Trans pan is on

First the aluminum pan has a nice thick flange and I think it will solve any leak in the gasket area....but....

The aluminum pan's flange is not as wide as a stock pan. And the bolts are actually sunk into the sides of the pan.
you can see in the picture how the bolt holes are grooved into the sides of the pan, Even the bolts are allen key, cause they're so tight to the pan you cant use a socket



I thought about making a bracket, and I started to... but the metal left around the bolt is just too thin for my liking...

So I posted on the Buick board, the only recommendation I got was to cut my existing bracket using the pan as a template


I did just that
I removed the pan, I had it only temporary on anyway, and the shifter bracket.
On my bench I did some grinding, and removed enough to to let the bracket fit in against the pan and let the bolt holes line up.
I test fit the pan, and it looked good.
took it apart again, put the gasket on, finger tight bolts and it was good.
Except.....



With the bracket on the bolts that came with the aluminum pan were now a little too short, and I felt I would strip them if I tried to tighten then.
Made a trip to Tractor Supply, they had the exact same bolts but just a little longer and it worked nicely. All bolts tight and bracket is solid.









Its filled with fluid, warmed her up, checked it again, added more etc.. went for a little run, and my excitement has been renewed again

And the tires/wheels look awesome!

Fingers crossed no more leaks