OK, I like a good bargain as much as the rest of you; but as the saying goes "you get what you pay for". Well that's where we'll get started, the eBay bargain shopping fix. I had to purchase a simple oil filter sandwich plate for the remote oil cooler, I do not buy the kits from anybody as there are multiple corners that get cut in the name of a bargain. I searched for the exact piece that I knew would allow for ample clearance on these tight B series motors. Then I purchased the lowest price option as they literally all looked the same as each other. When I recieved the part, I was not very impressed and it needed much reworking to be ready for a high flow/HP application.
First, I literally discarded (won't use) any of the supplied fittings. These are popular with many sandwich plates but are inferior in every way to an actual race set-up fitting. Here are the facts:
The fitting on the left is the cheap immitation, the one on the right is a genuine race component. The inferior fitting has a visibly restricted through hole and no flow radius for entry. The really dangerous thing about these is that they make your oil pump work very hard to overcome the restriction, if it can at all. If the restriction is too high, the pump may bypass the filter all together (an internal design of the filter) and limit flow to the entire motor!
Also, take a close look at the O-ring design of each type. The inferior one actually has no real groove for the O-ring at all and I find that if it was tightened sufficiently that the O-ring just squeezes out one side of the fitting! This is a potential disaster. The race fitting actually has an O-ring groove carefuly machined into the fitting to positively retain the seal.
The third picture actually shows how the fittings WILL interfere with each other when installed. This is unacceptable and must be reworked to become useful. I have not installed the O-rings on the plug fittings in the picture as they would only squeeze out. I will actually change the thread arrangement on this oil cooler adaptor; the angled landing will be enlaged for the race fittings to 1/2NPT. The straight landing will be enlarged slightly to 3/8NPT and get plugged without the need for a leaky O-ring.
This adaptor plate is riddled with inferior design, I wondered when looking at this, just how many motors have been destryed with such an "upgrade". The port that transfers ALL OF THE MOTOR OIL is only the size of a pencil, about 5/16 "! A stock motor could barely supply the oil sufficiently through such a restriction. This must be enlarged with a smooth and flowing radius; a long reach dieburr as pictured makes quick work of this. The new openings are carefully reworked, the adaptor plate has a very thin margin for this enlargement and be very wary to not cut through to the return side or it will be garbage for sure. The new holes are now about 5/8" throughout the adaptor from fitting to fitting, matching the 10AN lines as well. I have found that even the better adaptors have this design flaw and need reworking to be absolutely reliable in a race situation. This is why a succesful engine builder charges for their know-how when building motors; it's not just a bunch of pieces that fit right off, but require dilligant massaging to work correctly and a trained eye can see where the work must be done.
Tapping the holes larger is NOT as easy as you may think. Just holding the piece in a vise without ruining the finish is a task to be certain since the 1/2 NPT tap requires a breaker bar to turn. Soft jaw vices may seem good but still will marr the surface, I use very heavy rubber matt in pieces in the vice for this sort of work.
Also, why do all of this work and not use anything less than the best cooler like this one pictured. These Setrab coolers are the finest available and alone can cost double the price of a complete eBay cooler kit with lines. They are used in every professional race vehicle and standard equipment on high end cars like the Lamboghinis and Ferraris. The offer the lowest square in surface per degree of cooling period; and at the VERY least restriction of any design that I am aware of. Your project is more that chrome and anodized aluminum, the oiling system is perhaps the most important in the vehicle, make every effort to evaluate and be certain of it's integrity and operation.

 

Thanks for taking the time to inform us about this. I have noticed my sandwich plate has the same flaws and never really thought about it. So again...... Right On! I have found my next little "keep me busy" project while I wait for my bearings to come in!

 

this is why I dont like sandwich plates, I found an older filter relocation adapter for mine, which has good ports, if you run an external filter, you have the option of running an oversize filter and increasing your overall system capacity