What LS oil pan for early Ford Falcon or Mustang swap with stock suspension and steering

I plan on keeping my shock towers, since a mustang II suspension setup is not in the budget. I did a lot of research on LS oil pans. There are basically 3 choices for a front sump LS oil pan. You can pay big money for a Canton oil pan, a decent amount of money for a 2004-2006 GTO oil pan, or score a TBSS Oil pan for cheap. The GTO and TBSS oil pans are known to have issues keeping the pickup covered in oil during hard drag strip style launches. I didn't know this until after I bought a TBSS pan off of Ebay. I am going to keep it and see if I end up spinning a bearing or not.

 

 

 

 

Canton front sump LS oil pan

If money is not an issue I would suggest the Canton pan. It has the most clearance and you don't have to worry about oil control if drag racing is your thing. 

Next I would go with a GTO oil pan. I was going to get one, but if you buy all new parts they run a little over $300.00. They usually go on Ebay for around $250.00. I would rather get a new one for just $50.00 more. Here are the GM part numbers and current pricing from GMPartsDirect.com

12581209 up to 2004; 12599397 2005 and later. Only difference between part numbers is the newer model has a built-in pressure relief valve.    $ 208.00
Pickup tube:   12572654    $20.51
Windage tray:    12558189    $21.00
Dip stick:    92067147    $16.00
Dip stick tube:    92066941   $11.00
Pickup tube o-ring:    12557752    $3.62
Gasket:    12612350    $24.00

Grand Total:  $304.13

2004-2006 LS GTO oil pan

Last but not least is the cheapest option. The Trailblazer SS(TBSS) oil pan. I stumbled upon one on Ebay and got it for $75.00 including shipping. This was the pan, windage tray, pickup tube, dip stick and dip stick tube.

TBSS LS oil pan

The following 2 pictures show you my old SBF oil pan and the TBSS oil pan bolted onto my 5.3. They are almost identical size wise.

Small block for oil pan

TBSS oil pan