The oil pan setup used on the Q45s was obviously designed around the chassis and doesn't seem to work well in most of the cars people are putting them in now whether it's a 300zx, S13/S14, Pathfinder, or whatever other car you choose. Whether it means modifying the front sump for more clearence, taking off the bulge on the driver's side (what I did), or making it a rear sump it seems like it may be easier to start off from scratch. Seems one of the biggest issues here is the flange is SO thin that much of any welding wants to warp it. It's really too thin to be resurfaced after the welding.

Another member on here already went through the work of designing the oil pan flange, so all that needs to be done is to design the new pan. I need a new pan on mine, and I'm toying with the idea of going to a rear sump. It fits my chassis perfectly with the front sump, but I'm scared to death of oil starvation issues.

Would it be worth designing these pans for other people? The possibilities would be endless. Even the drain plug could be put where ever the heck you want it.

What kind of sump does a 450Z require?

Rear sump for the 450.

Thanks,
Nick.

The only issue is that I have never in my life welded aluminum. I'm picking up this TIG pretty quickly though...just need some seat time to practice. Even if we got these designed and cut then someone with a little experience could weld them.

If you have some dimensions on hand I'd love to get my hands on them and try and get a model laid out.

Thanks,
Nick.

Just waiting for the last 3 gigs of Autodesk Inventor to finish downloading and I will start playing with designs.

This machine is so small that it's perfect and you can plug it into anything from 110V-460V. I haven't had a chance to play with it using 220V yet so it blows the breaker on anything over 110 or so amps.

These inverter machines are so far ahead in technology. I haven't even played with half the settings on it yet but it seems to be infinitely adjustable in just about every way. It would be nice to have more than 200 amps at times, but I figured if the pro fabricator at a race shop gets away with this machine, so can I.

If you have any questions I'd be happy to help. I was very confused on TIG setups since there is a lot more parts than a MIG but it all makes sense once you have everything in your hands.

Nick if you happen to come up with any dimensions I would like to see how they compare to mine.

According to my calculations this arrangement with the modified kick-out yields approximately 360 cubic inches (6.2 quart) capacity. I can still post the dimensions here but I wanted you to be aware that all the clearances are specific to my Z setup with the engine sitting as low as it can go.

My two cents is that if you're willing to sit the motor higher (at least on a Z) you will be able to do larger kick-outs in a rear-sump arrangement and will have approximately 1.25" more room behind the crossmember than you do in the front. In this arrangement you can yield closer to 7-7.5 quart capacity.

Thanks,
Nick.