Need help on '87 - '88 Ford engines

[Goodwrench3]

Hi all:

I've built mainly '80's Chevy and Buicks up to now.

Can someone give me a link to any 1:1 photos of these '87 - '88 Ford NASCAR engines  ?   I'm looking for paint colors.

I know the blocks in the early '80's were rarely painted -- just bare cast iron.  I'm guessing the heads by '87 were aluminum.   And the part that I've drawn a box around in the photo ?  I'm guessing that's the dry sump pan ?   Color  ?

Any actual photos would be appreciated !

Thanks

[DoctorLarry]

Here is a top view of the engine in Ricky Rudd's 1987 Thunderbird. Good picture but not of the bottom!

[Goodwrench3]

Thanks -- it does answer one other question -- they actually did run chrome valve covers.

 

[DoctorLarry]

Probably polished aluminum.

[THarrison351]

4 hours ago, Goodwrench3 said:

I know the blocks in the early '80's were rarely painted -- just bare cast iron.  I'm guessing the heads by '87 were aluminum.   And the part that I've drawn a box around in the photo ?  I'm guessing that's the dry sump pan ?   Color  ?

Yes, definitely a dry sump. Could be bare aluminum or painted black. I've seen both.

[Force]

17 hours ago, Goodwrench3 said:

Hi all:

I've built mainly '80's Chevy and Buicks up to now.

Can someone give me a link to any 1:1 photos of these '87 - '88 Ford NASCAR engines  ?   I'm looking for paint colors.

I know the blocks in the early '80's were rarely painted -- just bare cast iron.  I'm guessing the heads by '87 were aluminum.   And the part that I've drawn a box around in the photo ?  I'm guessing that's the dry sump pan ?   Color  ?

Any actual photos would be appreciated !

Thanks

The boxed part is a regular oil pan with two sumps found on many of the more modern Fords like the Fox body Mustangs, the rear sump holds the oil and the front sump is to make room for the oil pump as it's directly under and driven by the distributor.
But most NASCAR cars has a dry sump system wich is a shallow pan with several hoses that goes out of it, and a separate belt driven several segment oil pump to scavenge the oil out of the pan and into a separate tank and pump the oil back into the engine.
The racers in NASCAR started to experiment with dry sump systems in 1968-69 as you can mount the engine lower in the chassis and you don't have any problems with oil pressure as the engine allways gets oil...as long as the drive belt is on.

Here is a system used on many race cars.

Edited January 21, 2019 by Force

[DoctorLarry]

Here's a three stage that might be easier to model. This is what I am doing on my 73 Grand Am.

[DoctorLarry]

Here's a 1973 427 Chevy that shows the pump and pan:

 

[whatisdeletrazdoing]

Here's a photo of the Simone Museum's Ford. Not sure how period correct it is as this motors been rebuilt and is run regularly. 

 

This won't help with the bottom of the engine, but here's a great shot of the Thunderbird in the Ford Museum, which I would think is pretty closet period correct.

 

[Goodwrench3]

On the Randy Ayers NASCAR forum, I did learn that NASCAR required steel dry sump pans.  This was news to me -- I had [incorrectly] assumed they may be aluminum.

Apparently that's why most were either bare stainless steel or painted black  --  which matches my favorite Dale picture (attached).  The ones that are a gold color -- I'm not sure about .. anodized steel ?  The other pic attached is of an engine from the #27 1981 Valvoline Buick (note the gold dry sump pan).