, at which point the pump begins to take in air, and pressure drops.  The amount of oil in the pan only needs to drop to 2 to 3 quarts for this to happen and it is pretty easy for that to happen in performance use.  For strictly low rpm street use it is ok.  For anything else, it's garbage. This is 2 quarts of water in the pan, angled as if it were installed on the engine and the pickup positioned as it would be when installed.  You can see that there is a very slight gap towards the front.  In a performance situation, the oil would move toward the back of the pan or left or right of the pickup.  The baffle would help keep it submerged pretty well while braking, though, or perhaps for long downhill descents   This is the better pickup.  It's much closer to the floor, keeping it submerged in more situations and the positioning at the rear does make it more useful for drag racing since the oil will rush back to that area during acceleration. By charliemccraney - 6 Years Ago The previous pics, along with this one will help you get an idea how it is constructed and where it is positioned.  Note that the arched section, the section towards the floor and the hinge are not factory.  Where the arch is cut, the baffle is simply straight across.  The bottom has been trimmed about 1/4".  It would have been straight across at the pointy bits.  The hinge is a gate to allow oil back into the sump but prevent it from moving forward, taking the baffle to the next level. By Charles - 6 Years Ago I removed the front springs and added a mono spring, I then had the front axle stretched 3". Currently I believe the axle just touches the pan,so I was hoping the truck pan would clear ( not sure). I am going to have to pull the old pan off this weekend and take some new measurements. I am not done discussing this issue though. Is it possible to flip the current pan around and fill and drill the the old and new oil tube holes? ( will the pan holes still line up ) ? Charles By charliemccraney - 6 Years Ago If you currently have a front sump pan, then a truck pan is what you need.  It will clear, no problem. The shape of the pan near the oil pump prevents you from being able to simply flip the pan around.  If the front of a truck pan is somehow still not deep enough, it will be easier to modify the floor of a truck pan for clearance, rather than trying to flip a front sump pan around to make it work. By Charles - 6 Years Ago I have not driven this yet with the current set up as I noticed it when putting the truck into position after reinstalling the front axle. This is why I am now looking to change the set up. By Charles - 6 Years Ago Thanks that helps alot. By Charles - 6 Years Ago SO, the design of this flap is that it will push open towards the shallow end and when the oil is pushed back to the rear it will close and the oil will go over the top and spill into the deeper area of the pan ? is this correct? By charliemccraney - 6 Years Ago No, you have it backwards.  The flap opens toward the deep end to allow oil to drain back into the sump but during deceleration or braking, the oil will force the flap shut, preventing the oil from moving to the front of the pan, away from the oil pickup. A little more info, if it is something you want to do: I trimmed the bottom of the stock baffle thinking that would help the oil returning from the front of the pan to open the flap because the oil would act on more of the hinged surface area.  However, I don't think trimming is necessary because for one, the hinge hangs open slightly because of the angle at which the engine sits in the chassis and second, during my water level tests, there's really not that much oil ahead of the baffle with the engine shut off and when it is running, probably at least a quart  is always draining back from the top of the engine or in the passages of the engine so the oil draining back from the front of the pan may not even be at a level high enough for that to be necessary. By Charles - 6 Years Ago Good afternoon, can you tell me if there is a pre drilled hole in the left rear side of the block for the dip stick. My current 312 setup has it on the right front of the block? Thanks, By Hoosier Hurricane - 6 Years Ago Your present dipstick location is actually in the timing cover, not the block.  The block has a hole on the right side, about midway back for truck and T-Bird installations.  It is at the lower edge of the block, approximately below the bosses for the passenger car motor mount.  It is plugged with an expansion (or freeze) plug on passenger car installations.  On trucks and T-Birds the hole in the timing cover is plugged with an identical plug. By Charles - 6 Years Ago Thank you your help, Awesome info. By Charles - 6 Years Ago Thanks so much for your info and knowledge, I have found the correct rear sump pan and I have an additional question on how to remove the small plug in the hole below the boss on the right middle block so I can replace the dip stick. from the timing cover. Charles By charliemccraney - 6 Years Ago A punch and a hammer. By Charles - 6 Years Ago Thanks,  Charles