I've done a few things to the car. I flipped my rear brakes brackets over and installed my brakes the right way. I also modified an oil pan with some baffles and a tiny bit of extra capacity.
The pan is now powdercoated and installed with the new oil transfer tube to clear the ARP main stud. I made a post in that thread, but I'll also post it here if I want to look it up later.
Casey sent me the original tube he made for testing. I finally installed it and took some data.
The installation was easy enough, no appreciable difference from stock. However, it does take a bit of patience and precision to align the oil pump drive and the transfer tube outlet, and maybe a little more force than stock to remove due to tolerance stackup between the part and my specific engine casting. Take your time during installation to ensure a good sealing fit. It also should be noted that the flanges on either end of my tube do not butt up to the block or the oil pump. There is a small gap on either end, but it doesn't seem to affect sealing. Below are two pictures of the installation. One shows clearance between the ARP main stud and the transfer tube. The other shows the gap between flange and either end surface.
All data was taken at approximately the same ambient and oil temperatures. Data shows endine oil pressure produced by a year or two old Melling m181 pump with the IPD high pressure spring pumping Rotella T6 5w-40 oil in a B230FT with oil squirters in ~95 F ambient temp. I took data during a cold start, a hot start, and a full pull from ~1000 to 7200 rpm. Plots showing oil pressure obtained at various engine RPM during these events follow:
In general, there seems to be a small (~1-4 psi) pressure drop when switching to the Zelig transfer tube from stock. This is most noticeable during hot start and the pull. I don't think this will cause any problem for my engine setup, but if you have a 16v with oil squirters, it might be something to think about.
In both starting events, oil pressure takes longer to build with the Zelig transfer tube. This is seen with the lower oil pressure values at higher RPMs, signifying a longer ramp during starting to build pressure. I'm not quite sure how to explain this. I guess it could be oil initially escaping because the flanges don't butt up to their respective surfaces, but I don't know if I actually believe that. More likely, the tube and engine angles are slightly different, but I also don't know if that could be the cause. It may also be some function of my oil pressure sensor not accurately recording during cranking, but that's kind of hard to believe as well. In any case, it seems that full oil pressure is delayed a few hundred RPM during starting events with the Zelig transfer tube. I'm not sure this is a problem, but it happened with my engine.
I will leave the Zelig transfer tube in my engine. At high RPMs where the oil pressure really matters, there is no significant difference between the stock and the Zelig tube pressures. The main benefit of this tube is to allow for a full set of ARP main studs instead of having to use one bolt. I'll keep my eye on oil pressure for the next little while and see if anything changes. I don't think it will, but if it does, I'll update.
I'm having a pretty annoying steering wheel shake at 55 mph and above. I've road force balanced my wheels, checked all the front end bushings/ ball joints, and unhooked the power steering pump. I'm pretty convinced I have a bent hub. I plan to look into that a bit more in the near future.