283 Oil System

[Bill Darnaby]

My 1955 Continental has a 283 engine (not original). What is the purpose of the plate on the starboard side (left side of engine) of the oil pan?
Thanks, Bill

[drrot]

Hard to tell without a photo but my guess is to dis-connect the oil pump pickup from the bottom of the oil pan

[Bill Darnaby]

That is what the cast letters on the plate seem to indicate but I was wondering if anybody had any direct experience with that process. Anyway, it has no oil pressure and spinning the pump through the distributor drive hole with a priming tool yields no oil out of the pressure line hole in the top of the block. It appears that engine removal is becoming unavoidable. Has anybody had this experience before?

[rgmxk22]

I know this is a later reply to your question, but yes, that plate in the side of the pan is there to access the oil pump pick up. CC uses a braided hose and strainer assembly the the hose screws into the oil pump and the strainer bolts to the bottom of the pan. They issued a service bulletin that described how to cut down the length of a wrench to fit the connection between the strainer and the hose. You are supposed to use the wrench to disconnect the hose from the strainer before you remove the oil pan.