[IROCZman15]

ok guys heres the results;

last week I picked up an oil pan from a Chevy dealership nearby, it cost me a bunch of $, and i know, i know i could have gotten one cheaper, but i didnt need an aftermarket deep one or chrome one, etc; so i went with a GM part; knowing it would fit perfectly; cost me a total of $160 for the PAN AND THE GASKET

then i came over to my house with my mechanic, towed the car over to his shop on a flatbed, and today he put the pan in for me, with new gasket; he used the car lift; and to lift the motor up he used one of those tall transmission jacks; unbolted hte motor mount bolts; exhaust (at headers/y pipe) dist. cap, starter, etc.. slid the old pan out, and used some RTV on the new gasket and bolted it up under the motor, car runs good, no leaks, etc

so hopefully now that the car is driveable again, i can drive it over to my painters and have him spray the primer and red paint sometime within the next 2 weeks

again; thanks for the advice and help guys,
-hopefully anyone else who destroys their oil pan and panics like i did willr ead this post and have some idea of what is involved replacing it

Dave