Well, thanks to UPS I wasted several hours in the garage today. Maybe I was to blame a little. Nah - UPS sucks. 

This morning I finished cleaning all the crap that's been thrown on/under/in Murderous Overkill so I can finally get to wrenching on it. My 3rd kiddo is due mid-summer and I at least want to have the current axles and suspension stripped from it and the engine/transmission installed before he's born.

Energized by actually being able to see my pre-rodder build again I decided to pull out the 550hp Mondello-built Olds 455 and install the Moroso marine 10-quart pan I ordered from Summit Racing. The stock pan was getting sucked dry on the dyno by the monster oil pump Mondello specs and I wanted to ensure I don't roach a $12,000 engine because I'm not running enough reserve in the pan. I drained the dyno oil from the stock pan, grabbed my case of Royal Purple synthetic, hoisted the engine to working height, and that's when I opened the oil pan box UPS had delivered.

I don't know what those bozos put on top of the box, but the entire passenger-side pan rail was folded over. After some swearing I just bent it back in shape and soldiered on. Only issue is the circumferential pan end on the front must've gotten tweaked. I never run RTV on the rubber end gaskets 'cause the timing chain can suck up small pieces which can get lodged in the oil galleys.

Long story short, after filling up the new pan with 10-quarts of really expensive Royal Purple synthetic I noticed a bit of oil seeping every-so-slightly from between the pan end and the rubber gasket. Crap. If it's getting past that seal just sitting there on the garage floor imagine what it'll be doing at 6,000rpm up a dune at 80psi. Time to drop the pan again, curse UPS, and waste another couple hours. Guess the suspension tear down will have to wait for another day.