So I've got my 283 sitting in my 50 sedan, got the early 80s exhaust manifold installed (temporarily) that dumps between cylinders 5 and 7. I now see that it dumps out *right* over the hole for the oil dipstick.....like RIGHT in front of it. I've seen some flexible dipsticks from Lokar that might work....but the clearance between the hole and the back of the manifold is *maybe* 1.5 inches. I'm not sure if the flexible one would work, or if I might need someone to custom bend a tube for me. Anyone else encountered this? Here's the manifold I'm using (or reasonable facsimile thereof) : Thanks!
You have a problem, Ross.... The 80's manifold you are talking about uses the RIGHT hand dipstick. The best soloution I have for you will solve another problem as well. There is a kit to drill and convert to right hand dipstick...Not TRAD but getting the stick away from the steering will be a bonus... The kit contains an aluminum block to bolt on to the side rail and also acts as the drill guide. I will do a search and see if I can find the part #.. Dave
the Lokar dipsticks are nice, but they are intended to be used with headers. I've seen several that were messed up by trying to make them work with a manifold. FWIW I have seen ONE of the design manifold you show, that was on a left side dipstick engine. It did not have the normal shape dipstick tube. IIRC it was from a late 70's pickup.
I had that same problem in an o/t car with a small chevy. I got around it by using a factory small block chevy oil pan that had the dipstick into the oil pan on the drivers side. The pan is discontinued through GM, but i found mine in an local boneyard. I think it came out of a mid 80s caprice/impala/. It might be an option for you.
For that matter it would be fairly easy to drill and weld a dipstick tube into an oil pan. The dipstick itself is flexible enough, is there room to put a tube on that bends like 90' right at the block and aim it up where you can get to it?
Actually, there is room to do that...and even make it bend 90 degrees over a longer arc, so the stick can insert easily. The problem is, I need to find someone who can do it with the right type of tubing and not fold it. I tried it with an old one...but with poor results.
i flatend the dipstick tube in mine with soft taps from a hammer and slowly tightend the manifold against it then took of the exhaust manifold then reinstalled works fine no problemsi am using the same manifolds in my 327 in my 49 chev.
Personally, I would hit the junkyard and see if I could find something that already exists that will do the job, even if I had to cut it off, spin it around, and weld it back together. I know like a '96-back GM van has the shape you need, for instance, but it's on the right side (and of course is way way long). Although I wonder why you couldn't use a brake line bender on a dipstick tube? Maybe fill it with sand and seal the ends up first.
will try and take pics just take your time with a hammer and slowly bend the tube inwards toward the head it will take a little. install remove install.but will work
i have also went to the junk yard a found 2 80"s trucks 1 caprice with replacement engines with these manifolds using the driverside dipsticks and those looked like they just tightend the manifolds against the tube
Look for a pan from a late 70s MonteCarlo. They used a tube that goes into the pan itself. Then you can rotate the tube to get it to where you want it. They have the same shape manafold that is in your picture. But the later ones sometimes have a larger rear opening for the change in the rear seal. I had one from a later truck that had that feature, and it wouldn't go on the earlier block. Also you will have to block the normal dip stick hole in the block deck. Some blocks have a plug in there that can be removed with a little effort with a piced of rod and a hammer. A machine shop may have one in a junk block for the taking. Good Luck!
I've put several dipsticks into the oil pans by using the dipstick "port" from old BBC oilpans. The BBC dipsticks that go into the oil pan have a flanged "port" that the tube fits into. The flange is spot welded into the oil pain. Just drill out the spot welds, locate the spot on your oil pan where you want you dipstick located, dill a hole (3/8 or 7/16 dia) for the tube part of the port to fit into and weld it on through the original spot weld holes you drilled out. Simple, cheap, and works perfect.
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