Dip stick question

[dean jendro]

So I changed the oil and filter on my new '65' today and put in 5 quarts of fresh oil. Upon checking the dip stick I found it to be barely reading the bottom of the stick. It had registered full but dirty before the change. I added two more quarts and that brought it up to about 1/2 quart low. I don't like overfilling engines so this concerns me.
I looked at the pan and it doesn't look overly large. I'm wondering if one of the previous owners got the dip stick tube or wrong dip stick when he installed the crate 350 engine. None of this stuff looks very new so I assume it's been this way for years.
Does this dip stick look right for this vintage 350? The dip stick measures 19-1/4 inches long

[Captainfab]

That dipstick tube looks to be about right, but I can't tell you off hand on the length of the dipstick. Hopefully someone else has one handy to measure. Is the dipstick tube tight in the block and the collar on it up against the block. If not that will give you a false reading. Also there are some oil pans that hold more than 4 qts of oil.

[dean jendro]

Thanks, Captainfab

Yes the tube is all the way seated on the block. I'm going to look at a few friends small block Chevys today and measure dip sticks. Maybe it's just a big pan, but 7-1/2 quarts? The pan looks stock to me.

[Captainfab]

I measured a dipstick I have today and it does measure 19-1/4" as yours does. This is on a mid 70's 350. If your engine happens to have the double hump Corvette style oil pan, I believe those hold 5 or 6 qts.



There is also a longer sump oil pan that holds 6 qts, often found in Corvette's also.