Myself during testing I found that the 3/8 pipe will handle rpm up to and more than 8700 rpm... I normally
build my own pick up to fit my pans(all are custom pan).. the pan I run now will hold 10 qts plus the
filter and lines.. but I dont run that much oil in it.. but your 1/2 pick line looks good.. where did you get
it at with the cover

The one pictured is a Kevko M307. It says for a 9" pan but will be about 7/8 inch off the bottom of my truck pan. I have a old oil pump that had a flat 1/4 inch plate so I drilled a 5/8's inch hole in the exact place as the M307 and MIG welded my bent tube to the cover. I then modified an old pickup strainer for the pipe. Don't have a picture of the final one yet. Son stole my MIG for the week.

EDIT: Pictures below.

I'll have to build one of those for one of my engines

I'm curious about the bent pick up. I have an old MP cover, and it has the bottom inlet. My thought was just a straight drop and pull the oil from the top of the screen. Is there an advantage to either arrangement?

You're trying to fill and pressurize a 1/2'" diameter passage, which feeds all of the oil leaks in the engine and needs to be kept full and under pressure. The pump has to draw oil through whatever plumbing you're using to feed it and accomplish that. Anything you do to relieve the restriction on the inlet side of the pump will help it to do it's job.

As the pump turns it opens an internal space between the rotors that creates a vacuum. The vacuum creates a suction to draw oil in through the inlet(s). Reducing the restriction to the fluid getting to the cavity improves the efficiency of the pump and helps avoid cavitation.

The original configuration is designed to adequately supply the pump requirements at normal RPM levels. Double - or even approach triple - the speed of the pump while using original sized inlet plumbing creates multiple issues.

Anything you do to reduce that restriction to the fluid being drawn into the vacuum created between the rotors, including allowing that fluid to enter both sides of the open space, will help make the pump work more efficiently and without cavitation.

Hummmm. Hummmm, (Thinking) Dual stock size 3/8's inch pipe should be more than enough. Hummmm.


I am coming straight out and down with a slight S bend to a modified stock screen. I am a retired low volt electrician so I have bent 1,000 of sticks of EMT. I put a standard S bend in the pipe that is for a wall switch box with my hand 1/2 inch bender. The S bend goes forward and down so it fits the Milodon 10 1/2 inch sump.

Gotcha. I thought the small rectangle was the one you were running.

I hope you are going to put a screen on that pickup.

I still may but to fit the Milodon deep sump I'd need to cut the pipe and weld about 2 inches in. I can do that if I get my TIG working. For some reason it will not start an arc.

Yep.. all of mine have it

Second picture of the pickup is how I will screen it.

Also, pictures show Windage tray. I have cut up that one to fit the 4 inch stroker crank. Stock trays have a curled lip and my pan pushes the tray into the crank. I am going to remove it and just baffel my pan better. I may weld in 8 1/4 inch nuts and then put a 2mm size stainless steel screen down in the bottom so any oil that gets slung off will drip thru and not get picked up again.


To the OP, we hijacked your thread. Sorry.

Here's my tray / scraper combo

If I had some louver dies I'd modify a tray too. Best I could do is Plasma cut the slots and hammer the shapes.

Do you have any A,B,A test results on using it compare to no tray at the track or on a engine or chassis dyno?
The reason I'm asking is I was told way back when (before 1988) by one of the fastest NHRA Stock SB Class racers in the country that the stock type windage tray costs power, he thought due to it making the oil bounce back up into the oil cloud surrounding the rotating assembly and not allowing the oil to drain back into the pan, especially above 3500 RPM

No, I just thought it would be a good thing to do, I decided if it was capable of peeling some oil off the crank etc. it would be a good thing to do. Once it is bolted onto an assembled engine the vents can be fitted [ bent] very close to each set of rods, and it's got no choice other than scraping excess oil back int the pan.

Trying to compare with wet sump applications with the nascar guys. Only pic I found was for a chevy and there was a screen, looks like a security screen found on industrial windows. Didn't Andy F have some old nascars in his fleet?