Does anybody foresee a problem with removing the sheet metal 'scoop' that goes over the screen?
I don't like how it only allows oil to be picked up from the very very front of the sump. If you had low oil and accelerated hard it could very easily starve.
Stock oilpan BTW with M-55 Mellings select standard flow pump (#10554).



Here's how the scoop is normally positioned.

 

I guess there wouldn't be a problem removing the screem. However, that pickup is pretty close to the bottom of the pan..if the oil is so low you could lose pressure on acceleration you have other problems.

One concern would be if the bottom of the pan gets bashed, you could seal off the pickup and starve the pump....

 

How much clearance would i want from the bottom of the pan to the pickup, without the scoop?

 

I think you are worrying about something that does not need to be worried about.

 

I looked through the oil drain hole and shone my flashlight in the low oil sensor hole, I wish I could take a pic of what I see. Theres a slant on the pan that goes right across the scoop, it's bad looking. It makes no sense to not allow oil from the rear of the sump to enter the pickup, that's where it's all going to go when you accelerate.
The canton pickups are toward the back of the sump.
This surely can't hurt, right?

 

most aftermarket pickups are smaller than the stocker, the metal acts like a baffle.


on older engines its main purpose was to catch plastic pieces from the timing chain, and stop oil flow

 

As long as the pickup stay submerged (which I assume it does at all times), I don't see how it can make a difference. The little "tray" on the bottom of the pickup would actually catch a little oil that might get thrown toward the back of the pan on acceleration. I'm thinking that might be why it is on there.

 

thats not lt1 problem with losing oil pressure under acceleration which i have come to believe is why 90% of lt1s spin bearings...

 

I can't really tell what you mean here but I'll guess....

LT1's don't lose oil pressure because of the little metal scoop on the pick up. It's often due to the pickup falling out of the body of the pump and the oil level failing below the hole in the pump on acceleration.

Do you really believe 90% of LT1's spin their bearings? That's, er, crazy...it's as reliable as any small block Chevy.
Or are you saying that when an LT1 spins a bearing it's due to oil starvation, 90% of the time? Well, maybe, maybe even probably.

I forget which comedian said it but I'll borrow it now.... 43% of statistics are made up on the spot. I think that applies to your 90% number.....