I think a see-through oil pan would be interesting, but once it got covered with splash from inside the engine, I doubt if many details would be visible. I was involved with a road-racing Datsun 240Z inline six in the early 1970's. Every time the driver would brake hard for a turn, then accelerate away, the exhaust would generate clouds of blue smoke. After a very few laps, the #1 and #2 spark plugs would oil-foul and the engine would show at least a quart low in the sump. The oil pan was very close to the crankshaft under cylinders 1 and 2 for crossmember clearance, and we theorized that the crank was picking up oil and stuffing those cylinders full. This was happening at 6,000+ RPM. We designed and built a windage tray to try to keep the crankshaft from sucking up oil in that area, and installed some anti-splash baffles, and the problem went away. I doubt if a stovebolt engine at considerably lower crankshaft speeds would need a tray, but it couldn't hurt.
Jerry
Last edited by Hotrod Lincoln; 11/03/2009 5:44 PM.
